Monday, September 9, 2013

The Gansevoort- Does Not Seem Ready for Five Stars

This is the "Five Star" Gansevoort Hotel on Park Avenue South...I only recently discovered it was a hotel, I always thought it was a condominium.

Yelper's have many complaints about this place, let me summarize it by saying generally they do not feel it warrants five stars--I am running a bunch of reviews here, there are many more, and some of them are very seriously disturbing


Gansevoort Park Ave

2.5 star rating
172 reviews Rating Details
Category: Hotels  [Edit]
420 Park Ave South Hotel Entrance on 29th St
(between 28th St & 29th St)
New York, NY 10016
(212) 317-2900
Nearest Transit Station:
28 St. (4, 6, 6X)
33 St. (4, 6, 6X)
23 St. (4, 6, 6X)
Hours:
Mon-Sun 12 am - 12 am
Price Range:
$$$
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Wi-Fi:
Free

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "Wild club scene on weekends, and just an awesome rooftop pool/bar." In 81 reviews
  • "Definitely a swanky place to lounge and chillax." In 37 reviews
  • "We typically prefer to stay downtown whenever we come to NYC." In 18 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
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171 reviews in English

  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    8/20/2013 1 check-in here
    Whoa! There are some crazy scary reviews.  I didn't even think to read them as I came here for a promo event.  I wasn't treated poorly by the staff but the service was just average.  It was crazy packed.  Walking around the pool area was a little scary in stilettos.

    I also didn't pay $20 for a well drink, but the group I signed up with was offering promotional prices.

    The crowd was odd - and they seemed to let anyone in.  From the underage to the geriatrics.  I wasn't really blown away and probably wouldn't have even come here if it wasn't for the event.
  • Review from

    • 33 friends
    • 30 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/4/2013
    (Review is for the lounge/bar/party areas)

    Crowd is mid to late 20s with the occasional old dude with a really young beautiful woman. (make your own judgment there)
    Ambiance is nice.
    Hard to get in if you show up after 11 or if you're a bunch of dudes.
    Bottle service is 350 and up, so not cheap but kinda comparable to other places in midtown and the tables actually that you get actually give you a lot of room if you're a large party which is nice.
    Music is typical top 40s, hip hop. You can dance but most people don't. My friends made our own little circle in our ample table area and danced the night away.

    If you've got the money and wanna class it up a little, go for it. But this isn't an every week kinda place even if you do wanna blow the cash I think.
  • Review from

    • 9 friends
    • 2 reviews
    New York, NY
    8/3/2013 1 check-in here
    came here with a promoter so my girl friends & i didn't have to pay! but the guys did have to do a $20 cover for unlimited drinks all night. not too shabby.

    we spent the first part of the night on the second penthouse level at the pool bar. plenty of seating in the lounge area, so it was a great way to drink & catch up. then our friend got us into the VIP red room (first penthouse level) & that's where the party really began! it was still going strong at 3am & then everyone had to leave at 3:45.

    we spent a little time on the roof, but it was getting quite cool outside. i would love to go again to have drinks on the roof, because i'm a sucker for a nyc rooftop terrace view ;)

    can't wait to come with a promoter again!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 4 reviews
    Bronx, NY
    9/2/2013
    The rooftop was closed for a wedding reception.Who has their wedding on Labor Day weekend?!?.Anyway,Plan B was this VIP room which I couldn't get in until the Birthday girl arrived.Ordering Bottles is mandatory in this room.Place is pricey and 99% of the music is House/Trance..I had a good time with my party,but I wouldn't come back.
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    Updated - 7/10/2013
    Second time here was alright.

    It was for a friend's birthday party and some promoter reached out to her so we were able to get a free bottle for the night.  For some reason though, I wasn't a fan of the staff working that night because they gave our party a hard time when getting in and while escorting us to the table.  They were telling us that we were giving them a hard time and that they are the ones accommodating us for a free bottle.  We were just making sure our whole party was present that's all! I ended up in the same room because one of them were blocked off for a private party that night.  I didn't see the pool area again bummer.  and no red room for me.  At least everyone had fun at the end of the night since we had more than enough drinks before we arrived at the venue.

    1 Previous Review: Show all »

    • 1/15/2013
      Came here late after going to the wrong Gansevoort Rooftop.  There was no lines but we were greeted… Read more »
  • Review from

    Bergen County, NJ
    7/9/2013 1 check-in here
    Came here for an after-party for my friend's wedding.
    I came out with stains on my new seersucker suit, fucking everywhere.
  • Review from

    • 10 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Financial District, Manhattan, NY
    8/22/2013 1 check-in here
    One of the better bar choices in the area but it's seriously cold in here the AC is way up so bring a jacket!
  • Review from

    • 54 friends
    • 335 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    6/21/2013 1 check-in here
    The view is.... not a view. They put up a huge wall that blocks one entire side, and the rest well... there's nothing to see.

    The crowd is somewhat mixed but skewed towards early/mid 30s (at least it looked that way).
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 42 reviews
    Astoria, Queens, NY
    6/24/2013
    I was super scared to come here for an event after reading these terrible reviews. However, I was happily surprised.

    I did not feel out of place in my flats, dark jeans, and sparkly tank top on a Friday around 7:30. Was waiting for the attack of girls in bandage dresses and loubitons. They never came.

    The door was easy. We walked in and the bouncer just said to take the elevator. Hmm. Getting drinks was tougher. 3 model looking girls as servers, took forever for them to notice you and come to take your order. That was annoying.

    Views were eh from the sun deck. Just not much to see. Views from the rooftop/pool area were much nicer.

    Scene was mixed. Some older people, some younger people, people drinking after work, groups of friends. As the night went on the vibe changed, but I left around  9:00.

    When our model, I mean waitress, finally brought our check, it came to $40. For TWO drinks! Apparently my margarita was $20, my bf's vodka and pineapple was $13 ( acceptable), but they added 18% gratuity. I have never paid $20 for a margarita (even though it was good), and I hope that I never do again.
  • Review from

    • 4 friends
    • 26 reviews
    New York, NY
    8/1/2013
    DO NOT STAY HERE!!!  Someone in the hotel room next to ours at the Meatpacking location was violently assaulted and the hotel tried to cover it up and not call the police.  There were absolutely disgusting, fresh blood stains like a murder scene on the walls in the hallway next to our room.  Apparently, there was a "high class" lady and her sugar daddy, or whatever the heck you want to call it.  The hotel came running out with bleach to clean up the walls but the hotel reported nothing.  Disgusting.  Absolutely appalled.  We have been trying to get a full refund for our room as per the horrendous nature of what occurred next door but nothing has been done.  Also, there was a $2000 charge on my credit card after our stay, NONE of which should have been there.  I am STILL fighting to get it removed and will soon be taking matters up via a dispute with my credit card company.
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    7/18/2013 1 check-in here
    Wack doesn't even begin to convey my feeling about this place.
  • Review from

    • 14 friends
    • 14 reviews
    New York, NY
    5/11/2013 1 photo
    I only have one reason for giving this one star its because of the lack of professionalism exuded by the man pictured.  I went there for an open call, I was told it was upstairs.  I went and asked this gentleman and he said it was over while he was smirking to himself and almost insulting me for not making it in time even though I was way under the time limit suggested on the ad posted online.  I believe if you work in the service industry, you have to be able to exude great service no matter what the social status maybe.
     I did end up going back upstairs despite what the man told me and saw the open call was still ongoing.  Moral of the story:  Dont be a douche if your representing your company.
    • Asshole who told me the open call was over.
  • Review from

    • 35 friends
    • 61 reviews
    Astoria, NY
    4/7/2013
    The bathroom attendant attacked me, grabbed my phone, and refused to give it back until my friend and I gave her a LARGER tip than we already had for a shot of Aqua Net hairspray. She demanded tips from every person that looked at even one of her "complimentary" products.

    When my sister went for a piece of candy, she scratched her hand as she went to grab it and aggressively screamed about a tip.

    I don't even know where to start with this one. It was my sisters bachelorette party, and while this rooftop offered the "swanky" lounge and pricy drinks we had dressed for, it absolutely lacked the service you expect when paying over $15 for a drink. I have never ever had to defend myself like this and will surely NOT be going back. There are just far too many options to go to a place that disrespects and harasses its patrons.

    Honestly, as a consumer, a New Yorker, and a traveler, I doubt I will ever step foot in another Gansevoort hotel again. This experience and the service their hired staff offers has left me questioning this company and brand as a whole.
  • Review from

    • 2 friends
    • 6 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/13/2013
    This review is for the "red room" and in particular the person 'Chris' who was working the rope (which let's face it, is one step above being a bathroom attendant). I reserved buy 2 bottles get one free from a third party bottle service promoter at the time I had said there would be approx. 20 guests in the party. We arrived at the Gansvoort and had no issues at the main entrance and 20 people were able to get in without an issue. Once the red room opened at ~11pm I went down with a few people to set up the table, we were taken in to an adequate table and the hostess was very nice. Chris who was the guy working the rope was extremely rude from the start and talked with a real sense of douchebagery. He made one of my friends buy an additional bottle him and his girl to get in even though we were well below 20 people at that point. He then pulled me aside and said (again with a sense of real douchebagery) "I have let in 12 people (more like 8 but whatever) you are already real dude heavy so I am going to let in about 15 more and then the rest will have to buy bottles" to not stoop to his level of C U Next Tuesday-ness I  said "okay but I was told 20 and there are 8 in there plus my friend got another bottle so we should be able to get in a few more. And it would have been good to know you required a 1:1 guy/girl" to this the now disheveled hobbit said "go back inside and stay in there". The red room is nice and the music is good but this is not 1Oak, Kiss n Fly, or any other place in the city that would require a 1:1 ratio. If anything it's a mediocre bar/lounge in Murray Hill, but I digress.

    Now up until now one can chalk this up to Christopher having a bad week because working a rope can get stressful. But he continued his douchery throughout the night and at one point not allowing anyone in my group to buy additional bottles to let people in (even beautiful women). So in closing, although the Gansvoort park has a beautiful rooftop and decent music, I would not go there unless I was paid to and I would especially never go to the red room. And if you see Chris there feel free to tell him to 'GFY'.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 107 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    7/9/2013
    Since one of the principles behind a rooftop bar is, you know, a nice view, I wonder which idiot decided to block the view by putting up a large wall. Basically, there is no view. There is one corner on the rooftop that you can see the empire state building from, and that's it.

    But first things first... The door. Came with two guys and one girl, and we were on a guestlist for a birthday party. Told the guy at the front the birthday boy's name, and he said "Okay, let me check the list" and then proceeded to take two minutes to check the list. Except I'm pretty sure there was no list, because I didn't even give him any of our names (only the birthday boy's) yet we were still let in. Cool, then what are you looking for on the list? Nothing? Ha, that's what I thought.

    Once we were in the elevator we got up pretty quickly and did a round. As mentioned above, the rooftop is unimpressive. Drinks are $$$ but pretty strong. I can't remember anything about the music, so I guess it was average. I don't have anything particularly bad to say about this place, but I can think of no reason to return. Not only is it far away from other nightlife, the crowd seemed a little older and absolutely nobody was dancing. Also, the girls bartending are pretty but evidently have no math skills, since they incorrectly billed 3 out 4 people in our party and charged them for drinks they didn't have. I don't know if this was on purpose or on accident, but either way, it's unacceptable.

    UPDATE -

    I want to add that since writing the original review I ended up going back twice (unfortunately) due to birthday parties and have noticed something very disturbing. I have seen the bouncers literally yelling at people to get off the sidewalk. This is apparently because some commission is on the hotel's ass about crowd control. Fair enough, and I get that the bouncers probably have to repeat "Get off the sidewalk, get off the sidewalk"  multiple times each night, but that doesn't mean you can yell and shout at patrons. I personally have never seen bouncers disrespect customers to this extent, even at "horrible clubs" in Meatpacking.

    The last time I was there, one girl moved a few feet off the sidewalk but apparently not far enough, and this bouncer literally came up to her with an exasperated look on his face and screamed "I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF THE SIDEWALK!". My friend was yelled at once for standing on the sidewalk while she was TRYING TO GET A CAB AND LEAVE.

    Unbelievably rude. I may not have been personally yelled at, but I was cringing watching everyone else be humiliated by these bouncers. I will not be back here under any circumstances.
  • Review from

    • 29 friends
    • 2 reviews
    Elmhurst, NY
    6/22/2013
    $20 for a vodka redbull. HILARIOUS. and im almost positive the bartender said a different amount before I handed her my money. after I realized she wasn't going to give me any change, I asked how much it was again and she said $20... yeah, okay... never coming back here again.
  • Review from

    Ridgewood, Queens, NY
    4/21/2013 1 check-in here
    The view here is awesome!  Let's get that straight.  I wouldn't do huge crowds here since seating became a hot commodity later on but overall, the decor is awesome.

    Make sure you don't stand in front of the railing on the 2nd floor of the penthouse; an employee chased us and some others away from it.  I can understand not wanting someone's drink or smartphone slipping out of their hand and hitting some poor patron (or a bartender) in the head on the floor below but that did take away the appeal of the view.  Seats on the rooftop portion are limited so you may want to go to a different venue if you want to go out & breathe the night air.

    The plus side, at least, was that at the event I went to no one pestered us to order stuff in order to sit in the seats & they weren't cordoned off with "reserved" signs.  They have these huge, comfy couches as well as some padded stools.  The bathroom is hidden but it was also decent and matched the ambiance of the penthouse area.  Naveed R.'s story about the attendant bothers me & makes me hesitant to return here but as far as my personal experience, I didn't have an issue.
  • Review from

    Rye, NY
    4/20/2013 1 check-in here
    Came to the rooftop lounge/bar for a party on a Friday night. It was a bit early when we got there, but this place got crowded quickly. It's small and it was hard to find seats.

    Drinks were ok, albeit expensive. Nothing to call home about. My friend and I were going up the stairs to another floor, and some guy literally yelled at us and told us we couldn't go up there. Ok... well then why don't you have a blockade or something on the steps? Didn't appreciate the guy making a scene like that.

    Bouncer was the coolest part of the whole experience. Very chill, very friendly, and recognized us when we were leaving. Don't think I'd go back.
  • Review from

    • 81 friends
    • 92 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    5/25/2013 3 photos
    I have mixed feelings about this place.  Like the rooftop pool is nice during the summer (albeit too small), the facilities and decor are beautiful, and I've even shopped at the La Coste downstairs, and they have a lovely Exhale Spa, but I think the venue is better suited for hosting events than for partying.

    They try to play off their party scene as being exclusive when they really aren't, but I understand it is the nature of the business . . . I've only partied in the Red Room and it was too crowded and trashy.  People get wild in the room and start dancing on the stage/tables here, including straight guys who can't dance, which just throws the whole vibe off.  They should have no guys dancing on the stage/tables policy.

    The only good thing I can say about the Red Room is that it has its own separate DJ, neat red lighting, and the bouncers here are really nice and polite (they act more like employees at a nice hotel than like bouncers at a club).  Maybe worth checking out once, but would not go again.
    • The Little Pool.
    • Red Room
    • Their year-round faux fireplace in the lobby.
  • Review from

    • 3 friends
    • 3 reviews
    New York, NY
    Updated - 4/22/2013
    This place is out of control.

    http://www.nypost.com/p/…

    Inn-Sanity! Neighbors 'bill' noisy hotel for lost sleep

    They want G's for their lost Z's!

    Sleep-deprived neighbors of the swanky Gansevoort Park Avenue hotel in Murray Hill are so fed up with its noisy late-night parties that they're billing management for hours spent lying awake.

    1 Previous Review: Show all »

    • 5/29/2012
      Very overpriced food and slow service. Comments to management were ignored. The view of a dead tree… Read more »

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