I have wanted to stay at the Hudson Hotel since my first and only other trip to NYC a few years ago for New Years. I had some friends that were staying there and we had drinks one night in the Hudson Bar, which was a very popular destination at the time. I also have heard very positive reviews from other friends who have stayed there over the past few years.

I spent a long time looking at lots of hotels in NYC in areas where I thought I wanted to stay, but had a hard time making any decisions. This is partly because I find that internet reviews are not always reliable. Obviously some reviews you don’t ignore, like cockroaches and blood stains, but some you chalk up to inexperienced travelers, or overly picky uptight asses. From what I had heard the Hudson had very small rooms, but the hotels features, location, atmosphere and bars were really great. At least, that’s what I chose to listen to.

It took a while to confirm travel dates, so I held off on booking the hotel, which of course led to the rates getting higher. Eventually, I made the decision to reserve my room, but of course with taxes and everything, the Hudson was hundreds more than I wanted to spend. I got frustrated and had no idea how to make a decision where else to stay because I had it in my mind that I really wanted the Hudson. Since my partner was zero help in making a hotel decision I decided to just use Priceline for the first time.

With Priceline, you set the city area, star rating and the price you’re willing to spend, you sign a contract and give your credit card number. Then Priceline searches for matches to your criteria and if there are matches, you have booked that room and paid for it. It is definitely kind of a gamble. I knew there were few hotels in the area that the Hudson is in with the same star rating. I started off making ridiculously low offers on 5 and 4 star hotels and the site basically laughed at me as I was bidding well below 50% of what those rooms should have cost. I knew the Hudson was a 3.5 star hotel (because it’s a boutique hotel with fewer amenities than larger, greater star hotels), and I actually got a hit on my first bid that happened to be the Hudson. This bid was lower than I had offered for the 4 and 5 star places. It still left me wondering if I could have bid lower, but this price was way better than I had ever seen when searching for months prior on the internet.

Of course we didn’t travel light on this trip, but decided to save money by taking the Airtrain and subway to Manhattan and then by cabbing from the closest stop. Taking all the LV on the whole trek was quite a pain and we definitely felt like prime mugging targets. It was a really simple journey and I would definitely suggest it. Although, I can’t imagine what it would be like during subway rush hour with all your luggage.
I really like the décor of the Hudson. It’s easy to identify as boutiquie just by entering the lobby. You take a long escalator up that feels very modern, with its glass encasing lit green and enter the lobby with rich beautiful wood floors, dark brick, an oversized chandelier, and a mixture of modern, earthy and classic French furniture. There is an expansive A-framed glass ceiling, covered in leaves, and it overlooks a large outdoor patio/park, with a mixture of furniture, plants in oversized pots, and stylish people.
We made it up to our room and it was about as small as I expected. There was a little bit or room around the bed on 3 sides, a small desk, bedside tables, a small flatscreen and a small closet. The bathroom was an acceptable layout and done nicely, but had a glass wall overlooking the bed. Now this is a neat feature, can definitely be very hot for many things, but not for all things. The curtains were definitely drawn for typical bathroom activities. The room was actually quite beautiful despite its small size. The walls were all wood, not tacky wood paneling, there were very cool lights and the bed was nice to look at. The bed was not the most comfortable of beds I have slept on. I would definitely prefer a bed at a Westin or W, but it was acceptable. We did have some issues with all of our luggage and clothes, they were kind of everywhere and I felt bad for the cleaning staff.

We definitely enjoyed the amenities of the hotel. The Sky terrace on the 15th floor was beautiful. A very nicely done outdoor space with great drinks, not cheap drinks by any means though. We typically had a few drinks up there in the evenings before heading to other locations.

We didn’t go to the Hudson bar, mostly because of how we timed our outings. The bar looks really great with a vast mural on the ceiling, lit up floor and interesting collection of furniture. We spent each day at some point in the outdoor garden, enjoying people watching, the sun, and tasty expensive drinks. We also ate at the restaurant and enjoyed our food thoroughly.

We both had a great stay at the Hudson and would go back again. It’s not cheap, or spacious, but that’s something I expect when I’m in NYC.

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