Element New York Times Square West

10 minute elevator wait times? If you like waiting for elevators then this hotel has you. We checked in on a Friday afternoon and the fire department was there. We suspect responding to a false alarm…totally fine and we get it. But getting to our room after they cleared it took a while. Again, would have never have written a review over something like that. Then it comes to Monday, 6/30 at 945a. Called our Lyft, driver was arriving and we went out to take the elevator down from the 24th floor. Waited, I’m not even exaggerating, at least 10 minutes. There’s a little digital board that shows you what floors the elevators are on. Initially it looked like only 1 of 3 elevators were working. Going up and down all 40 floors. Then it looked like 2 of 3 was working. Every elevator that went up or down (because we figured if we just get on any elevator it’ll eventually go down), was full. We ended up having to walk 24 flights down with our suitcases. We already was charged a “no show” fee for our Lyft and didn’t want to chance another one. Seriously, this is okay? What was interesting was that when I had gone down on Sunday to ask for our room to be maid up (mind you the phones in your room and the hallway don’t work) a guy was checking in and asked about the elevator situation because he has stayed there before and said it was bad. The lady checking him in said it was fine. So that stuck in my head and lead me to believe this has happened before! Next, remember that Sunday I just shared? So we go down and there was someone at the front desk actively checking someone in. Then there was another lady who looked busy doing whatever she was doing. Mind you we weren’t even acknowledged and just standing there. She actually goes to her other coworker and helps her with a question. Then after several minutes looks up and says “next” or something like that. No apology. No acknowledgment. Just (what I heard) “what do you want?” I get if you’re busy doing your thing, no problem. Can you just look up and say we’ll be right with you? My question took 10 seconds and we left…this was around 3p. Lastly, I wouldn’t have complained but when we checked in there was a long hair right on the top of the toilet and a Bobby pin in the corner of the bathroom. Gross but not a deal breaker. But since I’m already here I thought id share this. I’m a Bonvoy Gold member and this is the one hotel I’d stay far away from.

Great location We came across this hotel option while researching hotels with kitchenette and proximity to Times square. Very close to Times Square and the train station making commuting quite convenient. Coming to the room, quite small as with most places in NYC. There was barely any space to move around after placing the suitcases (of a family of 2 adults and 2 kids). Wish they had a bit more storage space. The kitchenette was quite apt and came in very handy. Beds decent and bathroom small but clean. The elevator situation is definitely quite tricky .. the staff takes over manual control of the elevators during peak hours and skip stopping at most floors ... we have waited quite a bit and at times had to get off a few floors and try our luck again. We literally had to run at breakneck speed to a broadway show since the elevator took 20 mins to pick us up from the 34th floor ! The breakfast variety isn't great. Being vegans, we really had very few choices ... the hot oatmeal and some cereal (again not all are vegan) and fruits. Wish they had some healthier choices ... Despite all the pros and cons, Elements is certainly a good choice for a short to a week long kinda stay.