Carter Hotel - Page 2

Having recently returned from a stay at the Hotel Carter 243 W43rd st. i have to say that my experience simply could not have been improved upon. On a prior visit to the supremely wonderful Metropolis that is New York, i had the misfortune to stay at the Waldorf Astoria Central Park West. I found the concierge to be cringingly nice, asking me if he could help me with my luggage, in that outrageously over the top 'i'm only doing this for a generous tip' kind of manner. Upon reaching the reception i was accosted by an array of fake smiles, forcing me to have to swiftly deploy the Ray Bans, and on reaching my room i was subjected to chapter and verse on how 'This remote control operates the lighting and this one adjusts the springs in the mattress and another one creates an ambient mood with music' obviously lifted from some poorly directed insanely expensive hollywood epic!!.....Needless to say all this unnecessary over-indulgence in what ultimately were four walls within which i would sleep for 8hrs or so, and as the word sleep suggests, my eyes would be closed preventing me seeing all this madness that i was having to remortgage the Manor house in-order to experience, when my funds could have been much better spent in one of the many fine establishments that adorn 5th ave. So in finding the Hotel Carter, i was relieved and delighted to have found an absolutely splendid 'no bullshit' Hotel at the heart of Times Sq and Broadway, that offered me the same aforementioned 8hrs sleep, and yet still managed to respect my desire to utilize my very substantial funds enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of my beloved New York City!!!

Sparkling form

Awesome!!!!!

Sincerely,

Carstairs.

City of Newport, South Wales, UK

I just got back from Newyork and stayed at Carter Hotel. It was definitelt not as bad as the reveiews i had read. Yeah its old fashioned re decors, customer or room service isnt great..but for the price and location..it was just perfect!! Never believe reviews!! expereience it urself!! would definitely go theer again when next i am in New York!!!

I have never set eyes on a place quite as horrifying as the Carter! my friend and I (2 single young girls) went to NYC for a week at the end of August 2007 and decided to stay at the Carter- extremely cheap right on Times Square. Little did we know that firstly we would be sharing a hotel with prostitutes that live there, along with what i can only describe as societies drop outs! Oh but this just gets better- not only was the place dirty, like something you see on a horror film- to our amazement there was a murder only 2 days before we arrived! and how did we find this out?? Not through the hotel reception, not by being told, our first night in the Carter- in the disgusting bedroom- we put the tv on to try and distract ourselves from our surroundings- only for the hotel to flash up on the screen- and people reporting that a body had been found- a girl had been strangled, wrapped in plastic and left under the bed for the 'cleaner' to find! horrified was is only was to describe that! if you are considering staying there there please reconsider- this place should not be allowed to be open!! Especially to young travelers I have never felt so unsafe in my entire life! - the murder was on the 6th floor- we were staying on 7th!

I have stayed at the carter hotel for 3 years running, have just got back having stayed from Nov 27th till Dec 2nd. all the times i have stayed there have been clean beds and clean bathroom, i have only asked to move once because my roommate was a smoker and the window didn't open. the staff are not so bad and i had great fun with one member of staff in particular. if like me u go nyc to shop than the carter is cheap and in the heart of nyc.

I wish to complain about the deplorable hygiene standards maintained at the Carter Hotel New York. (250 West 43rd Street, New York City, New York 10036

We stayed at the hotel from Nov 9-11, 2007. The hotel advertisements were misleading. The beds were bedbug infested and there was no daily room cleaning service. The room was filthy with dirty linen and dirty small towels. The city was sold out so we could not move out. We had to use sprays to prevent bug bites. One has to just to go the website and then visit the hotel to see the conditions prevalent. Someone needs to have that place closed down.

When we arrived and were given the keys to our rooms which were both on the 6th floor (where the murder had occurred-we found out about the murder afterwards!), we were horrified when we went in. The bedlinen was stained and filthy and the bathrooms were disgusting. The smoke alarms were in the drawers and obviously not working! When we went back to the brothel-like reception they offered us 2 alternative rooms which were also no fit for animals never mind humans! We demanded and refund and they charged us $25 for inspecting the rooms which I will demand back from my credit card company! The staff were unpleasant to be polite and that IS being polite! If you have no alternative but to stay in this 'hotel'- I suggest you buy a cardboard box and sleep on the streets-it would be cleaner and safer!!

I have visited many destinations worldwide, and stayed in a range of hotels, but none come close to this cesspit. I would like to add that I am not a snob and I am used to staying in budget accommodation, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

Even before we arrived at the hotel, the taxi driver warned us on the way that the hotel was one of the worst in New York. Our room (1200) had a really bad damp patch on one of the walls, which flaked off onto the dirty carpet and our belongings at regular intervals throughout the week. The bath was apparently white, which was barely visible due to the brown stains ingrained on it. One of the workers in the shop at the front of the hotel was rude and aggressive one evening when I changed my mind about buying something, due to the expensive price attached to it. My friend and I spoke to many of the other guests who were staying there at the time, and their stories were similar to ours.

To look at the pictures of the rooms on the website, you would think it was a different hotel. The only good thing about it was the location, in the heart of Times Square.

If you went to the scenic design center of a major movie company and asked them to design the ugliest, most beaten up, dirtiest pathetic rat hole they could imagine, you wouldn't even come close to the perverse reality of the Hotel Carter.

From the two greasy doormen you encounter who indifferently watch you drag you suitcases up the ten or so stairs that lead to the decrepit lobby; to the clerk that hands you the two plastic room cards with the room numbers inscribed on them with a magic marker (with bad penmanship); to the smallish elevators with scratched metal walls and missing reflectors (that undoubtedly violate all building safety codes); to the narrow hallways with scratched walls and old, ugly, stained carpeting; to the room doors with peeling paint; to the stained carpeting in the rooms; to the ugly orange curtains over the viewless windows; to the decrepit furniture; to the scratched and stained walls; to the small ancient bathrooms with tiny sinks and toilets; to medicine cabinets to whom derelict would be a compliment; to tile walls and floor that are a hodgepodge of elements of tiles and smeared grout; to single light bulbs without fixtures in each room; to TV's that you threw out twenty years ago; to threadbare towels and sheets; to no room service or maintenance of any kind; to... what more has to be said?

You get the picture. Worthy of an academy award: best set design for a horror film, the haunted hotel, give up all hope to thee that enter here. But it's cheap has hell.

May be the cheapest hotel in Times Square, but still not worth the money. We had crazy mold in hotel bathroom. Huge hole in ceiling above shower head. Shower head was totally rust-stained. Room smelled of smoke and Body Odor. We reserved it online and the check-in guy said the reservation only shows how many in room, not how many beds. Wireless is unsecured and only works in lobby. Extra outlets in room were dead. Bed headboard was a piece of old carpet taped to the wall. One drawer was full of porn magazines. My roommate and I finally just went to the local drug store and Fabreezed + Bleached the hell out of the room to make it livable.

This was by far the ugliest, dirtiest, unkept hotel I have ever stayed at. The hotel looked nothing like the pictures on the website. The hotel was decorated in filthy old carpets. They were hung on the walls of the room and throughout the hotel. The wall to wall carpeting was made up of various rugs nailed on top of one another and were coming up along the walls. We had to pay a dollar for the card key. Their were mysterious stains on the wall by the bed. The walls were filthy. The tiles in the bathroom were falling and there was a huge hole in the wall that looked like the plumber left. I could not get the water temperature to remain a constant cold or hot. At one point I turned the hot water of completely and just had the cold on and it was still steaming. The cold water handle kept falling off. We paid over $100/night and the room came with 3 small bars of soap, 1 face towel and two body towels. No hand towels, no shampoo or conditioner, and no iron to iron my dress shirt for a wedding. I was in such awe at how bad the place was that my girlfriend had to point out that the first room they gave wasn't even cleaned yet when we walked in, "I've stayed at hostiles better than this" she said. The T.V. only had about 6 channels 2 of which were Spanish.

The positives of the hotel were it's location to Times Sq (if that's where you want to be)and the Toilet Paper was 2ply. You do not get what you pay for. I was looking to save a few dollars but I thought for over a hundred a night I would still get a decent room. This room was far from decent. I would have saved myself at least $200 and a lot of aggravation if I stayed at the YMCA and would have gotten a better room.

My friend and I went to NY on a last minute trip and decided to try to stay on a budget. Well that went out the door when we had to pay about $400 to find a new room once we got to our room. The hotel itself looked like something out of a horror movie. I understand you may not get great amenities, but a room without holes in the wall, exposed wires, and other guest complaining about bed bugs would have been nice. It felt so disgusting being there that we checked out almost as soon as we checked in. The shower wall was splitting apart from the tub and a dirty towel was hanging on the back of our door. We would suggest to anyone, pay the extra money and stay somewhere better. Also don't believe the 2 stars advertised on the website, it really deserves negative stars.

I have been there with my friends and we were very surprised by the location of the hotel which was great. However, the hotel is not recommanded for those with luxury taste because it has a very old look and has a odd smell everywhere you go. I have to say that I have stayed there two times because the price can't be beat for the location but I must say that the only reason I go there is to get a mattress to sleep, that is it. The room are very ugly and there is carpet everywhere you look at. At least, there is hot water to get a good shower. But as I said, for the price and the location, this hotel can't be beat but you have to be open-minded. It is about 200 meters from Times Square and there are a lot of restaurants very close to it.

My boyfriend and I decided to go to NY because neither of us had ever been before. We booked the Carter Hotel and when we arrived the Bell Hop carried our luggage up to our room, burping in the elevator with us. I should of noted that red flag immediatly. Our room was small and dismal. The shower was covered in mold and we only showerd once while we were there. One out of the three nights we stayed there the heat went out, we went in January. Before we left for NY I packed a few granola bars to tie us over in between meals, however, a mouse made its way into my bag and helped himself. I love NY but I will never stay at the Hotel Carter ever again.

My husband and I contracted for the Carter Hotel by way of a website. Upon arrival at the hotel, we realized that only one of the three elevators was working.

Initially, we were given a nonfunctioning room key. Because the one elevator took so long, I took the poorly marked and poorly lighted stairs, I was given a second key to our room, which was occupied by other guests. We became keenly aware that the room, flooring, walls and bathroom were in significant disrepair like a slum dwelling.

Ultimately, our decision to search for other accommodations that night was due to the number of disgruntled customers who were unable to secure clean bed linens and were told by hotel management that they would need to make their own beds. The chaos in the lobby resulted in our leaving with the understanding that there would be no charge on our credit card. Regretfully, the website was not at all responsive to the problem.

We are still in dispute with the credit card company as well as the website, for the hotel charge to our credit card. After contacting the city of New York as to the unsanitary and unsafe conditions of this hotel, we have since received a letter indicating that the Health department cited the hotel for a number of violations and would return for regular inspections of this property.

I would love to give this hotel zero stars or even a negative rating.

I'd heard it was bad, but I needed a hotel on about four days notice and my usual one was booked. This was the only one I could get.

I'm used to staying in small, cheap, spartan hotels...so it's not like I was expecting four star luxury.

First, the awful purple neon accent lighting in the lobby was tacky. The elevators moaned and creaked. The vending machines in the lobby ate people's dollars.

On our way up to the room, my friend and I met a young man on the elevator who was on his way downstairs to get clean sheets...he had just checked in to find the bed made up with filthy sheets.

There was a horrible smell throughout. There were glue-traps for rodents everywhere in our room. The bed looked clean enough, but it was like sleeping on a big cardboard box.

The bathroom was interesting. The shower had about six different knobs and, between the two of us, we never figured out which ones worked. It meant shampooing long hair over the bathtub.

We personally didn't see bugs, but a person I chatted with in the lobby said roaches were a big problem on the next floor.

I would never stay there again. I'd rather sit on my suitcase in the bus terminal until morning rather that check into this grim, stinky hole.

My girlfriend and I just got back from staying at the Carter, although the staff was rude, apart from the security guy at reception who was ok, the hotel was basic, but the shower worked well and the location was second to none. I would stay there again for the location and the price which was also good for what you get, don't expect any nice welcomes at the lobby. But, as I say, for a basic hotel, go for it. We stayed in room 2237 on the 22nd floor if you get this one you might find it ok. Good luck!

This was a very cheap hotel, not new, not clean, but it was a great price for a night in New York City midtown.

It does not offer lots of extras but it is a great deal for New York City in Times Square.

This hotel made me feel practical: The hotel is close to many attractions. I did not spend any money for amenities that I did not want or need.

do not stay here!!!. eww. this place was so disgusting that we checked out immediately after we saw the rooms. we should have known by the smell once you stepped out of the elevator, that this place was unsatisfactory. it had hair and dirt embedded around the bathroom, the sheets looked as though they had not been washed and there was gum on the carpet. i highly recommend staying elsewhere.