What Guests are Saying About Hotel Belleclaire

good hotel

I truly love The Hotel Belleclaire, it’s a beautiful, smallish, and historic place. We stayed here years ago and the lobby is completely updated, plus they've added a bar, and a French Bakery. They give you vouchers, each worth $10, to use in either place. You can get a free coffee and a croissant every morning, but the line is very long so go as early (or late) as you can, everyone in the hotel has free vouchers, plus they get street traffic. The hotel itself is exactly like something you might find in Europe. It's charming, immaculately clean, the beds are very comfortable, and the location cannot be beat. The subway is 2 blocks away, Zabar's is 3 blocks up, and you're not far from midtown—but it's quiet and in a gorgeous neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Broadway—with lots of restaurants, bars, and shops, one block over on Amsterdam. It's also a quick walk the other direction to River Park. The staff is great and they met our needs for extra pillows and toilet products quickly. Cons: There are 2 very small elevators and sometimes a wait, but we usually didn’t need to wait very long. - The line is very long for coffee, pastry, and sandwiches. Everyone in the hotel has free vouchers, plus they get street traffic. Despite what I’ve read, the line does NOT move quickly. Seating is limited. It might be worth it to go a couple of block down to the Starbucks or other coffee shops in the area. -You do not receive change back on the vouchers, but it doesn’t take much to spend it. - It's old, and because it's old the rooms are on the small side. -The walls are very thin, especially if you are next to an adjoining room. We were out until around 9 or 10 each evening, but realized quickly how thin the walls were when we could easily hear the neighbors; one was very sick throwing up. I ‘thought’ we were being very quiet. We kept the tv down as low as possible, and spoke softly because we knew they could hear us too. Occasionally we would laugh; we were enjoying our trip and would forget it might be bothersome. They came over to complain and texted the front desk twice about us. We told the girl it was impossible to for us to be any quieter— we would need to vacate, or go to sleep. I felt bad, but we were truly doing nothing wrong. The staff was great and understanding, but they do not make enough money to deal with this. The hotel would do well to invest in some sound proofing techniques. In fairness, I don’t know if all the rooms have sound problems, though I have seen complaints in other reviews. I don’t remember having this problem in our previous visit. -The bathrooms are tiny, but we didn’t have a problem with it. -Towels were hit or miss from housekeeping. Sometimes we didn't have enough, other times we had too many. Extra: We booked 2 rooms for 5 of us though Booking. They were not adjacent as we wanted, but the hotel worked to keep us on the same floor. Perhaps a third party is not the best route. Next time I would book directly with the hotel. Take advantage of sitting on the benches in the Green Mall which divides the road. It’s wonderful for people watching, and beautifully peaceful in the morning hours. There’s a CVS across the street for any drinks, snacks, or personal needs. Overall I would certainly recommend this hotel, I adore it, just be aware there are trade-offs.

good service

Very cool historic hotel, nicely renovated, fantastic location. The bakery downstairs is very good but also very very busy. Was very happy with our stay.