Press Lounge at Ink48 Hotel

08/01/10

A great place to avoid

by TonyDeS

First of all, I never write reviews of places I go. Some places are better than others but I don't need to take the time. I actually signed up for a Citysearch account and am writing my first review ever because of last night.

I went over to the Press Lounge and Ink48 to meet a group of friends there on Saturday night. I had heard about the rooftop bar and was looking forward to it.

When I got there I saw a line of about 50 people and asked the doorman how long the wait was and that I was meeting a group already up there. He said, without making eye contact, "First come, first serve, I need you to go to the back of the line." So, ok, I waited in the line which didn't move at all for ten minutes and called my friends upstairs. They couldn't understand the wait because they said there was not many people up there. Anyway, after an HOUR of waiting in line I made it up there to find the place moderately busy but with plenty of empty places to stand and sit down. The place is huge. For some reason, and maybe there is a good reason, they were only letting one elevator full of people about every ten minutes. Also, during that whole hour of waiting in line, I didn't see many people leave. I got the feeling that they were artificially holding the line to make it look like they were busy. Everyone felt that way.

The line was annoying but not the main reason for why I would advise staying away. I join my friends and they are sitting in the bar area and I decided I would go to the bar and order drinks. They said good luck with that.

So I walk up to the bar which was, again, moderately busy but with enough space for me to walk up to the bar and lean over to order. There are a couple of bartenders slowly making drinks, organizing the bar, etc... doing everything except even acknowledging that I was there. I waited for over ten minutes and then just decided it wasn't worth it. I mean, if the bartender just looked at me and said, "Hey, I see you, I'm just really busy and I'll get to you in a minute", I would have gladly stuck around. Not even eye contact... it was like that with everyone at the bar.

So after an hour of waiting in line to get into a half empty place that then doesn't even care to take a drink order, I was done. I was bewildered about it all. Do they realize how much potential revunue they are missing by managing the place this way? It's a beautiful bar with a great view and great potential, but I've never had such an off putting experience. It's not that they were rude, it just seemed no one cared and obviously the place is being mismanaged. I travel all over and do find that bars managed and staffed by hotels generally have lower quality service and a corporate coldness to them, but this place really got to me. It's not the waiting, it was the lack of any quality interaction with the staff.

The view is nice, but management has to realize that in the end what it all comes down to is the customer experience and feeling welcome. Maybe they didn't want the $80 that I probably would have spent there...I just wished they had told me that before I waited in that artificial line.

• Pros: Amazing view, great design and layout
• Cons: Terrible service and poorly managed

07/06/10

Totally Romantic and Fabulous views

by SassyGuy

Not crowded on a holiday night (July 5) completely beautiful and romantic setting. The pool and the seating are gorgeous. Staff at the bar is a delight. Love this yet undiscovered spot. Makes the Gansevoort roof look like Grand Central Station

• Pros: Great vista on a summer night of the best of Manhattan!

06/24/10

Great location... Unless of course you want a drink.

by Arthur Pennington

I had an hour to kill before a local charity event and thought we would check out the roof top bar I had just read about in Time Out NY magazine.

I walked in with two friends at 6pm. Not a very pretty crowd but a decent size... Looked like happy hour in the catskills.

We order three vodka drinks. It took TWENTY-FIVE minutes in the sweltering heat for the waitress to bring our drinks before dropping the entire tray in my lap. We then proceeded to wait another 15 minutes for the replacements that we didn't even have time to drink. Maybe it took so long because she had such a hard time pushing her massively oversized bottom through the crowd.

If I owned a trendy and potenital roof top hot-spot in NYC, I would make sure I had more than one bartender and two waitresses working the entire floor. And when interviewing waitresses I would make sure that at the very least they can fit their rump into an average size bathroom stall.

• Pros: Great space, tremendous views and perfect location.
• Cons: Understaffed and the staff they do have is Iowa slow.

05/17/10

AMAZING

by AZan

Went here Saturday with 6 other friends and some of us were dressed up to go to a concert after and a few other were not dressed up (sneaks n jeans) and we all got in no problem.

The crowd was very mixed- young and old but everyone was having a good time.

The view is amazing from all sides of the building, including the river view.

Staff was friendly but I started going to the bar for my drinks b/c our cocktail server was very slow and seemed inexperienced. Its a little off the beaten path so take a cab there but that was fine with me.

I will definitely be back!!!

• Pros: View, lots of space, good drinks
• Cons: cocktail server slow

05/01/10

Get it together!

by EROnline35

My friends and I went to Press Lounge today at 6:30 on Saturday and I was wearing shorts. (Gucci shorts.) And the nice woman at the door told me that we could not come up to the roof because I was wearing shorts. That is ridic. I understand if they want to have a dress code at a certain hour, but to not let people in wearing shorts while the sun is still out on a hot Spring day is a really poor decision. My friend works in events and wanted to see the space to possibly give them FUTURE BUSINESS. I work for a major fashion magazine that would likely love a press mention from them, but I'm going to share this story with my editors on Monday and discourage coverage. No shorts? Seriously? It's an OUTDOOR SPACE! My point by sharing what we do is that you never really know who your customer is and I think it's an epic fail that they reject people who could possibly help their business because they are wearing shorts on a 80 degree day.

I like this hotel, but also had brunch downstairs there a few weeks ago and NO ONE WAS THERE. We were the only table so I'm even more offended that we're trying to give a new venue some business in our neighborhood and they reject us because I was wearing shorts. And my friends give a great energy to wherever we go. And we're also gay and fashionable. And gay people wear shorts in the Summer. Straight people do, too! So this place gets a major thumbs down from me. I understand pants after 9PM, but come on.... Not while the sun is still out. I've lived in NYC a long time and this is not my New York. I really hope they change this lame rule.

So.... Don't go, people

• Pros: ????
• Cons: No shorts allowed on a Summer afternoon?