First impressions of this hotel weren't that promising, I have to admit. The lobby looks a little tired and run down. However, the rooms are clean, quiet and prettily decorated. The heating/aircon works and, while the service from the front desk can be a little... idiosyncratic, everyone was very helpful and good humoured. The bed was enormous (perhaps a bit too enormous for the room) and incredibly comfortable.

The location is great. It is right near the 4,5,6 line down to Midtown/Brooklyn and you can get anywhere quickly and easily from there. For a Manhattan hotel, it is great value.

GOOD: location (walking distance to subway and central park), breakfast, good bed, quiet neighborhood, very nice staff.
BAD: rooms are really small. Almost didn't have espace for our baggage.
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The perfect location on the Upper East Side. Walking distance to shopping, museums, and restaurants galore! Rooms are very small, but very nice and squeaky clean. So pretty with a chandelier above our bed. Linens are soft, bed rated 4/5 (we are spoiled by our latex mattress). We LOVED having the espresso machine downstairs! The staff was wonderful. We had a bit of a delay on check in, but this was due to some rude guests who ignored the check out time of 2pm, not the hotel staff who did everything they could to get rooms cleaned asap. We enjoyed exploring the neighborhood in the meantime and found a GREAT place to eat across the street, Cafe Bocado, where we ate a couple times a day. We absolutely will return to the Frankin the next time we are in NYC :)

PROS:
Location (walking distance to 4/5/6 (Green line) train station.
Safe, quiet neighborhood.
Breakfast (7-10am, cereal, pastries, yogurt, oranges, cheese, coffee, tea, juice).
Wine & cheese (5-6:30pm).
Coffee, tea (24/7).
Staff is very kind.
Bedding is wonderful!
Very clean (under the bed as well).
Beautiful lighting and vanity.
Very nice toiletries.
Vintage feeling with Art Deco elevator grills and buttons.
CONS
Rooms are very small (2 people with 2 suitcases is the max). If you’re a women’s size 12 or larger, this will feel incredibly cramped and you’ll have to shimmy sideways to get into bed. I'm pregnant right now and spent a full day sick in the hotel room while my husband was out. It was uncomfortably tiny.
Closet are 8” deep and hold a max of 2 coats (not heavy winter coats either) sideways.
No in room safes.
No clock radio so you better keep your phone close by if you need an alarm.
Only 1 accessible plug in. The other was on the wall blocked by the nightstand that couldn’t be moved because it was squished between a bed and a radiator cover.
Free WiFi but on the 7th floor we had little to no reception.
$12/day service charge. Not sure what for, and not covered by Hotwire’s ‘all in’ bidding system.
Pillows are the very fluffy, then compact down to a rather solid base. My neck and my husbands killed by the end of the trip. That’s more personal preference than anything though.

Would I stay again? Only if my stay was less than 2 nights (therefore not wanting to unpack my bag). For a 7 night stay, there was nowhere for us to drop shopping bags or leave more than 1 pair of shoes out. Unless you’re in the bathroom, two people can stretch out their arms and nearly touch hands going diagonally across the room. Now stay there for 7 nights … forget it.