Freehand Hotel, New York

A cool welcoming and well located central hotel for NYC - really enjoyed the vibe, decor and ease of using the hotel.

It was a bit annoying that although it was a family friendly hotel there was no way of grabbing a drink from the bar and sitting elsewhere with under 21s - probably a New York thing but odd for someone from the UK and the bar looked brilliant.

The location is great and the rooms are quiet, clean and comfortable. This is my third time staying here. We especially enjoyed the coffee shop with healthy items and good coffee, matcha and tea.

I booked a triple and the description was 1 queen bed and a bunk bed; however, it is a queen bed on the bottom and a single bunk bed above. The stairs to the bed are bolted to the wall - just be aware that it is not easy to get up and down.

Friendly staff and good location.

The staff was very kind and helpful throughout our stay. The room was cleaned daily and maintained to a high standard.

The window did not seem to be properly insulated, which allowed cold air to enter and affected the room temperature.

Cleanliness and staff were excellent!

A microwave would have helped even if not in each room.

Great location, felt safe at night to walk out. Great for attractions and subway. Room was small but the bathroom and bed linens were very nice and looked like they had been recently updated. Attached breakfast cafe was good in the mornings.

Black carpet let the room down. Awful draft from the window, I tried to seal with tissue paper mind you it was freezing weather so that didnt help. Toilet roll holder was so far away from the toilet near the door it was impossible to reach very odd?? These were minor things and just an update suggestion really.

Our room was ready before check in. Hotel staff was very polite

Location close to the train and restaurants thus pretty walkable location.

Room was small for two. And shower tight. Just wish I knew to see if I would take a bigger room.

Location Location Location

All good

- location, it's close to the subway (generally, however the 23rd station was closed in January), 7 min walk from Madison square - Majority of staff members were friendly and extremely helpful - There is a streamer in the room

- One of the receptionists came across as quite unfriendly. While this may be his usual manner, after three days of travel it negatively impacted our impression of the stay - Be mindful that you'll need a physical card to pay a deposit at the property. - TV, it's US television only, not smart tv, so you can't connect to ur YouTube or Netflix account. - There is a strong draft coming from the window. - The room is small (which is fine and expected), but it's quite cold in winter, and I bet it will be extremely hot in summer - Fridge. Don't count on it, seriously, I haven't seen anything like that in EU. It's suitable only for medications, the size of the fridge won't work even for a sandwich

Great location! Walking distance or subway to anything you need. Gym was brilliant for a hotel gym - spacious and lots of equipment. Free water bottles every day. Room cleaned every day with fresh sheets and towels. Friendly and helpful staff. Room pretty spacious for a NY hotel room! Decor lovely.

Hallways a bit dimly lighted and run down Staff were cleaning the gym one morning I was in it and I nearly slipped on the way out because they must have mopped it (but didn’t leave a sign!!!)

I really liked the vibe of the hotel. A great bonus was the relaxing lounge area on the second floor, and the stunning bar was another highlight. The room was very quiet since it faced the back of the building. The location is excellent, about a 30minute walk to the main sights in Manhattan. There’s a lovely park nearby, and shopping areas are only a 10-minute walk away. The room was cozy and very clean, and the staff were amazing.

The room was facing the back of the building rather than the street, and since the neighboring building was very close, there was minimal natural daylight in the room.

Classic NY hotel that is charming and tasteful.

Typical NYC smaller rooms and no coffee in the rooms or lobby that I could find but great coffee on the block.

Great vibe and cafe! Second floor bar was also nice. Rooms were clean and bathroom was great.

The mattress and pillows were not in great shape. Could feel springs in the bed!

Location in midtown Flatiron District was excellent! You can either catch the 23rd st subway stop or easily walk to Union Square for more metro options. The bed was comfortable and the shower was hot. Surprisingly quiet overnight. Staff was incredibly kind and helpful and would be the primary reason to book a return stay.

It was a little more vintage-y than I was expecting. The bed was comfortable but the blocky youth hostel style furniture (from the 70s? 80s?) was not. The bathroom was too dark and needs better lighting. The recharging connections for USB and electric were loose so several times we woke to find our phones not fully charged. The black carpeting is very cheap and looks dirty. Part of the ceiling in the shower fell down during our stay which they patched over.

Great location- cute decor

The public bathrooms in the second floor and upstairs in the bar smelled like urine and were filthy. The check in staff were not hospitality friendly. The windows could be better weatherstripped for winter, room got cold overnight- blankets were too thin. I don’t think it’s safe they had space heaters in the rooms.

Interesting cool vibe

As a hotel guest, I could not get any food (no seats) and when I came back to hotel later, I couldn’t even have a nightcap without waiting in line. Hotel guests should be given priority. Elevators are file and crowded too.

Location is very convenient

Very little to nothing amenities

location

value for money

Beautiful property, nice staff, Great location.

Upper floor room got uncomfortably warm and no way to really cool it off. Just a part of being in a large building, but it was too hot to sleep well.

Very good location, nice vibe, nice panoramic view through the Windows

The room was a bit small, but just enough for our stay

Cute boutique, not too crowded and good location

Lighting was dim but that’s the vibe of the hotel

Easy to find.

Room to small. Lighting was insufficient. Guide on TV was wrong.

As a family, we appreciated the bunk bed rooms!great location too.

Close to subway access and lots of places to grab food, drinks and snacks.

The rooms were very dark. Nearly impossible to put makeup on.

Great location, great room.

The bathroom was small, the shower curtain was 2 foot too short, leaving a giant opening for water to spill out and cold air to come in.

Comfortable bed, great staff!

Heater didn’t work properly (had to get a space heater for all 3 rooms), USB ports did not work, shower in one room would only spray halfway (other half of water was always going to faucet filling the tub.

location, friendly staff, wonderful property

the hallways are dated

I recommend this hotel.

The price for Saturday night in my week-long stay was twice the price of the other nights. I get it but it was pretty outrageous.

Very large room for Manhattan and big comfy bed. Good midtown location - I walked to Rockerfella centre within 30 mins.

The room was really dark but otherwise all good.

Location

Dark room and bathroom. No lotion toiletries..

Great location for dining and walking nearby. Beautiful lobby, really nice furniture in the rooms. Nice clean tasteful bathroom also.

Nothing so far.

Great location. Friendly staff. Clean rooms. Free drinking water for refill.

The area in Gramercy

Restaurant wasn’t open

The quirky decor Friendly staff

Noise outside not double glazed, take ear plugs

Great location. Good sized room. Reasonable price. Friendly staff.

Great location and vibe, the room is whimsical , bed is comfortable and the rooftop bar is great and food, drinks and staff phenomenal.

Room not conducive to women quite honestly, no shelves in shower for personal hair, face care shaving items, etc and the lighting is terrible in bathroom can't put makeup on in the dark, could use a magnifier mirror. The room as well could not shift there either because it's a dim yellow light and can take off lamp shades. The rug being black is a little unnerving as you can't tell if it's clean. Dust in corners for the money I expected more upscale room and clean details.

Really nice hotel in a great location in the city. It’s an older building but the rooms are bigger than in more modern hotels we’ve stayed with a higher price.

The building is older which was perfect for us. It’s nicely decorated but there’s some signs of aging

1. Location 2. Housekeeping was everyday

1. My room was on 11th floor, yet I could hear everything that was going on the street below. The windows don't really seal the room, and it becomes very noisy. 2. The water pressure in the shower was below average. 3. No kettle or coffee machine in the room - yet, the staff will provide you with a kettle IF YOU ASK.

Wonderful location, great family room with bunks, and a brilliant cafe (with great coffee) next to the lobby. Best bit was the mezzanine room which is incredibly elegant, and a great space to work in during the day, and have a drink from the bar in at the evening. Area very welcoming and safe - recommend a walk to Gramercy Park to admire the beautiful houses.

It would be great if one of the bars was open on Sunday and Monday night! Also the bulbs in the main lights in the room were very flickery - I know this is because they are LED which is great for the planet - thank you - but it would be good to upgrade the fitting so they didn't flicker - we got used to it but it's unsettling.

Location. We could walk from the hotel to almost anywhere. The hotel's aesthetic and decor were spot on. Bedroom facilities were very comfortable. Maid service everyday. Spotlessly clean.

The bathroom could have been better. It was very small which in itself I don't mind, but the wash basin was so small and there was a shelf above it, rendering it difficult to use.

Bed was amazing, the rooms were so quiet! Great views of the city. And the coffee downstairs was really good.

Everything was great. But the reception staff---holy cow. One guy was too cool to be of service. Like, it was almost funny to see this guy at a front desk and be so clearly disengaged. Could not have been less interested in helping when I had questions. Others at the front desk were much nicer. But this guy--unbelievable. I don't know why I bother mentioning him, maybe only because of the stark difference between his affect and the rest of my hotel experience, which was really nice. The bartenders and the cafe folks and the guys helping with the bags, everyone else was awesome, so this guy really stood out as not so awesome. I get it, like, guest interactions aren't always easy. But c'mon, man! You are a guest's FIRST interaction with the hotel. In other news, shout out to the guy named Hiro (Hero? Jiro?) who was super nice. He helped us, and then I saw him in the cafe where he was saying good morning to all the other employees. It was beautiful to see.

Everything from the entrance guy to the check-in (where they honoured my room preference request), to the room itself (18mr), double deb + bunk - great breakfast, great location, shower, products, all really nice. Will come back.

The room was on the 16th floor, and we still could hear a lot of street noise. Bear in mind that this is NYC. I'm sensitive to noise that it did affect me a bit but irrelevant compared to all the other positive aspects.

Good location within walking distance or short taxi ride to good restaurants and taverns. Very comfortable bed.

The hallways and access to rooms are very dark and aged. Understand that it is a classic older building buy it could use some updating.

Very convenient location close to everything. Good value for money. Comfortable bed.

The room was a bit dark. There were not enough hangers or shelves in the room and bathroom.

Friendly staff! Location!

Our door was open when we got back one night??

Great location and wonderful staff! I also enjoyed the bar and rooftop

The room was a bit small for 3 people

The room was plenty comfortable (especially the bed) with a desk space and tv and with a cool street view. Nothing overly flash but everything you need. Shower had great pressure. The best thing was the location and F&B within the hotel including cool bar upstairs, Broken Shaker. Step out on the street and you're right by all the subway stops of 23rd street, cafes, medical centres, shopping and Little India for great eats. Also walking distance to Union Square.

Light switches and toilet were a bit old school but did the trick.

It was very reasonably priced for the area, and the character of the building was great

Nothing

The highlight of the hotel is its great location. It is very easy to get around the city from here, and it felt safe walking around the area. Lovely rooftop bar worth visiting as well. The room was cozy and practical.

The room was a bit dusty- especially the wooden blinds. As these were next to the bed, the bed would sometimes also feel dusty. While the bed sheets felt and looked clean, the decorative pillow placed on top also felt dusty. One night there was a also a pipe-like smell in the corridor that was seeping into the room, but luckily it only seemed to have been one night.