Essence hotel

Great Location - near trains - good area near restaraunts and ammenities (mostly safe). The room was the expected size for a NYC hotel room, and the bed was comfortable, and even a hair dryer was provided. There is a "cafeteria" in the basement which has vending machines, a sink, and tables and chairs to sit down and eat your take out food.

A few issues I had though were that there was no counterspace, just a small sink ledge to put stuff on. Also in this particular room I had the TV was mounted on a side wall, so not visible from the bed unless I laid sideways on an angle. Also the breakfast consists of a "grab and go" bag which is packaged pastries, fruit cup, and yogurt, most of which I could not eat because I am on a gluten free diet. There were some cosmetic inperfections including really wide unsightly grout lines and exposed circuit breaker box and wiring, but nothing that was so horrible I didn't feel like I still didn't get a good value.

The room was clean. We did not stay long enough to have breakfast although it was offered. We stayed there for 1 night due to flight cancellation. The room assigned to us appears to have a fresh coat of paint (smoke and CO2 detectors still wrapped in plastic, TV still have protective plastic sheeting, and the mirror still needs to be hung). The area while not ideal, appears to be in a safe area. The neighbors are a climbing gym and a swim academy for kids. Although the glassed in enclosure for the check in desk does not instill confidence. I felt this hotel can only get better as the area definitely look clean and safe.

It is a 30 minute Uber ride from LGA, not exactly close to the airport. The room is very small. A queen bed barely fit in it. Each time my husband got in bed, the creaky bed wakes me up, not a great night of sleep. The mattress is comfortable, though.