Morningside Inn

Ok so we booked this hotel on a Sat evening for $ 100. This is not bad for New York! This is a hostel but you can get a private room which we got. But you share a bathroom. And this is a tiny shower cabin, a sink and a toilet in one room for the whole floor… Hey but at least you can lock that door and it’s all yours:)
Well the room was clean! And it didn’t smell! They also have complimentary breakfast (some coffee, croissants and muffins…)

Had a great stay at morning-​side inn. Front desk staff very was helpful. Specially patrick. He would do anything to help you in any way! I would definitely stay again. And recommend this place!

I had a conference in New York, and I needed an inexpensive room close to Broadway. First, I’ll outline the pros and cons, then go into detail.
Pros:
1) Clean
2) No bedbugs or evidence of bedbugs found
3) Location — short walk to Broadway, subway is 3 blocks away, and Central Park is about a 15 minute walk
4) Price — I booked the room for around $ 70 per night
Cons:
1) Staff ignored requests — I asked three times for pillows, and they never fixed the cable connection.
2) Room size — the room was barely larger than the bed
3) No cable TV connection the entire stay
4) The male who was working the desk was chatting with friends constantly and cussing about customers
5) Unstable Wi-​Fi
6) No climate control whatsoever
7) Hot water for only one day
8) The horrible spring mattress
We arrived in good spirits and positive thoughts, despite previously written hotel reviews. The clerk checked us in quickly and had already switched our room to one with a private bathroom, at no additional charge. Our second concern was making sure the bed was not infected with bedbugs. We didn’t find any, so yay! We figured since the clerk was so friendly, that she would be open to small requests. Our pillows were as flat as pancakes, so we asked for one extra set — three times over the course of the stay. Also, there was no cable. The clerk admitted that she was aware that there was no signal in that room, but we figured it was a toss up between cable and a private bathroom. It wasn’t the end of the world obviously, but they never came to fix either one. Be careful locking up your room — we had to lock the door first, and pull as hard as we could to make it close completely. The bathroom was small, but clean with the bare minimum amenities (2 slivers of soap, toilet paper, 2 bath towels, and 2 hand towels). We had dinner a short distance away, walked around Central Park, and headed back in. I wish I could say we rested well, but the ceiling fan wobbled and was noisy. Also, you could feel the mattress springs on your rib cage. The free Wi-​Fi held up that night, and we were at least able to watch Netflix since the TV never worked.

I stayed in a private room with two other people in December 2014 for three nights. We requested three beds which will get you a double bed and a twin bed. We had no issues with bed bugs which was my main concern after reading everyone’s comments. Our room was quiet and always stocked with toilet paper and soap. There is no coffee or breakfast offering here and the community kitchen doesn’t have pots, pans, dishes or anything so bring your own kitchen or eat out. I really wish the staff would ask to see guests’ keys upon entry because previous guests could make key copies and go back to their previous room. Good location near Central Park, subway is just four blocks away. The neighborhood is fine, no issues there. I’d stay here again probably.

Very inexpensive. We did have hot water, friendly service, and no issues with clean towels and bedsheets when we came and went. the only negative review i have for this place is on our last night here, i found a bed bug in in my bed. We couldn’t fall asleep here after. The concierge was very apologetic but be careful when you come to this hostel. Sleep at your own risk.

I had a completely different experience at this hotel then most apparently. I stayed for 10 days in August. I had someone staying with me and the room we originally reserved was much smaller then we expected, so we asked to see the next level room. Patrick the front desk manager was incredibly nice and understanding and gave us the next level room at a very reasonable (discounted) rate. It was very much appreciated. The neighborhood wasn’t scary at all and we came and went at all hours of the night. It may be Spanish Harlem but it’s predominately families and I didn’t feel threatened in the least.
This hotel has two markets close by and one has half-​priced salad bar after 8p so I ate a healthy dinner for about $ 5 – 7 nightly which I thought was awesome. Also near-​by is a laundry mat, Starbucks, CVS and the most convenient trains (1, etc.). Getting to Mid-​town was 20 mins normally.
The only thing to call attention to, would be the bed. It was awful but I mean, it’s a hostel basically, I wasn’t expecting much and I was barely in my room. If you plan for something different, you may want to take that into consideration. It was pretty bad but we had a good size bathroom, closet and a refrigerator. We were fine. This hotel/​hostel is for the low maintenance traveler.
I may have had an abnormal experience, but I enjoyed my stay at Morningside and thought Patrick was super helpful. I would stay here again. In fact I plan to next time I’m in town to apartment hunt. Hope this helps.

Okay, so its not the Hilton — and its certainly not a Motel 6 — its a hostel. Yes, a hostel on the UWS. The rooms are old, and the décor is made up from various pieces left over from different hotels. So, we aren’t here for the looks. We booked the apartment suite and it came with 1 queen and another full size bed.
The room’s refrigerator worked, but it took a full 2 days to freeze ice, even on the lowest setting. And the wifi wouldn’t work, but thankfully I brought my Clear wifi hotspot and we enjoyed 4G whilst we were in the room.
So, for basically $ 200/​night, with 4 people, that comes to about $ 50/​night — try finding ANY hotel or hostel for that price in ANY neighborhood in NYC, much less on the UWS!
Location is 2 blocks from the 110^th Street West Side subway, and 3 blocks from the northwest side of Central Park. Nice clean neighboorhood and very very quiet. You are one block from Broadway and all of its restaurants, clubs and various businesses.
So, if you’re not so hip on the looks and you want a really inexpensive place to stay, this is your place. Save the money on the fancy hotel and go out to some of the more better restaurants in NYC.
Will I be back? sure, if there’s 4 of us going. Otherwise, no.

The Morningside Inn is INFESTED WITH BED BUGS.
I was given a small room on the second floor (215– down the hallway to the right at the top of the stairs). The room had a funny smell, but it was inexpensive and conveniently located by Columbia University. Then, after moving my backpack and clothes in, I decided to step out. When I returned around midnight and got into bed, I noticed a small red insect crawling on the bed. I immediately jumped out of bed and inspected my backpack. Bed bugs were crawling all over it! I killed 5 of them before I decided to throw out the backpack and just evacuate the room.
I ended up sleeping on the floor in a friend’s room.
Stay away from the Morningside Inn, at least until they hire an exterminator. Especially the second floor!

There’s really nothing special about Morningside Inn. We picked it because of it’s proximity to an event we were attending. Check-​in was quick and we didn’t have any problems the entire stay. We had the apt. suite that had 1 double bed and one «couch» bed that was actually a real bed. There’s a small kitchen area with a fridge and the bathroom was clean enough.
Quick tips:
— The housekeeping person leaves at 5pm everyday so if you need extra towels, toilet paper or even an extra blanket, you have to get it before 5pm. The girl at the front desk has no idea where anything is so she’s basically no help.
— The wifi is pretty spotty. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Be sure to pick up the little sheet of wifi info at the front desk before going to your room.
— Verizon users get spotty service in the hotel so beware. I’m usually able to tether my phone with my computer but it couldn’t happen at all.
— There’s more than enough space both in the room with the double bed and in the area between the «couch» bed and the kitchen to fit a Queen sized air mattress — if you need to house a bit more people than they say you should.

There was a murder in this building while I was staying here, and an attempted murder. The guy who was murdered, Christopher Mariconi, 23, of Scotia, N.Y., was slashed, stabbed and then thrown out the 5^th floor window. Drug use was rampant in the hallways. Making eye contact with anyone wasn’t something you wanted to do. You can Google Trever Frederick. He commited the murder: he was found guilty on trial. Here is a link to an article on it in the — Source: New York Times —

We booked the Deluxe Apt Suite for the end of August, because we were moving our daughter into Columbia University. To make a very long, horrible story short, despite having the confirmation number, AND having a print out of the reservation AND having called to re-​confirm the room after booking it on-​line, when they handed us the key, the room was a single room with one bed. When I went downstairs to tell the front desk of the mistake, she said «Oh, there is no Deluxe Apt Suite available, that’s the room you are supposed to have». I showed her the reservation printout that specifically says Deluxe Apt suite. At first she said some one else was in it for the week. Later she changed the story to say there was a leak. She said we would have to take 2 rooms, on 2 different floors. I was not happy but had no choice. Then when we came back to get the second key, she said «Actually, there are no more rooms available». That’s it, no «Sorry», or «I’ll help you get another room». I got pretty upset, and said «so you have no where for us to sleep tonight?» And she said «that’s right». Finally she said she would help us find something else. She found us a hotel on 80^th street, miles downtown. I told her I picked this hotel because it was close to Columbia. She said there were no other hotels nearby that were anywhere near the same price, so unless we wanted to pay hundreds more, this is all she can offer us. We had just flown on the red-​eye from California, and felt I had no choice but to take the room. Then I said that they need to supply the taxi to get there, and she said «Oh no, we can’t do that». At that point I lost it and really got angry. Finally she agreed to pay for a car service to get us to the new hotel we needed because of THEIR mistake. And btw, I asked many times to talk to a manager, and was told that there was no one available, and he is not answering her texts or calls. I told her to have him call me whenever she got a hold if him, but of course I never heard a word.

We were relocated here when Hotel 99 was shut down by the Fire Marshal. My boyfriend and I were in an extremely tiny room with a double bed and a private bathroom (they have no queen sized beds here). It was very cheap, for Manhattan, and in a good location near several subway lines. The room itself was acceptable but I wouldn’t want to stay there again. Lots of little things missing — No hair dryer, no washcloth or hand towels (just two bath towels), no toilet paper holder (just a roll placed on the back of the toilet), no heater in the room (although the temperature in the building was pretty much OK the whole time, but we had to open a window when we showered), the hot water was inconsistent, no lamps (just one dim overhead light). There was a mini fridge in the room, which was nice, and a ceiling fan, and a real closet. They offer free wireless but it was slow and cut out frequently so that it took me up to half an hour every time I wanted to check my e-​mail.

Staying at a hotel or hostel in New York city can be a pretty horrific experience if you’re unlucky. I’ve stayed at hostels twice, both times in roughly the same area and both times the same style — a small room with a shared bathroom. I’m fine with this; it saves me about $ 50 a night not to have my own bathroom and that’s money I’d rather spend on other things in New York. The first one I stayed at (the name escapes me at this time) was pretty good but I did have strep throat when I was there that time, so I wasn’t really paying much attention to anything but not feeling horrible.
The Morningside Inn lies in a pretty decent area. It’s about as far north of upper west side as I feel comfortable hanging out after dark, although I suppose most of Manhattan is relatively safe these days. It’s half a block from Broadway and two or three blocks up from the nearest Subway stop. Not much else going on in the area though — the night we arrived we took a cab downtown because the search for a watering hole in the area was fruitless.
First off: the staff. College kids, more interested in the TV than anything else. I suppose it’s hard to take pride in a overnight concierge position, but the guy that checked us in forgot to charge us for the room, which angered the guy that checked us out at the end of our stay — I’m guessing he was the manager or something like that. We ran out of the single roll of toilet paper they offered one night, and the guy at the front desk didn’t know where to find one, he didn’t even know where the cleaner’s equipment was to go look for it, nor did he make an effort to help us out. I finally went down to the basement and found a roll on a shelf. Speaking of the basement, that’s where the «lounge» was — behind a nondescript door in a basement that had seen it’s better days. The coke machine stole my dollar, we couldn’t change the channel on the TV but at least the single computer had free internet, if on a 14″ screen on a computer that was modern in the mid 70’s.
The room was decent. We had a 3 bed room ordered, and it was one single and one double bed (which worked for our purposes, it was me and my girlfriend plus my sister). The bathroom was relatively clean, I suppose, but definitely not as clean as I would have liked it. We stayed 4 nights in total, the room was cleaned once and the piece of candy I found under the bed on day one was still there when we left. The cleaners did fold up my sister’s scarf for no reason at all when they cleaned our room. I’m still not sure why.
All in all, I suppose you get what you pay for, and we didn’t pay a lot for the room (I believe about $ 100 per room and night, providing I’m not totally senile) so we definitely didn’t get a lot. At least the bed was relatively comfortable and it wasn’t too loud — the street was pretty calm and the only time I heard neighbors was when going to the bathroom (a Swedish family, which was amusing to me since I’m Swedish and understood what they were yelling about).
I’ll recommend this place only if you can’t afford something better. If you get a room with private bathroom, I’d say 3 stars.