AKA Sutton Place Extended Stay

It must have gone downhill. The concierge staff is very nice and tries hard to be accommodating but… the place is not very clean, the service is mediocre to poor, you’d better hope you are on the second or third floor or you will wait a loooooong time for the elevator, and then, when it comes it is most likely going to be occupied by a garbage bin and workers, instructions seem not to be clear, in nearly three months the televisions in the gym all worked once, the swimming pool was not inviting because it did not look clean, security is lax (at best), instructions got lost — in short, it’s clearly not worth the cost, despite the friendly concierge staff. Six weeks into a nearly three month stay we finally got our ice maker to work. We never had outgoing telephone service. Internet service was constantly interrupted. Climate control was impossible (Often woke up to 92 degrees and windows did not open). Garbage chutes would not stay open. Garbage room was filled with toilet brushes, cleaning supplies, vacuum cleaners, and you had to fight your way to the non working garbage chutes, which is probably why people seemed just to throw (often open) bags of garbage into the garbage room. It’s not a professionally run operation as we’d been led to understand. Every few days a note would be slipped under the door that the «Do Not Disturb» signs would not be honored for one reason or another, but they never were anyway. We’d gotten great reviews before staying here — but it must have changed ownership. Something happened, because it was about as unprofessionally run as one might imagine. Certainly not even close to worth what they charge. Oh — and the «bar» was sometimes open, sometimes not. Why was that important? Because the ice maker was not working in our apartment and so, we’d have to go down there to get ice only to be told that the bartender had left because there were no customers…

Walked in & immediately vibed with the lounge, a sort of mid-​century common room with tidy chairs & couches and a nice little bar. Anywhere else in Manhattan, the place would be twice as crowded and the drinks would be at least $ 5 – 10 more. The bartender/​servers were friendly. Whiskey & scotch selections were adequate.
A neat touch was live music with a guitarist & saxophone player, who apparently play here Fridays 6 – 9. They’re awesome, and their volume levels were perfect. They had me at acoustic Pixies cover.
Oh and there are complimentary snacks!
The only things missing are a comprehensive drink menu with some more season-​friendly options, and a couple happy hour discounts. Then this would truly be the perfect Friday «pregame» meetup.