Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel

If you are used to existing in a major metropolitan area, do not let the reviews of this hotel deter you from booking! I booked this hotel after seeing the scathing reviews about the long check-in lines, paid baggage storage ($6 per bag), lengthy waits for elevators, the tourist fee upon check-in, loud rooms, and small in-room bathrooms. The thing is, this hotel is located in one of the busiest areas in the biggest city in the US. All of these "issues" are to be expected. Being in a big city means: - Lots of people (we waited to check in for 20 min, really not too bad with how many people were there trying to do the same) -Risk of theft (why I'm willing to pay for bag storage with digitized tracking that requires knowing my phone number to pick up my bags) - Skyscrapers with elevator bays split up by ranges of floors, with elevators that you call by selecting your floor/that assign you an elevator before you enter it (to be fair, these are confusing if you don't work or interact with tall, modern buildings on a consistent basis). My husband and I are used to these types of elevators and never waited more than 2 min for an elevator (typical for a 40+-floor building). I saw reviews saying they waited 15-20 min for an elevator each time they came/went; we helped confused guests in nearly every elevator ride we took so that tells me these long waits are likely user error - Many resources you get to take advantage of as a non-taxpayer that taxpayers also need, like the subway and police (I am happy to pay a tourist fee when I visit super touristy places, especially when I am using their public services. The hotel is also upfront about this fee as you book, it's reflected in your booking receipt, and you can put this fee toward coffee and food in the hotel's restaurant and shop) - Street noise, especially when you are visiting a city whose one of many monikers is "The City That Never Sleeps" (although my husband and I have less siren and late night street noise in the city we live in, we expect that when we are in NYC, especially right next to Times Square, that we will hear sirens all hours of the day. The windows and drapes in the room blocked the noise pretty well, noise cancelling headphones with white noise playing drown out the rest). - Smaller living space footprints (if you visit any New Yorker's apartment who isn't in the 1%, their bathrooms will be the size of or smaller than the bathrooms in the standard room in this hotel. They will also likely have a radiator pipe in the bathroom that will burn you if you touch it, which this hotel does not have. You can do all you need in this bathroom, so it's a perfect size) When you know what you are getting yourself into with a trip to NYC, this hotel is perfect. Thank you Sheraton for a fantastic stay!