I commute to NY for work regularly and have stayed at dozens of places in the city and spent hundreds of cumulative nights - this is definitely on the low end of any place I have stayed. Rooms are tiny and dark by NY standards. Carpets are literally filthy with multiple large tears. There is a persistent smell that is poorly masked by cleaner. Mattress had large black stains on the side. Paint was missing and chipped from walls, furniture, trim. This is not a 4-star or 3-star. This hotel offers a smaller version of what I would expect from a $49 motel off the side of the road in the Midwest. Location is good and the staff were nice. I will not stay again.

*Editing to say: the response from Hotel Mela makes it look like I didn't read through everything, but I did. The fee that my complaint is about is the "arrival fee" that I was charged twice, yes 2 times, during my stay. The second day my room key wasn't working so I went to the desk and they wouldn't authorize the room key again without charging a second "arrival fee". They promised the fee would be refunded for both times, but it was only partially refunded once. In regards to the "facilities fee" to "provide extra accommodations" or whatever the phrasing may be is not anything that anyone should be paying either. There was nothing nice or extra about this hotel. My suggestion? Run, run far away from this place.

There is literally no way to contact this business. The phone number goes to an automated line that says press 0 for help. 0 isn't actually an option. The phone number is a hamster wheel that doesn't actually connect you with anyone ever. I couldn't even call the front desk from my room. So I tried to use the contact form on the website, it also doesn't work and breaks the webpage. This hotel is quick to take your money but they do NOT want to help you or communicate with you in any way. Absolutely ZERO service of any kind from this "hotel". To the owner, the littlest attempt at service would go a long ways. This hotel is relying solely on is property location and nothing else. There are better options.

Hotel needs maintenance and better cleaning, amenities are too old and looks unkept, it’s a shame because the location is great, just 100m from times square. Our room was facing the back stairs of other buildings which had several aircons making a lot of noise and our window didn’t close properly so it was very noisy. Also the room was full of dust, the hinges from the bathroom door were rusted, there were holes in the side of the bath tub and the wallpaper was peeled off. Besides this, we also had an issue with the administration as they charged us twice the room and we had to claim it back. As I said it’s a shame they don’t take a bit more care of the facilities as their location is privileged.

Upon checking in we we given the wrong room. We were then told we had to pay $100 CASH to upgrade. Paying extra was fine but why did it need to be cash. The hotel is very old and outdated. It claims to be a smoke free hotel but our entire floor smelled of smoke. Staff said they couldn’t do anything about it. We were there for 5 days our trash was never taken out. The location is amazing but that’s the ONLY positive

This hotel is disgusting. The rooms are tiny, which is understanding considering the location. When I walked into our room, I thought it hadn’t been cleaned yet, but to my surprise THAT was their “clean”. The bathroom had hair all over it, the walls had random yellow staining which looked like urine. The floors were dirty and so were the doors. The bed was made up with one deflated pillow only and you had to ask for more. You basically get a sheet on the bed and one more to cover yourself with. No mattress cover, fitted sheet, or a comforter. Don’t stay here for your own health…

Fantastic central location for what is a good (if a little tired) hotel. We unfortunately stayed when the elevators kept breaking, so for the majority of our stay only 1 of 3 was working. This was tedious but ok if you are happy to take the stairs - I wouldn’t recommend if you are not able to! Despite the age of the hotel and it’s fixtures, the cleaners did an impeccable job every day we were there, and it was spotless! Reception staff were lovely too.

Hotel confirmed our booking months ago on air B and B. 3 weeks before stay they have cancelled our booking, apparently they do not have rooms available anymore. Absolutely outrageous as I have seen on booking.com that they have 2 rooms available at the time of our stay. They are just trying to get more money from people. I would recommend that you avoid this business at all costs. We are now in limbo, without a stay in 3 weeks time!

It's a very comfy hotel at a very nice spot. Directly by the Times Square. The lounge at the bottom floor is a very relaxed place to hang out at. The hotel rooms differ in sizes but have a great view. The service is amazing. You go to the counter, tell them the issue and after about 5 minutes they will be there. Do i recommend it? Yes! If you have some spare money it will definitely make your trip to New York a lot comfier. 8.6/10

WARNING!!!!! DO NOT BOOK 👎👎👎SHAME ON THIS HOTEL! 👎👎👎 HOTEL HAS PATTERN BEHAVIOR OF ARBITRARILY CANCELLING GUEST'S REERVATIONS WITH LITTLE TO NO NOTICE, THEN CLAIMS HOTEL IS CLOSED! (IN BACK TO BACK YEARS OF 2021 and 2022) HOTEL MELA TIMES SQUARE ABRUPTLY CLOSED yesterday, December 12 and JUST TODAY is notifying trusting guests that their New Years Eve stays booked 11 months ago are CANCELLED WITHOUT NOTICE OR REASON, making earnest guests with families now out of luck to find similar replacement of accommodations for the upcoming holiday!!! Will be interesting to stop in during our visit nonetheless to see if they are really closed, or just UNCARINGLY decided to bump everyone for higher rates of a group booking buying out the entire hotel…as is the suspicion! A professional “Walk” (the industry term for cancelling on an incoming guest) includes a personal caring apologetic attitude with assistance “walking” them to nearby like or better accommodations. Instead, my call to the hotel was anything but, with the Front Desk Clerk Allen refusing to so much as give out the General Manager’s last name or contact number. Interestingly, no one seems to know why the hotel is closed suspiciously through January 1, and we all have one thing in common…no one true reason for cancelling our reservations is being given. But it smells like a better offer came their way and they had no scruples or dignity in handling their previously booked guests. PLEASE NOTE: MY VAST RESEARCH SHOWS HOTEL MELA ARBITRARILY CANCELLED ALL RESERVATIONS THE SAME TIME IN 2021 TO OTHERS AS WELL!!!!!!!!! So MR. RALUCA AVACARITEI, as General Manager of the property, do share with the world the REAL REASON??? 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 UPDATE: DECEMBER 19, 2022... The Hotel Mela provided a generic reply to my posting, but as you can see PROVIDES ABSOLUTELY NO REASONING to their repetitive cancellations and periodic claims of why the hotel suddenly closes, both in 2021 AND 2022, and leaves families in a panicked search in the MOST BUSIEST HOLIDAY SEASON to find alternate accommodations just days before flying without offering assistance. So I repeat: MR. RALUCA AVACARITEI, as General Manager of the property, do share with the REAL REASON so many families on Fb were abruptly cancelled??? NEW UPDATE WHILE VISITING NYC 2022: DO NOT TRUST ANY RESERVATION AT HOTEL MELA Times Square 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳 HOTEL REPEATEDLY CANCELS GUESTS RESERVATION ARBITRARILY WITHOUT NOTICE ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ THE HOTEL MELA did exactly such in 2021 and in December 2022, cancelling WITHOUT WARNING OR RELOCATION ASSISTANCE earnest reservations of many US Citizens and their families preparing for a Christmas holiday in favor of accommodating immigrants. IMAGE of hotel’s guarded FRONT DOOR when investigated.

Sorry I only took selfies at the hotel, but at least you see the room a little bit 😅 I’ll upload videos later. After reading the reviews here, I was so worried I had made a horrible mistake last minute booking at hotel Mela for 10 days - but I was so happy with my stay! Sure the rooms weren’t renovated, but I had an amazing view of skyscrapers from my room and several rooftop terraces. The staff working at the hotel greeted me every day and were so friendly, and I only paid 2 nights deposit for my 10 night stay. I also got the deposit back within 24 hours to my Spanish debit card. I went to a conference on 46th street and this was in perfect walking distance and just a few steps from Times Square and Bryant Park. As a solo female traveller, I especially loved the area as everything I needed was within short distance. I am definitely coming back! ❤️

The standard rooms are much smaller than in the first few pictures here. They basically fit the (full) bed and a wardrobe. Staff at the hotel were not friendly, although this might be a NYC thing :D Location is great, close to many tourist attractions and most subway lines.

This is NOT a 4 star hotel. The room had graffiti on the walls, peeling paint, ripped carpets a broken door lock and a missing smoke detector. By missing I mean ripped off of the wall. I was eventually able to change rooms but it still had graffiti and ripped carpets. Very dirty very poor quality. Staff was accommodating and friendly that is the only positive for this hotel. Will never stay again.

My Times Square New years stay at Mela was horrifying and mostly terrible in everything I and my wife experienced. Dirty carpets and stinking bathroom. The carpet had cigarette burns and toilet was stinky and had stain all over. Save yourself a hassle of experiencing the experience of money paid, not worth it. Please don't book Mela.

The hotel is only OK... The beds aren't that comfy, it's clean enough and if you're looking to just get you're head down then this hotel is good enough for that. Our view was a brick wall which wasn't great. the location is Brilliant couldn't fault it...elevators doesn't work half the time so be prepared to walk. Jimmys corner is the cheapest pub around $8 for a vodka and coke and a guiness the other pubs will kill you with their prices.

We just returned a couple of days ago from our 5 night stay at Hotel Mela. In truth, we didn't arrive with super high expectations after reading some iffy reviews, but I can say without a doubt that our expectations, or lack thereof, were exceeded. You really can't beat the location of this hotel, particularly if you're looking to be right in the center of the action in NYC. While we read that several other guests noted unclean rooms and an unpleasant smell, or room was spotless and besides a slight underlying musty odor (which I think can be expected in such an old hotel) there were no issues. Staff was friendly and cleaners did a great job cleaning the room each morning and making the bed. The room we received was spacious, with a lounge area and a separate bedroom and ensuite bathroom. The only thing I think they could improve is having a thicker 'comforter' on the beds. There was just a double sheet and no comforter ( not sure if this is just temporary). This wasn't a huge deal, as we were able to adjust the heat in the room accordingly, but if you are someone that likes to sleep under a thicker blanket, perhaps bring your own along! Overall, this hotel was everything we hoped for and more and played a huge role in a truly brilliant trip!

Great location!!! Easy access to almost everything. Room was a bit too small and there were no face towels in the room! Just 2 bath and 2 hand towels. Attention to a very basic detail was lacking.

Unfortunately our room was quite poor needed a good clean and in need of a good decorating job. Location however was perfect and the staff were friendly. It was somewhere to put our heads for a few nights so put up with it. The photos on the website were certainly nothing like we experienced.

Arrived in NY around New Year only to find the hotel had closed its doors to customers , and was housing refugees instead. As can imagine not ideal having to find somewhere else after a long flight and fork out of our own pockets as had already paid, still waiting for refund via our travel operator so yeah wouldn’t deal with this hotel again plenty of other decent places in NY.

To be honest I’m not sure what all of the bad reviews were about. Stayed here on a girls trip early December. Sure, the rooms could use some updates but there really wasn’t anything wrong with it. It was clean, housekeeping was great (Really great) and everything worked as it should. The shower pressure isn’t great but the shower is clean. The staff was friendly and nice and you cannot beat this location! Elevators were a bit of a hassle but where one isn’t working there are 2 that are. I was charged exactly what they quoted me. I would stay here again!

Room was tiny, could do with a revamp but location was top notch. Got charged $187 city tax upfront for 2 people which is fine, then along with a deposit of $50 which was not expected and was never made aware of when i paid the full amount for room 3 months ago.. checked out yesterday checked bank statements and got charged a further $138.. didnt use any sort of facilities, no damage was done in the room and no sort of room service was used

The lobby was pretty but good lord the rooms need some work. There wasn’t a real mattress cover, it was just another blanket covering it, room smelled of cigarettes, markings everywhere on the wall, and the bathroom was not cleaned as there was hair still in the shower. Neither me or my boyfriend have black hair. At least clean the rooms before your guests arrived. I had a superior king too so I expected more after paying almost double for the same size room as a standard, just with a big bed.

2 stars for service because there is none. This is a no-frills kind of place. A strict 3pm check in and nowhere to leave your bags. Tiny elevators. No phones in the room. Our bathroom light flickered the entire time we were there & asked the housekeeping how to get it fixed. No one ever showed up. Why do No frills hotels put bathtubs in the rooms. Put a shower & call it a day. The location was great - a few steps from Time's square and 6th Ave. 2 theaters on the same block. No lobby coffee. I went 3 days without. Looking for clean & No frills this is a good start but don't get there before 3pm.

The hotels location is amazing, you can't beat it! It's 1 min from the heart of times square. I gave it a 3 star because of how tiny the room is. It looks nothing like the picture. The AC was the best part of the room. It worked really well. We only slepted in the hotel, so we didn't spend much time in there anyway. We would probably stay here again, just based on the location.

Booked her for 18th January for a few days. We last one night and that was because we were worn out. Reception were too busy on arrival on their mobiles to even be bothered to talk and just handed keys over. The room was shocking. I didnt think much when I walked in as looked dirty and when I woke in the morning saw there was sick still down the side of the bed from previous guests. Went to reception but again too busy with his mate so handed the key over and found somewhere else to stay.

We had the pleasure of visiting this hotel in December. The staff are thoughtful, helpful, and professional. The rooms are clean and well appointed. Thank you for a wonderful stay!

First room they gave us was not clean from the night before. Hair on counter used soap/towels. Bed still had head print lol. They put us in another room. No blanket. No microwave or fridge. No ice machine. No working phone. No view. No common area. No food for purchase no bar . 22$ a night resort fee. Not a horrible location by any means but 2 star service for sure.

Second time staying here and will never stay again. BEWARE. I booked a queen executive room a month in advance which was a mistake since the room ended up being far cheaper by the time we travelled. They put us in an ADA Queen room with roll in shower where the tiles you'd be standing on in the shower were all broken. I had already paid in full for the room before check-in and was surprised a few weeks later to notice they charged my credit card a second time. I've been calling for 5 days and no one picks up the phone. When I e-mailed to find out what was going on they sent me an invoice with no explanation of why they were suddenly charging me additional fees that were not part of my original payment. I will never stay here again and caution everyone to watch their credit card statements closely.

I have been to many hotels in the city, this one is just NOT IT! Every year I go to Manhattan 3-4 times and every time I stay in Manhattan I think of how great the hotels are and how accommodating. This hotel is the fist in 8 years that I wouldn't recommend even if I was paid to do so. You are way better off paying an extra $25-$40 for a better view and better service. If you like staring at a wall, if you like to have a bathroom bigger than the room, if you want to be in a box with your significant other and money is an issue stay here. Bag holding is also not available at the moment so get here on time and be prepared to leave on time. There is a parking garage right down the road but it is $$$$ and thats out of $$$$$.

Buyer be aware! They never answer the phone and when you arrive you’re in for a surprise. This place smells terrible. I understand now that they have been used as a homeless shelter recently and have failed miserably at cleaning up afterwards. It’s too bad, not a bad location and pictures pre-covid made this place look very nice.

been a week and still havnt gotten my incidentals back, know for a fact i didnt do anything to the room. was a huge roach in the lobby scared me so bad. rooms are super small and shower made the loudest whistle screaming noise

This hotel was a real disappointment. I had stayed here a few years ago with a friend and thought it quite nice so either we lucked out that time or it’s gone downhill in the years since. The first room they had me in was awful. It was a corner room, smelled like smoke and the floor was filthy (stained). The wooden furniture was all beat up so the whole thing had a very dreary appearance. For the first time in my life I asked to change rooms and the front desk staff was very apologetic and helpful. The second room was a bit better, mainly the floor wasn’t visibly stained. But one of the towels in the the bathroom definitely was. The furniture wasn’t quite as beat up as the previous room but overall, it wasn’t really a great atmosphere. Due to Covid restrictions the hotel refused to store my suitcase when I checked out. This was a huge pain because I had 5 hours before departure that I had to lug my suitcase around the city, which limited what I could do. I’m all for Covid safety but I don’t understand how this helps? The front desk staff was apologetic and said “if was up to them they would” but couldn’t tell me how not storing suitcase reduced the risk spreading covid. Honestly I wouldn’t have stayed at this hotel for this reason alone and it forced me to alter my plans for the day since I had the suitcase with me. The only thing this hotel has going for it is the location, which is excellent for tourists.