Element By Westin Times Square

After visiting New York separately (and loving it) over the last couple of years we decided to book a holiday together as family and were originally delighted with what we had booked. However.... Please avoid this hotel. We are a party of 6 due to travel in the middle of May, but due to the covid-19 worldwide pandemic we are now unable to leave the country and it is likely to stay this way for the foreseeable future. During this stressful time, I have been in contact with the hotel and with booking dot com who constantly bounce me back from one customer service to the other. We have been told we will have to pay an extortionate cancellation fee should we wish to cancel. We don’t want to cancel, but we are unable to travel due to travel restrictions imposed by the UK government and the American government (these are worldwide…. there is a global pandemic!!!) but also because 2 members of the party have asthma, so they are self-isolating to avoid contracting this deadly virus outbreak. There are 3 key workers in our party; an optician, a primary school teacher and a dementia care assistant who are still having to work despite the coronavirus outbreak. The lack of communication and compassion shown during these worrying times is shocking. I am appalled by the lack of customer service we have experienced; I understand the hotel is busy during this time but that is no excuse. I urge anyone looking to book this hotel to seriously consider their choices before booking.

Please, please, please avoid this hotel. Due to the coronavirus pandemic across the world I’m probably going to be out of a job in the next few months. We had a family holiday booked to New York in May, we booked the room through booking.com who have asked them to waive the cancellation fees and they have point blank refused. We aren’t sure we will be able to fly in May, but this hotel wants to charge me nearly £800 to cancel my room. I have explained the situation several times, they aren’t stupid they are aware of the worldwide crisis unfolding but they are acting like disgusting leeches trying to take money from a family who may be struggling to feed themselves in the upcoming months. Im a big believer in karma, I hope the hotel is closed down.

This is our first time staying at an Element. We got upgraded to a kitchenette. The room is small and cozy. We stayed one night here. Breakfast is included with every room so it was very busy in the morning. In the evening there is a Happy Hour that is also included which was nice. One negative - elevators. There are times of the day when it's busy and you have to wait in line to get an elevator.