Hotel Beacon

Somewhat worn/dated hotel but acceptably clean in good location for Upper West Side. I stayed for one night in king room on 15th floor. Larger than average room for NYC, nice little kitchenette with Keurig, sink, fridge and microwave. Good desk space, outlets, wifi. Convenient parking around the corner. Excellent bath amenities. If I need hotel Upper West Side in the future, I will stay here again and recommend. Would you return? Yes. Is it clean? Yes. Rooms generally clean except for grout around base of shower. Is bed comfortable? Yes. Is it quiet? No street noise but people next door loud, rude in am. Thin walls. COVID-19 ready? Yes. All protocols followed. Service? Good. Good value? Yes. Complaints? No. Nothing major except as discussed above.

Our apartment in Westchester County was unlivable in June-July 2020, so we had to a find a place to stay during its repair from a flood. The Hotel Beacon was the perfect place. The suite layout was beautifully decorated and the kitchenette was well-supplied, allowing us a comfortable lounge area and practical management of meals during our stay. Despite 3 months of the pandemic, the staff and its procedures were reassuringly safe, careful and super helpful while being friendly as well. We were able to work remotely from the room, and even availed ourselves of the conference room for a small business meeting, The location is superb - close to restaurants, shopping, museums, Lincoln Center, and especially Central Park. We liked it so well, we went back and rented the Deluxe Terrace Suite with an outdoor space overlooking the UpperWestSide rooftops where we could host an outdoor, socially-distanced family birthday party for 7 people. The Hotel Beacon is a neighborhood gem, a very special NYC hotel, with a super professional staff. We will definitely return. In the meantime we highly recommend it.

We stayed here Christmas 2019 as a family of 5. Unfortunately the standard of the room was poor, the foldout bed in the kitchen/diner was not suitable for 2 adults to sleep on, the heating was noisy and only blew out cold air, the fridge was also noisy. Tiny bathroom, not suitable for a family of 5. Across the road there are 2 supermarkets, with one being similar standard to a M&S food hall. All 5 of us were struck down with a sick bug over a number of days, eventually realised other rooms in the hotel including our neighbours were also sick, I’m very careful using hand gel, so I think this was transferred to our room by the cleaning lady using the same clothes. Completely ruined our Christmas and holiday.

Chose the Beacon for the location because I needed to spend a night in the UWS, and though I was scared to travel/stay in a hotel, I felt very comfortable/safe the entire time. While making the reservation, I was told rooms were limited because they allowed for extra time between guests; I also asked for a lower level room so I could use the stairs instead of the elevator, and was graciously accommodated - but ended up using the elevator anyway because the rules on usage numbers were strict and seemed to be followed. Hotel and area were quiet/not crowded, and staff masked as were most in the area as well. Room was big, clean and comfortable, too. No food service at this time, so can't attest to that. But each room/suite comes with a kitchen of sorts, and there are two wonderful markets across the street (and a great liquor store next door!) so it would be a great place for a family that needed more space and not to have to rely on restaurants. All staff were lovely and helpful. Didn't love their after hours reservation system. Operators are off site (out of state?!) and just looking at the hotel website, so are unable to answer certain types of questions about what NYC is like, what the area is like, etc. Either call during business hours, or make sure you ask for the front desk and NOT the reservations line.

Stayed at the Beacon for a week and it was amazing. Great neighbourhood, suite had full kitchen and sofa bed as a bonus. Laundry facilities are available to guests and staff are always happy and willing to assist. Can not recommend this hotel enough!