I have a stay booked with this hotel on September 22nd 2008, on the 8th September 2008 I checked my online banking statement and the hotel had charged the amount for two nights: $373.16 , three times on three separate occasions on the same day resulting in a total charge of: $1119.48 - an over charge of: $746.32 . I also ended up paying transaction fees to my bank in England for those three separate charges!!

Having spoke to a manager at the hotel on the 9th September 2008, the manager said he would look into this and then email me. Well you guessed it, no email and no communication.

If this is not sorted out and the money goes back into my account by the 11th September and the transaction fees paid back to my account. Best Western will face a Civil action Lawsuit.

I will write another report on this later.

We stayed here for a sort of family reunion weekend in August 2008. We knew the place was new when we booked it, but we liked it becasue it was so centrally located for our events in Little Italy and The Bowery. We had the studio which was probably bigger than most apartments in NYC! Table for 4, living room area with pull out couch and 2 comfy chairs, microwave/coffee maker area and two flat screen TVs! We got a real deal by booking 6 weeks ahead of time online. Breakfast was as expected but nice; small lobby filled up during peak breakfast time, but there was a lounge like area just to the side of the tabled area. The staff were helpful in suggesting transportation and eating options. When I grew up, the Bowery was not a nice part of town, but we never felt unsafe in the area. We loved our experience in NYC and this hotel just added to our great experience. I highly recommend it for a real NYC experience.

We just spent 3 nights at this hotel and I would have given it 5 stars except there are just a few minor things that kept me for doing that but, in reality, this should be a 4.5 stars.

Deserving the full 5 stars:
Cleanliness - the place is spotless. The rooms and bathrooms are very clean as are the common areas. No complaints. The hotel is fairly new and it shows - no wear and tear anywhere.

The bed - soooo comfy. Lovely thick duvet, pillowtop mattress. Wonderful.

The room - very nice size, well laid out but could use a bit more storage space.

Deserving 4 stars
Breakfast - it was OK but nothing spectacular. The usual bread, bagels, cereal, hard boiled eggs, peanut butter, cream cheese and baked goods.The coffee comes out a machine that also makes cappucinos and hot chocolates. The quality is surprisingly good but they have one machine and lots of people trying to use it during peak breakfast time.

The shower - looks impressive and the temperature and pressure were always great but the design is a little strange. There's a large ledge in the shower that keeps flooding over with water when you shower. A slight slant to the ledge would have fixed this problem. It's not horrible, just a little strange. Overall, however, the bathroom is very large with a heated floor!

The staff - very nice and polite but they couldn't recommend a restaurant on Mulberry Street (2 streets over!).

The area is what it is. It's in the heart of Chinatown. Very safe - even late at night. A few blocks from Canal Street and walking distance to SoHo, NoHo, shopping, etc. Subway 1 block away. Little Italy is 2 streets away. But you are NOT in a nice area - but it is safe.

Deserving 3 stars - the business area. They have 2 computers and one was broken for the full 4 days we were here. It's not that hard to get a computer fixed!

The Best Western Bowery Hanbee is on the corner Grand Street / Bowery Street in Chinatown, Manhattan. You can easily walk to Downtown, the East Village, Little Italy, Lower Eastside, Tribeca, Soho. The Metro (Subway) is within walking distance as well.

The rooms are newly renovated, modern and tastefully furnished, very light and neat.
The Standard Room comes with a comfortable Queen Bed, Flat Screen TV, Desk and chair, Safe, Hairdryer, coffee/tea maker. The rooms have a laminated floor instead of carpet. The bathrooms have a big window and are spotlessly clean.

The Roomsize of the One Queen Bed Room is nice for 2 Persons. If you travel with more than 2 Persons or if you need more space, you should book the 2 Queen Bed Rooms or the Suite.
You could not hear any noise from the streets, but you can hear other hotelguests banging the door or talking on the floor.
It is a non smoking Hotel, but I saw a smoking pole next to the breakfast area and in front of the Hotel.

The breakfast at the Best Western Bowery Hanbee is a bit disappointing. You´ll get coffee and juice from an automat, cereal in boxes, toast, bagels, donuts.


Outside of the Hotel you will find easily little Chinese and Italian restaurants. I can recommend NYONA at 194 Grand Street, ABC Chinese Restaurant 34 Pell Street and the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Bayard Street. Food was very authentic and prices ok.

The Italian Restaurants in Little Italy have been very touristy. Even though food was good and service friendly, I did not like it too much as the restaurants added more than 20% gratuity to the bill without asking. (The bill was showing the meals including taxes and the gratuity separately, appearing like taxes. I am sure many tourists did not realise this and gave an additional tip.)