Affinia Gardens- Formerly Known As The Lyden Gardens

( 3 stars , New York , United States )

If you want a place to feel pampered and truly relax, this is the hotel for you. It was well located and we were able to walk to most places that we wanted to go.

My friend and I have stayed at this hotel twice and will be returning soon for a third time. The hotel is quiet, convenient to the Metropolitan Museum and other Upper East Side cultural venues. We find it ideal for our interests. The staff have been most helpful. Having kitchen facilities is a definite plus.

i thought it was an amazing place that had everything a hotel needs. The service is great and the location is awesome close to everything. Also we needed to get food so we could just go 2 blocks to get to food emporium, a great grocery store. We all cant wait to go back.

the people employed here are so kind...very attentive to our incredibly delayed arrival. (2 AM) Our room was very quiet - peaceful.

I'm surprised by the other excellent reviews. This hotel was not what it appeared to be on the web site. It's much smaller than it appears. The lobby is tiny, and the "tea room" is just a small room off the lobby with some tea in it. And there is nothing tranquil about this hotel. It's true the location is good. It's good for shopping and museums. And the people at the hotel were friendly and nice, so that was good. Everything else was not good. I had a "junior suite," which I guess in New York means a small hotel room. There was nothing "suite" like about it. So I paid for a suite and got a basic, small hotel room. It was smaller than a regular hotel room at any hotel. I even talked to the front desk about it and complained and they assured me it was a junior suite. The room was NOT worth the money and not a value at all. Do NOT get the junior suite! The bathroom was super small and the carpeting in the room was gross and dingy. The pillow menu sounds great but they never got me my pillows. When I called about it, they asked me to re-order, which I did and they still got it wrong. I called again, and they still got it wrong. It seems like they don't want to give out more than one pillow. (Each time I requested two different pillows, and they would always give me one.) I finally gave up on the pillow situation. They also have something that seems like a nice service but didn't work when I was there. You can pre-order amenities for your room before you arrive. I did and I received none of them. So I talked to the front desk and they attempted to get the amenities to me but messed up the order. After the whole pillow thing, I didn't want to go rounds on this so I gave up after two trys. Yes, maybe I should've pushed but I was there to have a nice, relaxing weekend in NYC not spend time dealing with my hotel. Throughout all of this, I will say, the staff was super nice. It was hard to get mad and each time I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. The last straw was when they got me a car to go to LaGuardia through their car service. I was quoted $55 (which is still too much money but I thought I'd pamper myself), and then when I got to the airport, I was charged $75. I went back and forth with the driver on this and finally just paid it and told him I would call the hotel. What was nice is that they did call me right away and apologized and credited me the $20 difference. So I do appreciate that they fixed the error right away. Overall, if you are looking for location and friendliness, then this is an okay place to stay. Those are the only benefits. Probably compared to other area hotels, the rates are decent but don't get snookered into a junior suite and pay a higher price. Just get a regular room. Don't expect pampering and frills at all here. Don't expect serenity and quiet either. (There was construction on the street and noise all night. I also had a crying baby in a room next to me.) There is no restaurant in the hotel though they do have room service. (They order through area restaurants.) I personally wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone nor would I go back there. This hotel is not at all like it is advertised. But if all you want is a good location, a decent place to sleep, and don't care about basic amenities, then it's an okay place.

The biggest rooms I've had in NYC @ this price! Stayed in 2 different room categories recently. The Deluxe 1 bedroom (which is described as a Penthouse when you get there....and it is!). It was on the top floor of hotel, unbelievably spacious -- a desk/work area (with hi speed internet), big living room & dining room with wrap around windows that looked out to the outdoor wrap-around terrace. If it hadn't been 6 degrees we might have made use of the terrace, that was very large and roomy enough for some lounge chairs & table. The small kitchen offered everything needed - fridge, stove, microwave, dishes, coffemaker, toaster, etc. and the bedroom with 2 queen beds was huge too., Bathroom was suprisingly small for size of all other rooms, but certainly adequate. Rooms were clean & simple, modern furniture. Not 5 star....but definitely deluxe for the price! Hotel service was great and atmosphere comfortable & relaxing. Location perfect for uptown shopping. Close to supermarkets, cinema, boutiques, great restaurants and only 2-3 blocks to subways. Also had a chance to stay in Junior Suite - the smallest room available and it was bigger than most hotel rooms I've had in NY. Very comfortable for 1-2 people. Had a smaller kitchen, but all the appliances you need, desk/work area, large "living space" with king size bed and sofa/lounging area. Bathroom was decent size and, again, bargain priced for space you get. This is my new favorite spot to land for a NYC visit.

We stayed in Affinia Gardens Dec06-Jan07 for ten days. What a brilliant hotel - HUGE rooms, with your own kitchen and a coffee machine. There is no restaurant in the hotel, but they have menues of close by restaurants and you can order deliveries from your room - Crusty Pizza on the 2nd is really yummy. Close to the underground as well - F stops on Lexington and 6 on 63rd - $10 for 6 rides - a bargain Try their relaxing CD and buckwheat pillows - I am addicted to it now

We just got back from a fabulous stay in NYC in THE best hotel we've ever had the good fortune to find-The Affinia Gardens. Not only is the location wonderful (E. 64th & 3rd Ave.-4 blocks from Central Park) but the rooms were ENORMOUS! The staff was the friendliest we've ever encountered. I hesitate to let anyone else know about this incredible find for fear of it being booked the next time we go. There's no reason to stay any place else!

This wonderful east side suites hotel has relieved us of the pressure for our own pied-a-terre in NY. The staff is welcoming and helpful, the location phenomenal, and the price more than reasonable. As a result, we have come back often for more than a dozen years. Within minutes, if you wish, you can buy groceries only a half block away, and have a full breakfast from your well furnished kitchen, which alone saves much of what would be a formal hotel's cost. This is one of those names we love so much that we hate to share - though its broad international clientel from the UN, etc., keep the hotel full, friendly, and interesting. Were its suites ever to go condo, I certainly would want to buy one. You won't be disappointed, unless you are seeking artifice and obsequiousness. P.S. When you reserve, request a suite overlooking the gardens.

We could only stay here one night of our 2 night NYC visit but I could have stayed for a week. The room was huge and had a spa-like feeling. Great kitchen with everything we needed to serve our Chinese delivery food. They have menus for the local places and deliver to your room for a $2.00 service fee. Hard to find a good resonably priced place on the East side and this was perfect.