How the Yotel in NYC Lost a Customer

There was a time when the Yotel (website, Twitter) was my absolute favorite hotel in the world. Fantastic music, fun rooms, a great lounge on the fourth floor, and a short walk to New York Toy Fair made this the hotel to stay at each time I visited the city.

Last year the Yotel staff even contacted me through Twitter to chat, and when I met with them they had done enough research to realize that I would appreciate receiving a toy car. It was a wonderful chat and I was trying to figure out how I could coordinate between the office and hotel for an event during New York Comic Con one year.

Unfortunately, everything that was great about the hotel has collapsed and is fading fast.

• Music. Where the lounge on four once had great music all through the night it’s now a vacant and soulless room. Pool tables? WTF? If I wanted pool tables I would go to a bar. I want the relaxed atmosphere that used to be there, for now I just can unwind with help from natural aids from Budpop.
• Galley on each floor. Even as recently as December every floor had a galley with water, ice, coffee, tea, and a fridge. It was great because I could grab a cup of ice easy at 3am. Now all of those are closed and shifted to a station on the fourth floor — no ice or fridge — and this morning the staff directed me to the station . . . which was behind a locked door. “Opens at 7!” Fortunately, someone opened it right away.
• Lights and television dying. The purple mood lighting in the rooms was awesome, and the ability to plug my iPod into the TV and play music was very appreciated. Now I have a room with a flickering light and the television is dead.
• Internet connection. And here we have the ultimate collapse of the Yotel. Where the wi-fi connection had once been strong it is now weak or, as happened as I write this, the wi-fi connection is dead. Good thing I brought my Karma wi-fi hub on the trip!

I cannot express how sad I am to see this hotel fall apart and become a place I no longer want to stay. In recent years I always looked forward to my NYC trips because I had a hotel that fit me perfectly and was near my work. That is no longer true, so now it’s time to search for a new destination hotel in the city.

I’m sorry to see you die, Yotel, and I will try to not let this experience ruin the pleasant memories of previous stays at the hotel.

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