Submitted by "Paramount" on 03/29/2008

Ok, just checked in earlier today to the Paramount on 46th. A little history, first: As a impressionable youth the Paramount was the first hotel I ever stayed at on my first ever solo visit to Manhattan back in '94, so it holds a lot of happy memories. Back then it seemed very chic and modern. I believe it had just been modified from what I'm sure was an old, delapidated hotel into a very swanky, avant garde hotel with a lot of visual flare and, at the time, very affordable prices for Manhattan. Fast forward to today when I check in, excited and nostaligic about staying in the first hotel I ever paid for in NYC, having just arrived in NYC from a red-eye flight from L.A., the lobby has the exact same decor as it did in '94 only I notice the lighting is decidedly dimmer throughout. The staff was always a tad full of themselves back in '94 when everyone seemed to be dressed in Armani and even the cleaning ladies work swank coveralls. The staff now was a lot less haughty but not exactly friendly either. By the time I had made it to my floor I could tell that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. The 17th floor carpet looks like it had been stained from backed up toilets, the walls which had looked so pristine and fresh in '94 have obviously not been touched since and suffered much wear and tear, look dirty. I was getting worried. I get to the room and quickly notice how dirty the carpet was. Now, I'm not one of those people that catches small details nor am I overly cautious about hotel rooms, so when I am bothered by the condition of a hotel room, it's justified. The room was a decent size (for the Paramount) but it definitely had the distinct air of 'fleabag'. Literally. After crashing and sleeping for a few hours (on a mattress that was so hard it felt like a box spring!!!!) to recoup from my flight, I woke up to noticeable itching. Being a survivor of camp-outs and college dorms, my heart immediately sank. Bed-bugs. or fleas. I haven't been able to literally see the buggers but something is biting me. (I'm on a list to get my stuff moved to a new room in the morning, of course, who knows if that room is pest free either.) Very disheartening to say the least. I could almost file this under the 'you pay what you get for' heading only, the Paramount isn't cheap! It's damned expensive for what would be a one star hotel in any other city but New York. I, of course, will never stay here again. They're doing a lot of work on the facade, but it seems like the real work needs to be done on the inside. The last time I was in NY, I stayed in a dump called the New Yorker, which was being renovated as well. Up until now that had been my worst NYC hotel experience. I'm sad to say The Paramount has replaced that. Very disappointing indeed.

Submitted by "Paramount" on 03/27/2008

Paramount Hotel, 235 W 46th Street, New York
March 24, 2008:
We noticed a bug crawling on the white canvas headboard. After flushing it, I flushed another one...then another one...then we found some babies on a pillow. I called the front desk to notify them that I had a bug problem. They sent someone to come look at the room. When the employee came in, he took one look at the bug, killed it, and then said "I will tell them to move you to another room." When asked what they were, he eluded the question and kept saying to pack our things and to leave the room. But I did some some research on the net and confirmed my suspicion that they were bed bugs. Our initial room had two beds - they moved us to another room with only one bed and a pullout couch. When I complained to the front desk about the situation. I explained that , the girl said she would get back to me to let me know what could be done for us. About 5 hours later, she offered us only laundry services! We were set to leave early the next morning - laundry services was not going to help when the bugs could be in our suitcases too. I would not recommend this place since they did not even have the foresight to understand that moving us could potentially create a worse situation and the only thing they offered was laundry services.

Submitted by "Paramount" on 03/27/2008

Paramount Hotel, 235 W 46th Street, New York
March 24, 2008:
We noticed a bug crawling on the white canvas headboard. After flushing it, I flushed another one...then another one...then we found some babies on a pillow. I called the front desk to notify them that I had a bug problem. They sent someone to come look at the room. When the employee came in, he took one look at the bug, killed it, and then said "I will tell them to move you to another room." When asked what they were, he eluded the question and kept saying to pack our things and to leave the room. But I did some some research on the net and confirmed my suspicion that they were bed bugs. Our initial room had two beds - they moved us to another room with only one bed and a pullout couch. When I complained to the front desk about the situation. I explained that , the girl said she would get back to me to let me know what could be done for us. About 5 hours later, she offered us only laundry services! We were set to leave early the next morning - laundry services was not going to help when the bugs could be in our suitcases too. I would not recommend this place since they did not even have the foresight to understand that moving us could potentially create a worse situation and the only thing they offered was laundry services.