Stay Away! After generations as an old-world, cozy and stately, if a bit tired oasis, the AE has been purchased by Ian Schrager and taken down so many notches it's almost not functional. Allowing for the fact that the hotel is under renovation, the entrance is not handicapped accessible, and I saw several hotel guests with canes, casts, etc (including myself, recovering from foot surgery and in a cast, with a cane) struggling with the up and down outside stairs one has to navigate just to get into and out of the hotel. With luggage, it's almost impossible. This is simply inexcusable. I've been a customer of the Ambassador East for decades--but no more. The hallways are so dark one can barely see. The rooms are stark white, which in and of itself, isn't a particular problem, but it is jarring and almost painful as one's eyes adjust from the dark hallways. The furniture--stark and scant--looks like something from an Ikea closeout. The bed is comfortable--what a relief--but only about 15 inches off of the floor, a real problem if you're at all physically challenged, or even elderly and less flexible than you were in your salad days. The problems don't end there. My room had a horribly uncomfortable wire/metal desk chair, and absolutely nowhere else to sit. No arm chair, no demi-sofa, no ottoman. With a foot in a cast, it would have been nice to be able to sit comfortably, perhaps even with my leg elevated, while in the room. No way. The bathroom has absolutely nowhere to put any of your toiletries. Not a shelf, a small table, a nook, or a medicine cabinet. If you want to put a razor, shaving cream, makeup (for women) or anything else down so that you can use them, you're sh*t out of luck. Repeated requests for a small table or some sort of chair went unmet. A borrowed umbrella from the front desk was broken and unusable, something I didn't discover until caught in an expected downpour. I was tempted to throw it out, but remembered that they would charge me for it if I didn't return it, in spite of its total lack of usefulness. Refrigerator--forget it. Shampoo? For two days in a row, the housekeeper left several bottles of lotion, and no shampoo. Room service--not available. If you want breakfast, the front desk will sell you a small, pre-wrapped, commercial grade muffin for $4.00--something you can buy in any gas station for $1.00. No added value whatsoever. The photos show a nice entrance, and a large lobby for which the AE has long been famous. Unfortunately, that lobby is closed off, under construction, and the temporary lobby is on the second floor, difficult, again, for handicapped access. Thermos-bottled coffee and water for tea were stone cold, at 8 in the morning. When confronted with these various misses, the front desk staff repeatedly shrugged their shoulders and said, "Yeah, we know, you're not the first to tell us this stuff." All this shows is that Schrager doesn't even care to make an effort to make his guests comfortable, and that the staff is either too indifferent or too amateur to know the difference and even make an effort to get it right. It's one thing to get a good price on a hotel room when it's under renovation. It's another thing altogether to get screwed in the bargain, particularly after booking a non-refundable pre-paid reservation. Again, avoid this hotel like the plague.
