I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. From check in to check out everything was just great....and as the previous post said make sure to keep singles out and ready for those great bellmen. Me and my wife in town for business from Chicago and we decided to check out the Gild Hall since it was close to where I work and also much quieter and away from the hustle and bustle of our last stay in midtown. A bit bummed out they had no restaurant but the front desk make the best recommendations and you even get a discount as this great local resto if your a guest! Complimentary pastries and java in the morning was exactly what I needed! Right near the south st seaport. The rooms were superbly designed and make sure to ask for the high ceiling rooms! The staff were as friendly and kind as they were attractive! Even one of the front desk people (andre) was kind enough to help us get a taxi and carry our bags three blocks to where our driver was waiting to take us to the airport! A bit hard to find but maybe that keeps it a hidden secret! Two thumbs up everyone at the place shows what hospitality is really about! Cant wait to go back.

We stayed 4 nights in the Gild Hall end of June and stayed in a superior king room (#53). Room was rather small for the $400/night we payed, buit well equiped. The big problem with the room was the very noisy airco unit, one of those large, old-fashioned in-room units. They come to life with a very loud click and in case you are not so sound asleep (ie when jetlagged or after a few hours of sleep) you are sitting upright, totally frightened and wondering what happened. There was no way to avoid turning off the airco unit, because New York City was very hot and humid and.,.,.. across the street is a building with an airco unit that is even more noisy. So opening the window is no option.
Apart from that some minor nuisances that you would not expect in a hotel in this category: Tv channels did not correspond with the titles in the menu; the (free) wireless hotel guests network is NOT the one called Thompson (that's the one for the administration), but the one called ZyXel, which is confusing when your computer detects 20+ wireless networks!
Apart from that, there are quite a few very positive aspects: front office staff is very helpful and friendly and so is the concierge. He even put our rented bikes in a special storage room.

I travel on a budget, so have never before stayed in a 5 Star hotel, but because of a great introductory weekend rate, I reserved this hotel for when I popped through New York on a return from London. This hotel is just wonderful - from the warm welcome at midnight on Friday, to the brownies at turndown, the coffee and pastries in the morning, and the lovely room, it was wonderful. The room was beautiful, the lights and TV on when I entered, I thought I had walked into an occupied room, but soon realized it was because of the turn-down service.

I'm not usually fond of "modern" lines, tend to prefer more of a cozy feel, but this room was perfect. The bathroom is lovely and the toiletries and first rate, I loved the large soaps, and high-end shampoo, conditioner, and lotion that was changed out each day with fresh items. There was a nice comfy robe and lovely soft sheets, a wonderful mattress, and thick fluffy towels. I didn't hear any noise from outside or from adjoining rooms, even though my room was close to the elevator.

The only downside is that it was a bit difficult to find after dark (the cabbie had no idea where it was) and the area on the weekends tends to close down, and restaurants are a bit away, but there is room service available, and the on-site restaurant should be great when finished. Everything was first rate, and though I doubt I will be able to stay here at regular rates, I would highly recommend it.

Travelzoo had a great deal for the hotel and I am a big fan of the Fresh brand products that the hotel stocks the rooms with, so after reading the great reviews I decided to book a room for our trip to NYC. It should be noted that although the hotel's address is 15 Gold St., it's entrance is on Platt St. Good information if you're arriving via car. Some of the nearby streets are closed for construction (the sign says through 11/08) so be sure to look for the hotel on Platt not Gold, or you'll spend a lot of time circling around the nearby one-way streets that aren't closed off.

The staff was very nice, and the lobby and hotel in general are very attractive. It's a close walk to the piers, and less than a mile from China Town and Little Italy. Perfect for dinner. The next morning we also walked to Ground Zero and the Wall St. area which were very close.

The nice little touches: turn down service in the evening, Fat Witch brownies left in the evening, a mini-bar fridge which had a little room for our leftovers, Fresh brand lotion/shampoo/conditioner (love them!), flat screen tv, a quiet air conditioning unit, and a plush bed. The bed reminds me of the Hyatt's Dream bed. So comfortable to relax on, but oh how my back hurt in the morning. Too soft for me, though I wanted to like it. High powered shower in the morning felt great.

The glass bathroom door that some people have referred to didn't bother me. It's texturized glass, you can't see everything behind it. The muffins and pastries in the morning were nice, fully stocked until almost 10 AM.

All in all a great stay, and if they had firmer beds I'd gladly return.