Review: Kimpton Ink48 Hotel NYC

Back in January, I styaed at the Kimpton Ink48 Hotel in New York while attending the NYT Travel Show. At this point, I had chain hotel fatigue and wanted to stay in a small boutique hotel. I’ve always heard great things about Kimpton, so I decided to check it out. it also helped that I got an incredible ~12,000 point per night rate through the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal.

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Kimpton Ink48 location

The Kimpton Ink48 is located in Hell’s Kitchen, close to the Jacob Javits Center and within walking distance of the Theatre District. The immediate area around the hotel consists of mostly car dealerships. However, you can find plenty of great restaurants within walking distance.

Overall, though, I wasn’t crazy about the location. While it offered easy access to the Javits Center, the Andaz 5th Avenue offered a better location for everything else. As a result, I ended up making use of NYC rideshare apps to get around the city. The cheapest rideshare option from JFK Airport to the Kimpton Ink48 was Lyft Line, which cost just $35.

Kimpton Ink48: Check-in

I arrived at the Kimpton Ink48 at around 9:00 AM. It was early but the place was swarming with yuppie types carrying their bags around and I figured they were all checking out. When that turned out not to be the case, I headed out to breakfast, leaving my bag and my phone number behind.

After an amazing breakfast at the nearby La Bergamote (try the Baltic Eggs Benedict) I hung out in the beautiful lobby for a while.

The lobby had a cozy little seating area, with a free coffee/hot chocolate station behind it. The coffee was really good – way better than anything I paid for while out and about. The exception being the draft latte at La Colombe.

At around 10:30, one of the guys from the front desk approached me and said simply, “ID?” He wordlessly handed over my keys after verifying my ID. I retrieved my luggage and headed up to the room.

Kimpton Ink48 standard room

I was grateful to have a room that early, especially since I was pretty sleep deprived. My room was located on the second floor, right by the elevator. Despite this, I didn’t experience any noise issues during my stay. It was actually quite convenient. 

I had low expectations for the room considering I was checking in early, had no elite status, and had booked through a third party site. Expecting a room facing a wall at best, I was relieved to walk in to this:

Not only did the room face the street, but it appeared to be bigger than the standard room. Overall, I was pleased with the room’s size and vibe. 

The photos really don’t do it justice, but the room was bright and spacious. The huge windows and light furniture gave it a very airy feel.

The artwork behind the bed gave the space a vibrant look that distinguished it from the generic monotony of a typical hotel room. The bed was very comfortable – easily the best sleep I’ve ever gotten in a hotel room.

A sofa was placed in a small nook area on the left side of the room, along with the world’s smallest table. There were three power outlets next to the sofa, but two of them were hard to reach and didn’t work. The power outlets by the bed worked great, which is really what mattered.

Next to the couch was a fairly large closet stocked with bathrobes, a safe, and extra pillow.

Standard bathroom

The hotel was newly renovated and while that’s usually evident in the bathroom in the form of cracks and shoddy craftsmanship, that was not the case here. The bathroom was perfectly maintained and stocked with Atelier Bloom products. 

Minor issues during my stay

There were some signs of shoddy craftsmanship in the actual room, mainly holes in the ceiling near the couch and door. The phone also didn’t work unless I put it on speaker. I don’t know why – I wasn’t able to make or take a call unless I placed the phone on speaker.

I also found it odd how the only light in the room was the lamp by the bed. Seriously, that was it.

Another thing that could have made the room better: A floor-length mirror. The space by the couch would have been perfect for this, but it hadn’t occurred to anyone to place one there. 

Kimpton famously offers guests a  $10 “raid the minibar” credit for each stay. There was no mention of it at check-in, but I was later told I did in fact qualify for this credit. I used it towards a Kind bar and water, which came to $11. Even though I was told it was “taken care of” at check-out, I later found out I was charged for the snacks. 

Kimpton Ink48 service

I’d heard such amazing things, not just about Kimpton but this hotel itself, that I was surprised by the service. For example the concierge, who also checked people in, had this habit of not looking at (or even greeting) guests. She was all business, typing away on her computer, taking phone calls in the middle of helping guests, and being generally unpleasant.

All of the front desk agents had this cold demeanor when they interacted with guests that bordered on rudeness. The restaurant staff, on the other hand, was terrific.

Print restaurant at Kimpton Ink48 

I’d heard great things about Print, the restaurant inside the Kimpton Ink48, specifically the goat cheese gnocchi. The restaurant itself is really beautiful but ridiculously dark. 

Maybe it was because I got the gnocchi without bacon, but it was just bland. When a lot of people rave about something, it tends to be overrated. That was definitely the case here. 

Final thoughts

Overall I thought the Kimpton Ink48 was a lovely hotel with nice, airy rooms and a decent location. There are some kinks to be worked out and I probably wouldn’t stay here again due to the location, but at the time it was a good fit and the incredibly low rate was well worth it.

Have you stayed at the Kimpton Ink48 before? Do you agree with my review of the hotel?