The Franklin Hotel

Worst hotel ever! What a waste of $ 300! The one front desk girl was very helpful when we arrived around 9 for a walk around the city and a medical appt. I went back in around 130 to see if we could check in early. The girl wasn’t there and it was another guy. He refused to check us in early stating there’s no rooms for early check in. Then the girl from the morning came back and quickly checked us in no problems! Seriously??? Love the old charm of the hotel. Don’t like how tiny this place is. The room was so tight I can barely move in it. The picture of the woman’s face over the desk overlooking the room was BEYOND CREEPY to say the least. Then I went down to front desk around 12am to ask for extra blankets and pillows. No one was at the desk. Then this older lady (Anette who’s name she didn’t give me until I went back up to my room) very rudely came out of the elevator and said did you need something? She asked what room I was in and I told her. I asked for extra pillows and blankets and her remark was (very rudely and I quote) «why do you need extra blankets or pillows that room has more than enough». I said I’d like to have some extra and she said «we don’t have any» what hotel doesn’t have any extra towels or pillows??? I said to her I certainly hope your joking and she said no she wasn’t joking. Then she said hold on and then 2 mins later she came back with one pillow and 1 blanket. Excuse me Ms Anette but your in the hospitality business. If you can’t be nice and friendly to your guests then get the hell out of the hotel industry! Anette has NO business working in any hotel and should be fired!!! I can’t believe I was treated like this and I certainly don’t think I’ll be hearing from anyone and I certainly don’t want to take you up on a discount there will be no next time! Save your money and go elsewhere! You’ll thank me later!

Wonderful place to stay! Near several museums including the Met and many wonderful restaurants. Great walking area. Service superb. We will be there again

I wish I could give it less than one star. Actually I can’t even comment about the room, amenities or anything. After booking a (supposedly) guaranteed reservation, I am told by the woman at the front desk that they are completely sold out and I must now go to their «sister» hotel in mid-​town.
The main reason I picked The Franklin was because of its location in relation to my trip to NYC. Mid-​town makes this an even more inconvenient stay.
She told me that she sent me an email to warn me of this, but when I asked what email she sent it to, it was completely wrong.
Is this some NY bait-​and-​switch? I have no way of knowing but I do know that I would NEVER trust a reservation with The Franklin ever again.
There are far too many other choices in NYC for this type of ineptitude from a hotel.
Avoid The Franklin like the plague…

Cozy place! Great location. The room I stayed in was the «small queen room» and a touch over priced. (But comparable to other hotels in the area.) The staff was so nice! I would love to stay here again if I were back in town.

Stay here — You Will be Ripped Off With Undisclosed Garbage Fees
This is another case of a hotel ripping off their unsuspecting guests when you check out with an undisclosed garbage fee of $ 12 a day. This is a new way to rip off guests. I hope the New York attorney general starts an investigation. I paid in full before arriving and it clearly stated that all fees are paid in full. NEVER USE PRICELINE ANYMORE — USE HOTWIRE WHERE FEES ARE DISCLOSED.
The hotel itself is clean but rooms are so small that you need a plan to dress and bath without banging into a wall or furniture. The staff was very cordial

This is an easy to overlook gem on the Upper East Side. We recently had occasion to be in the Upper East Side for work and thought it would be nice to stay in the area. This hotel is tiny, with a funky old elevator and an intimate space for the free breakfast. The rooms are not large, but just fine if you are only sleeping in the room. The front desk was friendly and helpful.
It would be easy to walk by this hotel and not see it.
I’d stay here again if I were to come back to the UES.

Lovely room, very clean, quiet, comfy bed, writing desk with good chair. The bathroom is small, great water pressure, nice absorbent fresh towels daily. The continental breakfast and evening wine and cheese made our stay even nicer as we chatted with other guests in the intimate dining area. The staff was terrific! The location is wonderful., very convenient to museums and the subway.

For the price this hotel is great and highly recommended. It’s super clean, the bed is comfortable and the subway is around the corner. The upper east side is a real Manhattan residential neighborhood, which means you will not be treated like a tourist at every shop. Food is very reasonable unlike midtown.
NYC is the third world so lower your expectations, a three star hotel should give you a frig and a restaurant, this hotel has neither but there’s a ²⁴⁄₇ cvs on the corner if you are in need of a cold drink of water. Wifi here is something talked about but never seen. The rooms are small and I had a ‘suite’ which means space to walk around your bed. I had moments where I felt so caved in by my tiny room, I started to understand how people felt when they live in flop houses on the Bowery. I had no issues with noise. There was one usable electrical outlet in the room, one in the bathroom. We had to take turns charging our electronics — bring a power strip. They use window unit air conditioners, while the rest of the world uses HVACS. The hotel is non-​smoking, but I could smell a faint odor of smoke in my room, it’s possible that it was coming from the cars in the lot next door.
There are parking garages next door for about $ 45 a night, there is free street parking, but you will have to move your car for street cleaning, which often feels like getting ready for war. I was able to street park the entire time I was there, but that’s because I don’t value my time at all. With the money I saved, I’m going to buy new tires. If you check into the hotel after 6pm you can park on the street in front for free till morning. Parking is horrendous during the day, easy after dinner.
If you plan to be out of your room most of the day this hotel is a perfect. Otherwise pay another $ 100 and get a room that feels less like a cave.

Perfect for us, quiet area, VERY CLEAN and friendly staff! Just around the corner from the subway. Room was very small, but it was expected and we spent time in the room to sleep and shower only so it wasn’t a big deal. We will definitely stay here again in future trips. Got a smoking deal through
, but the hotel charged an additional fee for using travel service ($ 12 per night). Breakfast was sufficient (cereals, danishes, fruits, muffins, coffee, etc). They also offer a wine hour in the evening which we never attended because we were out during that time. Can’t emphasize enough the cleanliness, friendliness of staff, and quietness of this conveniently located hotel.

Excellent staff, they really do go out of the way to make your stay pleasant.
Good location.
Charming rooms, for people complaining about the size of the room, its Manhattan so pay more & get a suite.
Lovely wine & cheese hour & sufficient breakfast with good coffee all day long.
Quaint pet friendly boutique hotel with reasonable prices & I will be back soon.

Too tiny for the price. Otherwise, nice décor, excellent and courteous service, and they have free continental breakfast… but for the price, I would have hoped for hot food. Parking garage is across the street and restaurants nearby. It’s great if you have extra cash and don’t mind being cramped, but for us (we have a child), it wasn’t enough space. If I was single and in NYC overnight though– perfect.

Great hotel on the Upper East Side. The staff was friendly and helpful. The room was tiny, but we didn’t come to New York to hang in the hotel room. Lots of nearby food and shopping, and easy to get anywhere with the subway only a block away. We’ll be back!

Yes, if you are used to the average Las Vegas hotel room, this is a closet. But you’ve got New York City outside the door, so there’s that. And not just New York, but an active, vibrant neighborhood that’s ridiculously close to mass transit, attractions, great restaurants, etc. Friendly staff, a decent continental breakfast in the (tiny) dining room, and oh my lord a super comfy bed, fabulous shower, and stupid comfy robes. Flatscreen reception could be better. And there’s NO excuse for the poor quality of the WiFi for Apple devices in a big city hotel in 2013. Still, for convenience and neighborhood ambience as opposed to the wasteland of Midtown this is a great alternative and I will happily stay here again.

Fyi: i came here with a 4-​girl bridal party (incl the bride) and only she & 1 other bridesmaid stayed the night b4 the wedding. The rest of us came early the next morn.
But the hoopla began at check-​in.
The girl at the desk was clearly new (she really didn’t need to announce it the number if times she did). Her customer service skills did her no kind of good with the man ahead of us who was checking in with his wife. Apparently, his room had been mistakenly given away or double-​booked or something, & there was no other available rooms. He was very upset to say the least. And when she told him they can accommodate them with a complimentary room in a sister hotel across town & cab fare to get there, he got even more pissed because he wanted to be in this area of town. He was angry, yes, but the way she was handling it was frustrating him further. She had trouble reading him info from the computer & couldn’t answer why his room was unavailable when he booked well enough in advance, only stating the manager who’s «off the premises» could better assist him. I felt a little bad that she was so ill-​equipped to handle the situation, but I don’t want this to become a novel so I’ll just say it could’ve been handled better. We check-​in (another long process, why, idk) & finally get upstairs to the room which was tight — oh and we had the king studio, the largest room. Granted, it felt even more tight the next morning when we were all there with along with two makeup artists & the photographer. Yeah, I still don’t know how we all fit in there.
As it turned out the bride removed the 2^nd night from the books upon check-​in, but when a bmaid tried to buy her back that extra night not an hr later, that same hot-​mess of a concierge said the room was no longer available & that she’d have to switch rooms, a huge inconvenience when you’re busy getting married! But somehow, after ANOTHER long wait, they worked it out. And while the room felt very tight, it was clean, charming & very pretty.
The dining area was very quaint & they had complimentary wine & cheeses at 5:30, which was nice.
The next morning, the same concierge proved to be a little less of a mess, but it was the manager who came to the rescue with a safety pin for a bmaid’s broken shoe strap. Overall, an ok experience, but I’m glad I didn’t have to stay the night.
*And of ur at all curious, turns out they DID manage to provide that other customer with a room, just not the size they requested. Yeah, how was that option not even offered before?

The Franklin Hotel is very cute and quaint. I loved the old fashioned elevator and the room, altough tiny, was adorable. UES was a great neighborhood to get away from the chaos of the city and I felt really safe. Also it was super close to Central Park and the museums.

Pretty good, not the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at but far from the worst. Staff were very nice and helpful, and it’s probably (?) not their fault that the car service sent to pick us up from the airport asked way more than the receptionist had quoted for us. On the way back out to the airport we used a normal cab, and that was much better. (What can I say, it was our first trip to NY! We didn’t know any better!)
I will say that I gained a whole new understanding of small hotel rooms after staying here, but it was kind of charming and VERY genuine Manhattan. The french door on the bathroom was less charming, as was the fact that I had to squeeze myself between the bedside table and the closet door and get INTO the closet if I wanted to actually retrieve clothes from it, but old buildings are old buildings and that can’t be helped. Apart from size and layout issues, the room was very comfortable, and we pretty much found the quirks funny and cute.
Location cannot be beat if, like us, you’re focusing on the museums. We loved being so close to the park, too, and very convenient to the subway. There’s also a CVS on the corner, so you won’t have to go far if you forget your toothpaste or need to buy sunscreen or something.
Also, don’t be afraid of the elevator… even though it’s kind of unnerving. We took the stairs once because housekeeping was busy with the elevator, and the stairwells are teeeeeeny and very steep. Again, old building!
The supposed continental breakfast definitely leaves a few things to be desired — if you don’t want to eat pastries, you’re going to be stuck on (sweetened) yogurt, and the tea/​coffee cups are INSANELY tiny, which was not fun for either my husband (coffee addict) or me (tea drinker, fighting off a cold while we were there so even more attached to tea than usual).

This will be «our hotel» in Manhattan. My wife LOVED the quiet of UES.
Very friendly, helpful staff (front desk, engineering, breakfast staff).
Comfortable bed.
Very clean room.
Clean hotel.
Unique, appealing use of spaces for breakfast.
Fresh, tasty breakfast buffet. Good coffee.
Good water pressure and temperature.
Great neighborhood (convenient for the park, museums, subway, restaurants); 2 drug stores nearby.
Don’t let the room size comments scare you. It’s Manhattan; you’re not getting a suite unless you pay for it. Ours was the smallest room range, and it was more than sufficient for two adults. Good water pressure and temperature.
Thanks, Franklin!

Great little place to stay and if you hit the reservations at the right time (whatever that is – I just know their prices swing wildly over the course of the year) you can get a great deal too.
Being near a business meeting area for me I have stayed here many times and every room is different. The rooms are small and the placement of the sink, bathroom (yes, they may not be in the same area), and closet is an interesting, and efficient, use of the space they have.
The beds are comfortable and my only complaint is during the warmer season the window AC units can be a bit loud at times.

Établissement des années 30 (du XXè
siècle). Prestations honorables. Dommage que certaines interventions
de maintenance courante relèvent plus du rafistolage que des règles
de l’Art. Avec le recul: séjour agréable,
personnel dévoué

I just got back from a one-​night stay here for work.
Pros: The bed was so comfortable.
The service was excellent. They let me leave my baggage at the front desk before check-​in.
The location was great! It is really close to central park, the subway, and shake shack.
Cons: The room is small and the bathroom was quite narrow. The size was on par with all other hotels I have been to in Manhattan.

Terrific little boutique hotel on the UES. Close to 86^th street subway stop, Central Park, Museum Mile, restaurants, Starbucks, drug stores, etc. Also, it is a quick ride to LaGuardia Airport if staying in the city to visit or do the tourist thing.
Nicely appointed rooms, even though on the small side as most are in the city. Had a friend stay there who really enjoyed it. Comfy bed. Flat screen TV. Nice bath products. Also wireless internet, 24 hour espresso and cappuccino, continental breakfast, and evening wine and cheese reception. There is a nice little living room in the front of the place to kick back and relax with a glass of wine.
Room rates are not really cheap by NYC standards and are a bit pricey, but compared to staying in Times Square area this location is less hectic and more residential without all the horrible tourist traffic. Also, the staff here is very helpful and knowledgeable about the area. Would recommend to anyone looking for a nice hotel to stay in.