The Bowery Hotel

Came here for my best friends wedding. Amazing venue… Small boutique hotel that is absolutely gorgeous. The lobby has antique couches and chairs, the bar is from a scene out of movie. Outside courtyard to hang. The dim lighting of the hotel gives it a sexy vibe. The rooms are small and antique like. It’s a solid hotel to grab a drink or stay at but do not expect a big hotel with a lot of amenities. The hotel is not going for that either. Sometimes less is more and the hotel hits that.

Woof. I get the swankiness surrounding this joint, but what the heck is going on in the lobby bar? I wanted to take my friends out for a drink before dinner. Little did I know the bartenders service would be so unfriendly, the drinks would be $ 20 a pop (gin and tonic, really? And i’m talking about rails gin, not some Hendricks or whatever), and when I asked if there would be any music, verses the awkward silence of 50 people talking, the staff proceeded to inform me, «we don’t play music here — you can go across the street». Good bye forever Bowery. I’ll be taking my group to the Ace or somewhere with class and respect for human beings.

Great location good — ok price and tiny rooms but staff friendliness and location balance the room seize — I would definitely book again! The house itself is amazing sis to its architecture best place for culture art and food lovers. The lounge room is cosy.

I am only reviewing the two bars; there is a very small bar off the hotel lobby and a much bigger bar/​lounge on the second floor. The second floor bar has a separate entrance to the right of the main hotel entrance. The hotel entrance as a red coated doorman; the bar has two bouncers. There is a coat room and restrooms down a short hall immediately on the right of the hostess stand. Décor in the upstairs bar is a little bland. Seems to have an outdoor seating area — not in use due to the cold weather.
Cocktail prices are on a par with most other bars in Manhattan; maybe a little cheaper than some other hotels.

Distinguished but funky lobby in this trendy hotel. But the attitude. Oh my! Head immediately into the bar or through a maze to the Gemma restaurant within. The lobby is off limits to anyone not staying there. Despite many empty seats, the officious Asian «bouncer» told us to leave so we had to wait for our friends outside. After reading several reviews specifically mentioning his rudeness, I can only assume that no doubt he enjoys his fame – negative as it is – and enjoys it. Maybe his autograph book will show up on Antiques Roadshow some day along with his wide ties.

My husband and I stayed here in November while we celebrated our wedding nearby. It’s a stunning property as all the photos show — beautiful details and housekeeping/​bellmen/​room service staff were VERY warm and friendly. It was noticed and so appreciated.
Prefaced with the fact that their Director of Sales has been extremely gracious and responsive (please give kudos here!), the three stars are because we experienced a disconnect between the front desk/​guest services and upper management.
We specifically worked with the hotel before arriving to ensure a smooth, worry-​free stay, but had a few issues:
1. Photography — Professional photography is not allowed in the lobby (note to anyone looking to get married here), which is understandable. However, despite knowing that we were booking a suite to specifically get ready for a wedding, this was never disclosed ahead of time. The result was a staff member escorting us out of the lobby at the start of our wedding day.
2. Room change — We had one room transition that was not properly executed and reception was rude.
3. Incorrect charge — There was a «finger slip» causing an incorrect, large charge. The day of our wedding, we had to duck away to sort it out with the credit card company, not all that festive.
4. Bag hold — We were assured that the hotel could hold a few bags under our name for guests arriving early from out of down and bringing a few things for us. After a long travel day, they were instead given trouble when they arrived.
We look forward to giving The Bowery Hotel a second try, but for the boutique price, there are some major logistical and attitude gaps to be filled. My suggestion is that the front desk is trained to delivered the same level of service as your back office.

My review is only for the patio, as the bar inside wasn’t opened when I was here. The service was pretty bad, especially since there were about 7 waiters, and two paying tables. The water glasses were dirty, one had lipstick on it, and initially we were ignored when we tried to point it out. My friends and I ordered a bottle of wine and the waiter went to retrieve it for us. About 20 minutes pass and we’re beginning to wonder if he fell down a well, but he showed back up to tell us that the bottle we requested was not available. It would have been nice to have known that as we had now been sitting there for about 30 minutes, but we switched our choice to another wine and it was brought to us about ten minutes later. After that, we were only checked on once, and when it came time to pay, we had to flag down another waiter.

When is this ever not a good experience?! From meetings in the amply-​cushioned lobby to late night charcuterie plates at Gemma to cocktails in the back bar with good friends, I always have a nice time at the Bowery Hotel.
The décor is in one of my favorite, bohemian intellectual styles with tufted couches and palms lining the lobby. The concept is similar to the design /​development group’s other properties around NYC’s environs and it just really works for downtown.
Key points about drinks in the lobby /​bar area: It can be hard to get a table, so don’t fret and just go with the flow. Be nice to the «lobby bouncer!» The drinks menu is extensive and great for hard to please folks. Anything from tea varietals to proper cocktails to non-​alcoholic options, there’s something for everyone here.
Gemma’s plates are a mix of light sharing plates and heavy, formidable pastas. You can’t go wrong sitting inside in a cozy corner or alighting on the sidewalk outside during sunnier times.
I love The Bowery Hotel for its many useful offerings and also because it feels familiar and comfortable. It reminds me of college study rooms and the great friends I made in those but with much better food and drink!

Had a wonderful experience at the Bowery Hotel. Gemma is a beautiful restaurant. Definitely coming back.

We like the BH a lot and have been coming here for years for a nice time whenever we’re visiting NYC. The low key ambiance is perfect after spending the day amid the hustle and bustle of mid-​town. But I have to say the experience would not be the same were it not for Mario’s (maitre d’) welcoming hospitality and pure professionalism. He IS the Bowery Hotel!

The food was not out of this world but it was truly Italian. It was very very very noisy, it’s more family and friends oriented!!!

Despite a somewhat crowded bar, they had their security team defending an empty lobby full of tables that look welcoming.

What was intended to be a romantic getaway weekend to New York with my girlfriend quickly turned into a nightmare. We really wanted to stay at the Bowery Hotel, so sacrificed staying in a room with a king bed, like we usually do, for a queen sized bed. Upon arrival everything seemed to be as expected, the hotel is cute, has a manufactured vintage aesthetic, even has a teddy bear and makes you think you are in another world. THAT RUBS OFF REALLY QUICK. Having stayed at a handful of luxury hotels around the world, we looked around for the usual things we had come to expect. We opened the mini fridge to find a haphazard mess of drinks stacked on top of each other similar to something you would see at a frat house. We looked around for slippers, there were none in sight. We then turned the corner of the MINIATURE room to look at what became a laughable situation for the two of us… the queen size bed… or for any one outside the Bowery Hotel it is called a full size bed. Well, come to think of it, I think they get their «queen size» beds custom made at an even smaller size than a full size bed. What did we pay for? We could have stayed at a nicer hotel down the street with a king size bed, but we chose the Bowery because we expected more. This baby sized bed was covered in extra starchy uncomfortable sheets that made it almost impossible to move under them. We smiled and said we will make the best of it even though neither of us had slept in a bed this small since grade school. The following day upon our arrival back to the hotel, after I had to open the 2 front doors for myself even though there were 4 door men standing around looking extra hip in their pretentious red vests with ear pieces in looking like they are the prime ministers personal body guards, we were greeted with around 15 people waiting for the 3 broken elevators to start working. Luckily for us, our nursery sized room, was on the 5^th floor so we decided to take the stairs. This stairway which is prominently marked right before the elevators, so one would think would be for guests, looked like something from the tenement houses flanked on the Bowery circa the early 1900s. The tiny stairs were littered with serving trays, room services remnants, dirty towels, trash bags, push carts, etc. Not only was it impossible to walk around, this is flat out a fire hazard and pretty darn illegal. We finally made it up to the fifth floor after having to jump over 3 steps of trash on the final stairway… i feel bad for the people who had to walk up 14 flights past even more trash. As if we thought our stay couldn’t get much worse, we sat down for tea in the courtyard on our final day and the waitress was rude, pretentious, aloof, smug, and inattentive. She had 4 tables to deal with and only came to us 3 times, 1 of which was after we asked her for the check. We then checked out of the hotel, where yes we were charged an arm and a leg for this «Amazing» establishment. The front desk lady had the audacity after running my credit card to then say that she had to run it again because i had a car valeted with them. I responded «that is a lie, i do not have a car here.» She then looked blankly at the screen and said «oh yes that is correct you do not.» What did this magical screen just change all of a sudden? she had not pressed a button, moved a mouse, done anything… literally nothing yet the screen had somehow changed? I guess we will call it the magic of the bowery. Finally, we had some time to kill before our flight so we checked our bags with the hotel. When we came back to get our bags, it seems like the über hip doormen had just seen a couple celebrities walk in, so they had to be extra pretentious at which after i asked for my bags, he proceeded to push my bag on the street at which time i had to chase after it so it didn’t go into on coming traffic. No apology, just a hand out for a tip. Thanks Bowery Hotel, you are most certainly a hotel that prides itself on your celebrity clientele and could care less about anyone else.

I end up at the Bowery Hotel pretty often. It’s a great place to sit for cocktails outside with friends. It’s also a great late night food spot and they serve wine and beer until the early hours of the morning which is a plus with my group of friends. The service is lacking as they have a snobby demeanor about them but the ambiance makes up for this. Also who can resist sleeping with a stuffed Bowery bear?! The beds are also very comfortable along with the plush sofas that make this a great stay.

I really liked this hotel. It seemed like it would have Wes Anderson lurking around. The rooms were cute and comfortable, I watched it snow from my bed and had a cute reading area. The toiletries were top notch, as were the über hipster dudes operating the door.
The bar was awesome for a late night cocktail. Will be back!

The Bowery has real old world charm with many of the amenities of modern hotels including high quality internet access and a fitness room.
The hardwood floors, brass fixtures, ornate woodwork and fixtures take you back in time.
Though I’ve not tried the restaurant and 24 hour room service, the menu looks very enticing.
All staff are super warm and accommodating. When you ask for their help, they go a step beyond. For example, I returned from an all day meeting to drop off my laptop before heading to a Broadway show. Because I had a cab waiting outside, I didn’t have time to run up to my room… so I asked the front desk to keep my belongings (and a peer’s). They offered to take our bags to the room.
Having just returned home, the manager of the hotel sent a nice email asking if I had anything positive and/​or critical to share. This was not your standard hotel survey but merely outreach to make sure the experience was a good one and to strive to improve. I thought it was a nice, earnest touch.

Love the bar here. Took my boyfriend for his birthday since he is a man who loves his bourbon (yuck) but this bar came up on a list of top 10 old fashioned in NYC. He had 3, so I am willing to say they must have been pretty kick a$$! Excuse my language !
I had a delicious gin drink, that had strawberries and some kind of tea in it. The bartender warned me it was sweet and it was also delicious.
I loved the small Hispanic, or Asian bartender. He was diligent, attentive and sweet while the other bartender who was Caucasian, glasses wearing, and had a sleeve, he was the WORST. His drinks were also well made but his attitude was totally lacking, it was as if he was beneath him to make our cocktails? I’m confused, I thought that was the job of a mixologist.
The drinks are pricey, but that is the way with hotel bars. Expect to spend 18 – 17 dollars a drink, but they are totally worth it!
Hopefully if you go, you get the awesome bartender and not the sour faced grump :)

This is my second visit. I love trying new hotels but this is one of my all time favorites! Only one potential problem: The hotel is so cozy you may never want to leave it!
The staff again were all excellent and extremely helpful, from the doorman, to the front desk, to the server in the bar. The hotel has these really charismatic doormen, in dapper waistcoats & bowler hats, who welcome guest. The bar is so lush & cozy & the bistro next door is delicious with an equally friendly staff as well.
If you’re lucky enough you can even get a corner room which has two walls of windows. It’s got a relaxing not-​trying-​too-​hard (while secretly trying totally hard) starlets you don’t recognize being interviewed by a magazine you haven’t heard of at the bar kind of vibe. Oh, & it must be noted that the bathroom has the best shower in NYC. It’s a high-​pressure rain shower & I could’ve stayed in it all day.
The street noise can be a bit much if it’s a weekend, lots of horns and crowds, but that is at any NYC hotel. The windows are soundproof, but I still heard a lot of activity out there until the wee hours. They also have black out blinds so I was able to get the best sleep.
Free wireless was easy to deal with in my lobby and in my room and always worked.
There is a classic key holder behind the front desk to hold all keys & messages really cool & fun place!
I’d highly recommend this hotel … but selfishly I want to keep it a secret! ;)
I cannot write this review without also mentioning that the hotel sent me a thank you letter after my first stay & this put them over the top. I’ve stayed at expensive & 5 star hotels in numerous countries & this is the only hotel that has gone so far as to send a personal non-​form letter. Complete class.

I had my wedding party here in December and it was the best venue I could have hoped for. My out of town guests were expecting like a standard hotel ballroom, but this is so much more! And so much cooler! The space is enormous, has different rooms, and your party can move through the space and end up in my favorite part: the fireplace room. That’s where we had the dance party at the end of the night.
The event staff at the Bowery as well as all of the servers, floor captains, sound guy, and bartenders are all the nicest people you’ll ever meet. They really have their stuff together and know what they’re doing.
The space is clubby, rustic, and cozy, not a pinkies-​in-​the-​air super fancy kind of place. Also not especially girly, which wedding venues can be. The space does not scream out for tons of decorations so you can save on decorations. There are gorgeous large plants and tapestries on the walls. Candles and flowers is all you need — — if that.
I feel so lucky and grateful that I got to have my event here. So New York-​y! So beautiful! So cozy! We and our family members also stayed at the hotel and they were incredibly accommodating and friendly. The staff are as nice to my great-​aunt from Ohio as they are to Johnny Depp. They were knowing our relatives’ names and how they liked their eggs by the time they left.
Can’t say enough good things about this place. If you’re thinking of having an event there, DO IT!

Really really Cute hotel :) and also pet friendly !! My dog KOKO and I loved it !
Great location && Rooms are clean !
Close to many good restaurants. So happy we get to stay few more nights here!