The Kimberly Hotel — Hotel Review Rating: 4.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Corina Z.
Updated: December 7, 2009

 Scene

The 192-room Kimberly may qualify as a boutique hotel, but think spacious and stately more than tiny and trendy. The large rooms -- almost all of them are suites (nearly 700 square feet) -- make the Kimberly a favorite for extended-stay visitors or business executives who need room to bring the work home. More than one bachelorette party has packed itself into a two-bedroom suite here.

Many staff members have worked at the hotel for more than 20 years; that's almost unheard of in Manhattan. Their comfort and happiness in the job extends into their treatment of the guests, many of whom they know by name. Porters tell jokes and talk about the news of the day as they welcome visitors to the hotel.

A certain diplomatic air hangs over the Kimberly, especially in the opulent marble lobby with its Persian carpets and gargantuan flower arrangements. Perhaps it's also that subtle tip-off at the front desk with the photo of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the framed personal letter from President Jimmy Carter. The Kimberly's proximity to the United Nations makes it a popular hotel with diplomats and politicians, particularly when the U.N. General Assembly is in session. The Secret Service has been known to bunk here, and a senator (the staff wouldn't name names) was in-house during my visit.

But overall, the crowd is mostly traveling businessmen in town for weeklong stays. In the evening they grab a drink at the hotel's Italian restaurant, Ferro's, on the way up to their rooms, and wake up early to catch the $15.95 breakfast buffet before hitting their company's Midtown office.

 Service

I found the service here excellent, from the good-natured doormen and porters to the overall professionalism of the front desk receptionists and room service. The ice I ordered arrived in less than 10 minutes; the wake-up call included time and a weather forecast for the day. When I called to change my room service order from an apple tart to hot chocolate, the reply was a simple "No problem." I also inquired if the dish contained a certain type of nut that I'm severely allergic to; when the waiter arrived with my order he assured me that my meal was safe. The order arrived in less than 30 minutes, and the hot chocolate was still very warm.

With some of the staff in the hotel's employ for more than 20 years -- to be a "newbie" is to only have worked here for a mere 10 -- I couldn't help but wonder what kind of unbelievable employee compensation packages the Kimberly must offer.

Over many collective years, the staff has grown into an extended family, and they go out of their way to make guests feel like part of it. During happy hour at Ferro's, I met Chris Meehan from Ireland, who has traveled to the U.S. 23 times in the last two years for work. The "intimate" Kimberly has become one of his favorite hotels. He knew some of the wait staff at the hotel restaurant, Ferro's, from previous visits and greets one of them like an old friend. "I drink here," he says, referring to the bar at the restaurant. "I wouldn't do that at other hotels."

The concierge was out sick, but the rest of the front desk staff has been trained to fill in. No task is too small for this boutique hotel: Guests can book a baby sitter, order a masseuse to visit their room from New York Sports Club, cash a personal check up to $200, and more. I inquired about the carriage ride to Central Park and even though the temporary concierge didn't know the answer immediately, it was clear he would find out.

 Location

The Kimberly Hotel is on 50th Street between Lexington and Third Avenue. As this area of Midtown is mostly a 9-to-5 business district, the streets can empty out in the evening. Businessmen on their way home from a late night at the office and guests from the neighboring Waldorf-Astoria or Marriott appear to account for most of the evening foot traffic.

While this area lacks the extensive number of subway lines available at Union Square or Times Square, it's possible to access the East Village, Chelsea, and the West Village from the nearby E, V, and 6 lines. The E and V are 2 1/2 blocks away, at 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue, and they take passengers into lower Manhattan and Queens. The 6 line is at 51st and Lexington, which goes up and down the east side of Manhattan.

East Midtown doesn't have a particularly vibrant nightlife scene but there are a fair number of top-quality steakhouses and sushi spots that cater to the financial powerhouses in the area. Those in need of a New York strip steak can head to Maloney & Porcelli or Smith and Wollensky. One of the three branches of the upscale Mexican restaurant Dos Caminos is around the corner, for those on the lookout for fresh-fruit-juice margaritas.

Fifth Avenue is a 10-minute walk (about three long avenue blocks west) for those who want to catch an early taping of the "Today" show, check out the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, or attend mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Fifth Avenue is famous for its high-end department stores and luxury boutiques, most between 34th and 59th Streets. Window-shoppers can take in Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, or head over to jewelry store Tiffany's, immortalized in the Audrey Hepburn movie.

 Airport Transportation

New York City has three nearby airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark (in New Jersey). Flying into JFK or LaGuardia is usually easiest and the least time-consuming. From JFK, it's a one-hour, $45 flat-rate taxi ride to anywhere in Manhattan. From LaGuardia, it's about a 30-minute, $40 metered cab ride to Midtown Manhattan. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 (plus tolls), and can take more than 90 minutes. Guests should tip drivers 15 percent to 25 percent.

To save some cash, visitors can try the group shuttles that are available at all three airports for about $14 per person. For more information on the shuttles, go to Super Shuttle or New York Airport Service. It's also possible to take public transit from any of the airports for as little as $7 per person, but travel can take up to two hours and involve a lot of lugging bags up and down stairs. For mass-transit directions to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.

 Rooms

Most of the 192 rooms at the Kimberly are suites -- studio suites, regular one- and two-bedroom suites, and then the upgraded luxury suites. Studio suites (385 square feet) come with queen-size beds and have a kitchenette but no separate living room. A regular one-bedroom suite (a whopping 685 square feet) comes with either a king, a queen, or two double beds, and a kitchenette as well as a separate living room with a queen sleeper sofa. Luxury suites offer additional amenities: free Wi-Fi, bathrooms with jet tubs, DVD players, and 42-inch plasma TVs. In lieu of a penthouse apartment (the penthouse floor is a meeting and event center), the Kimberly has top-of-the-line signature suites. Guests at the Chrysler Suite can feel like Daddy Warbucks as they survey Gotham in all its glory from their 30th-floor private balcony and rest assured that their 814-square-foot room is the best in the entire hotel. The four other suites -- the Ambassador, Empire, Park, and Diplomat -- all range in square footage from 653 to 863.

There are also standard nonsuite rooms available. The 230-square-foot rooms still come with a flat-screen and a marble bathroom, and are available with either one king or two double beds.

More than one reviewer on TripAdvisor commented on how "tired" and "dated" the room décor was. While one employee assured me that they were "renovating all the time," these renovations look like they've extended to only certain aspects of the rooms. Floral-print curtains, upholstered dining chairs, and framed reproductions of paintings of flowers and horse-drawn carriages made me feel like I was at my grandma's house. The shiny new LG flat-screens seemed out of place.

Some kitchenettes have stoves, but guests will find that they do not work. After 9/11, they decided to disconnect them as a safety precaution. Why the hotel doesn't just take them out is beyond me. To the hotel's credit, the stoves are mentioned as "not available" on the Web site.

The suites are fantastically spacious, however. In a city where square footage is at such a premium, my mouth dropped to the floor as I checked out the three medicine cabinets that filled one wall in my suite's bathroom -- not to mention the large coat closet, full-size room closet, and walk-in linen closet.

As a courtesy (they didn't know I was reviewing the hotel), I was upgraded from balcony views at the Kimberly, this is a luxury only available to those who have a room on the 10th floor or higher. Definitely keep that in mind when booking a room, as well as the fact that rooms in the front of the building have at lea standard room to a one-bedroom suite. Although I'd heard about the lovely ast a partial view of the Chrysler Building.

All rooms come with a fax machine, a mini-bar stock of snacks and soda (but in my suite, no booze), wireless hi-speed Internet access ($7.95/day), and -- here's an interesting touch -- an electric shoeshine machine. My bed was topped with six goose-down pillows, but I found that I only needed one because they were so thick and firm.

I was excited about the two flat-screens in my suite until I discovered that the remote didn't seem to change channels all that easily. The down-channel clicker in my bedroom didn't work. On my living-room TV, the screen would frequently freeze when I tried to access the main menu. But the pay-per-view service offered video games, recently released movies, and just-aired episodes of popular TV shows at an additional cost.

 Features

The Kimberly doesn't have a gym or pool, but it gives out passes to the fancy New York Health and Racquet Club, one of the best gyms in the city. The nearest location, three blocks away on Madison Ave and 50th Street, boasts a 50-foot swimming pool, squash courts, sauna, hot tub, and Jacuzzi. Unfortunately, it's closed on Sunday.

For nightlife, guests can head to the on-site Nikki Midtown, an outpost of South Beach's popular tropical-themed club. It benefits from the lack of other clubs nearby, pulling in the mostly post-work business crowd ready to recreate their experience clubbing it up in Miami. Too bad it's closed Sundays and Mondays (for private events). The rest of the week it's open for happy hour and dinner, though, and on Friday and Saturday it turns into a late-night club till 4 a.m.

The business center, in a hallway off the lobby, has two computers and printers. Fax machines are available here too (as well as in every hotel room).

A must-do: There's a free, three-hour sunset cruise around Manhattan aboard the Kimberly's 75-foot private yacht (available May through September, when the weather's nice). As the ship circles lower Manhattan, passengers can help themselves to the cash bar or a $15.95 buffet as they check out views of the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. The weekday adult booze cruise turns into a family brunch excursion on Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. Unfortunately, transportation to the dock isn't provided, and guests must make their own way to the Skyport Marina at East 23rd Street and FDR Drive; it's about a $9 cab ride away (I guess it can't all be free).

 Family

Large, multiple-bedroom suites with ample closet space make the Kimberly an excellent place for families, particularly if Mom and Dad can score a deal on an extended stay. One- and two-bedroom suites are a good choice, as they come with an additional queen sleeper sofa in the living room. Cribs are free, and rollaways are $30 per night.

There is a family-friendly feature on the TV that allows parents to limit the shows their children can view.

The concierge can book a baby-sitting service or plan an entire itinerary, including theater tickets to Broadway shows. A bustling, deluxe American Girl store is four blocks away, at 49th Street and Fifth Avenue. The high-end toy store FAO Schwarz is eleven blocks away, on 58th Street and Fifth Avenue. The Central Park Zoo is a short cab ride away (around $9) at Fifth Avenue between 64th and 65th Streets.

The three-hour cruise turns "family friendly" on Sunday, when it becomes a morning buffet for $15.95. Children under 12 can also eat for half-off at Ferro's in-house breakfast buffet. Family-friendly dining is a little limited in the East Midtown business district, but look to the Pax around the corner for a quick, healthy lunch or the Italian restaurant Caffe Linda on 49th Street and Third Avenue for a casual dinner with the kids.

 Business-Friendly

Many businessmen come to the Kimberly for extended stays. The spacious suites allow them to feel comfortable spreading out and relaxing for a longer period of time.

Every room, no matter what size, comes with its own fax.

There is also a business center with two computer consoles and printers.

The stunning 1,150-square-foot penthouse with a wraparound veranda on the 31st floor can be rented out for large meetings or events. A full range of audio-visual equipment can also be rented for presentations. High-speed Internet, a PC/LaserJet printer, fax machine, copy machine, and conference table are also available at no extra cost.

 Cleanliness

Overall, my room was fairly clean, although vacuuming in the corners of the living room had fallen a little by the wayside. I noticed missed specks of dust and dirt near the wall. But the housecleaning crew did a solid job scrubbing the bathtub and the older bathroom countertop. I saw no mold or mildew.

My suite could stand for some new furniture, though. The nightstand tables and dinner-table chairs were all worn in the base of the legs, and the bathroom countertop was chipped off near one edge.

 Food

The hotel restaurant, Ferro's, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week. The emphasis is on American surf and turf and Italian pastas, with several delicious-looking desserts, such as apple tatin and fresh berries in zabaglione. I was particularly pleased with the happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with $3 drafts, $4 wines, and a free appetizer buffet that includes vegetable crudités, cheeses, a chafing dish of pasta, and some Mediterranean tapas.

The room-service day menu is pretty much an exact replica of Ferro's dinner menu. Putting a call into room service directs the call directly to Ferro's, though it took me several tries to reach them.

The Ferro's employee who took my call suggested the grilled sea scallops with onion compote and parsnip puree as an appetizer. The scallops were fairly sizable (not always the case when ordering these price-gouging suckers), but they were fairly salty. For $5, the side order of sautéed spinach was huge and filling. They definitely don't skimp on portions here.

However, for the prices -- appetizers up to $14, entrees from $26 to $32 -- I would be tempted to leave the decent-but-not-mind-blowing food at the hotel and head to the Mexican restaurant around the corner, Dos Caminos.

Ferro's $15.95 breakfast buffet (7 a.m. to 10 a.m.) includes a made-to-order omelet station, chafing dishes of french toast and the like, pastries, juices and coffee, fresh melon, and more. A great spread, but not head-and-shoulders above other hotel brunches I'd been to. If I wasn't supplementing the cost with a $10 in-house food voucher (every guest gets one when he or she checks in), I would just be inclined to hit the 24-hour diner next door.

Open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, Nikki Beach serves a somewhat more adventurous menu. Its dishes dip into all parts of the globe, from sirloin marinated in chimichurri to a tuna tartare in ponzu sauce.

For dinner, it's best to venture outside the hotel. Maloney & Porcelli or Smith and Wollensky are within a few blocks if you've got a serious hankering for steak. The blocks around the Kimberly also have several budget-priced options, and the Pax sandwich chain is around the corner and a 24-hour diner is next door.

 Bottom Line

Located in business-focused Midtown East, this famous hotel is a favorite among visiting dignitaries, politicians, and extended-stay business travelers. The veteran staff greets guests by name and the one-bedroom suites with kitchenettes offer about three times more room than most New York hotels. Rooms are clean, but décor is pretty dated by NYC boutique standards.