Like many others, I had read the varying reviews of Park Central with some trepidation....Have recently returned from a 5 night stay there and it was excellent, from the original check in (speedy) through to the helpfulness of the staff (although I agree they were very keen to sell you theatre tickets). The room was warm and the beds comfy, and a $2 day tip ensured we had clean bedlinen and towels every day. A kettle might have been a nice addition though. The location is fantastic, close to both subway station, and 5 minutes walk from Central Park and Times Square. Getting around was simplicity itself and the Downtown bus loop tour will drop off right outside the hotel. My daughter and I had a fantastic stay in New York, and I can't wait to go back - and I would most certainly return to Park Central.

I'm not totally sure about this hotel.
First of all I was told, by my travel agency, that I was going to stay in a concierge level room. When I arrived at the hotel I found that the reservation was for a standard level room.
I don't know it this is the hotel's or my tour operator's fault.

When I asked to be at least transferred to a room covered by wi-fi internet access they obliged with no problem. Too bad the new room was just in front of the Ice vending machine (no in-room refrigerator available).
Later I tried to find out exactly what happened with my reservation and it looked like they were going to finally upgrade to the room I (dearly) paid for. But they changed their mind again soon after. I guess it all depended on the staff at the desk, some of them were kind and nice, some other definetevely NOT.

I had some problems with the room's safe (which, btw, is not big enough for a laptop as they instead advertise) and they quickly solved it.
The heating was stuck on a single position and I wasn't able to change it.

The room was really spacious, the bed big and confortable.

Stayed at the Park Central in mid-town NY for a trade show for a week. They started off by messing up my arrival date even though I booked it 7 MONTHS in advanced and confirmed it, charged me a 1 night no show fee that I disputed as was their mistake! No coffee pot in the room and when I requested one they wanted to charge me a $25.00 fee for the coffee pot!

One day after work, the maids had made my bed, but not my friends bed- we had two queen beds. ???

The first room had no heat and the second room was a sauna. No bellman help and only revolving doors - not pretty w/big rolling luggage. Wanted to check out later than noon and they said it would be a $75.00 charge to do so. I would not reccomend this hotel and won't be staying there again to say the least. It's easy stuff that make the details and this hotel basically couldn't have cared less. Just lame customer service.

Location is great. You will not find another hotel in this price range that is this close to Central Park, Broadway Theatres, Times Square, Carnegie Hall. Right across from Carnegie, one block from Letterman, 4 blocks from T.S.

The lobby is big and attractive. Bell and door service were polite and helpful. Front desk staff was mixed in their performance. Management seemed polite, but desk workers were ambivolent about your service at best.

The website lists 24 hour parking as $35. It is actually $39. The hotel did not seem to care about their mistake. If you stay one minute past 25 hours, you pay the next day's fee.

Rooms are small, but there are smaller rooms in NYC. Not particularly clean. Floor had not been vacumed and the bathroom floor needed cleaning fairly badly. This left a bad impression as I was there with my two children under three years old. Water pressure was horrible. My wife couldn't get the shampoo out of her hair. We were there in February, but it was in the 40's and 50's. When the room got warm, we soon found that the air conditioning wouldn't come on, only the heat.

Generally speaking, this is not a hotel you would pay more than $49 for if you were on the freeway stopping overnight. But for midtown, it was well worth the $129 we paid for two double beds. I actually hope they don't clean up their act too much - they might start charging like other hotels in the area. $129 is worth a little trouble here and there.