voco is a new concept from IHG offering smaller spaces configured smartly. I had an opportunity to try its Times Square South location and had a mixed impression.
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Location
On the west side of Manhattan between Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, voco Times Square South is well suited for visitors from midtown Manhattan as well as Newark, New Jersey – just a 20 minute taxi ride through the Lincoln Tunnel. It’s two and a half blocks northwest of Penn Station for those arriving by subway or rail. It’s walkable to great locations throughout the city, just six blocks south from Times Square.
Address: 343 W 36th St., New York, NY 10018
Phone: +1 212-542-8990
Property
The hotel is a narrow building in the middle of the block. For a modern select service location, the lobby has ample seating, a grab & go shop, a full bar that offers food as well. There’s popcorn in the lobby, a uniformed security guard, and an abbreviated reception desk. The IHG hotel offers a fitness center as well.
Benefits
As an IHG One Diamond member I was offered a late check-out when I arrived, though I didn’t require it. Breakfast was offered or 600 IHG Rewards Points. Usually I would take breakfast but I had a meeting the next morning so I opted for the points. I wasn’t immediately recognized as a Diamond member, but upon a second look, I was offered all of the amenities. However, my room was already assigned and while I am not sure there was a better room to upgrade me to, I wasn’t offered one.
Restaurant
The Finches Den, a bar and restaurant in the lobby, has a simple menu of sandwiches (egg salad, chicken salad, bacon, egg, and cheese), pastries and drinks. There’s seating at the bar for about a dozen guests, additional chairs and tables around the corner and outside.
Work carrels also in the lobby for those who want to get out of the room but still need to work. They are clever, concise, and there’s a couple of them which helps leave more seating to other guests who need tables. For those working together there are plugs in the middle of the tables.
Outdoor seating is a rarity in Manhattan and while there’s not a ton of it, there’s enough to enjoy a drink on a summer evening before heading up to the room.
Grab & Go is convenient but expensive. Very expensive. I’m, not a drinker, but even for Manhattan a single White Claw or Mike’s Hard Lemonade for $8 is steep. So is $5 for a can of Coke. A very small salad or a sandwich approached restaurant prices $12-15.
Room
Similar to Hilton’s Tru brand, voco uses compact spaces to deliver the equivalency of a full size hotel room on a smaller footprint. I don’t think all of the approaches work, but some of them do. Eliminating a closet in favor of an exposed clothes rack between the TV and the wall works well. The bed was comfortable.
The nightstand has great outlets but this new hotel should have opted for USB-C outlets as it’s clear that’s the way forward. It’s to the point now where I don’t even carry standard USB cords so to install them feels like something that will quickly date the hotel. Slippers at the bedside is a nice touch.
The view was nothing short of a scene from Mad Men.
The desk is limited and most of the surface area is consumed with beverages. It’s also not very deep and that becomes a problem for a specific reason below.
I was in town for an important meeting that required a suit and I needed to touch up my clothes with an iron. This is where the real limitation of the room is most evident. voco includes an ironing board and iron (thank you) but the legs are just enough to sit on top of something rather than freestanding. Ironing on the bed is problematic for a few reasons, the desk is the only thing at the right height to make sense.
But it doesn’t.
In theory, it fits, but in practice, it runs into a wall unless you remove the coffee maker entirely. The plug for the iron is also difficult to reach underneath the desk rather than on top of it. When ironing a shirt, the sides go over each edge, but that puts them squarely on the desk and rolls it up assuming everything is removed from it.
It’s not an impossible problem to solve but this is a demonstration of how brands like voco (and there are more all the time from every chain) are working so hard to be smart with space that they aren’t practical. There was room between the clothing rack and the wall to store a full-sized, freestanding ironing board. Their miniature solution appears clever and space saving but it’s not because it creates more problems than it solves.
Bathroom
For a Manhattan bathroom, I found voco’s offering to be modern, clean, and spacious. The shower was oversized if anything, and the mounted toiletries didn’t seem out of place. Apothke is also local to Brooklyn, so visitors have a sense of something local.
Value
My stay at voco Times Square South New York (an IHG hotel) was just $247/nt and well priced for what I needed. However, for a points redemption, I can’t see any value in redeeming 72,000-80,000 especially when a resort like Kimpton Seafire in the Cayman Islands is available for fewer points (70,000) offsetting $785/nt (July 16th, 2024.) It was perfect for my short business stay but wouldn’t work for my family or even a longer stay than just a couple of days.
What do you think?
Looks like a decent property. Too bad. you didn’t get breakfast as I’m sure other Diamond members would be interested to see what was on offer. By the way, did the rate you pay ($247) include a bogus “amenity fee” / junk fee?
I’m genuinely curious why you direct so much spend towards IHG. To me, they’re so clearly inferior to Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton.
@Jerry – I think my Diamond status was based on prior years. I had some markets where there was only a Holiday Inn nearby and spent an awful lot of nights there. That said, in the last 12 months, I have four logged stays at IHG – voco, Intercontinental Rome, and two at the Kimpton Epic in Miami.
Only 4 stays says a lot. Sounds like we’re not missing much
I couldn’t disagree more. Marriott’s are dumps, Hyatt’s are dated, and Hilton is still living in the 90’s. IHG is the only brand changing with the modern world, and shows any interest in modern and contemporary design. I haven’t had a decent stay at a Marriott or Hilton in decades, and the Hyatt properties I’ve stayed at are so dated and cold. Whereas the Intercontinental hotels in Rome, Paris, NYC, Berlin are all remarkable and well worth the price.
You left out unnecessary apostrophes on a few words, Michael. Just like the random apostrophe on “Mariott’s”, you could add one to, say, contemporary: contemp’orary.
Festive, right?
I agree. Spent a lot of time at Marriotts and Hiltons in my years.
IHG seems to have better vision and direction and purpose for its brands. Plus, Intercontinentals are often the same as or less than a standard Marriott. A no brainer for me.
Is this actually a voco style? I stay at least annually at the voco Grand Central in Glasgow, and the rooms are massive, tall ceilings, double-glazed window to view the street but not be kept up all night. There is a closet, and the bathrooms have giant tubs, some rooms with large showers too (I like tubs). There are heated towel racks, and honestly some of the largest rooms and best service I have had on the European continent. Your analogy to Tru seems opposite to me. I also know Chicago’s River North Holiday Inn reno has a voco now on the top floors and it also is nice. Neither of these is select service. They may not be Intercontinental, but they are not HI Express. I acknowledge I am unsure of the entire voco brand goal, but the little I have seen (and considered booking other places) impresses me.
Looks good aside from the increasing use of through-wall HVAC units which i absolutely hate as they’re noisy and drafty. Yes they’re cheaper than a built-in and can be quickly replaced in case of failure, but they are guest-hostile.
After having diamond status at Hilton and IHG last year, I’ve opted to concentrate on IHG as Hilton diamond status is largely worthless and this year’s travel schedule is a lot less bonkers than 2023. Diamond at IHG won’t do much at a HIX but I’ve gotten some crazy upgrades at higher-end properties.