Globalista members should not be tempted to stay at The Surrey Hotel, which has recently reopened following an extensive and, with its retro 20s style decor, pointless refurbishment.

It’s not that it’s awful, though at a minimum room rate of $600+ a night it should be a lot better, but there are simply too many good hotels in New York (see the Globalista Guide to New York) to want to even consider the Surrey.

What did we dislike: (1) there is a huge discrepancy in the size of the lowest category Deluxe Salon rooms with some box-like and others spacious; yet both are the same price.

(2) The windows aren’t double glazed so it’s extremely noisy. And on the side of the hotel where room 906 is, the noise levels are indescribably bad.

(3) It’s serendipity whether housekeeping remembers to clean the room and doubly so to leave glasses in the mini bar or bathmats in the bathroom.

(4) The television never worked or if it did, one needed a degree to operate it.

(5) At the weekend there’s no breakfast till 8am as in-room dining is provided by Cafe Boulud.

(6) The 1920s homage to Lanvin decor is quite simply ghastly.

What did we like: Being in New York.

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1. New York: Taking The Bad With The Good: Reviews of The Surrey So Far - Hotels and Travel Reservations says:

   November 6, 2009 at 7:14 pm

   [...] the sheer prettiness of the new guest rooms. But not everyone shares our take. Over at the UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a dressing down for what the nameless reviewer called “a [...]
2. New York: Taking The Bad With The Good: Reviews of The Surrey So Far | New York Hotels Net says:

   November 7, 2009 at 1:53 am

   [...] prettiness of a brand new guest rooms. But not everybody shares a take. Over during a UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a sauce down for what a indistinguishable reviewer called “a [...]