The Barlow is a nice hotel located in the center of town with an extremely friendly staff. The rooms are nicely decorated with an eclectic mix contemporary that still honors the history of the town. I did feel that is was lacking a place to sit and have a cup of coffee or a cocktail, however.More
Check out YELP reviews. Just do it.
If you are interested, allow me to add my own 50 cents.
I arrive here with my wife on my wedding anniversary. We wanted a fireplace. They advertised they had one in our room. When we get there, we find that it isn't working. We ask the people to fix it or change room. Their response?
10% discount or YOU CAN LEAVE - exact repose from front desk.
Don't insult us with 10% discount. We just wanted a room with a fireplace. The manager crystal lanphear refused to talk to us on phone. She would only speak to us through front desk person - stating she is not "around" although the front desk person is talking on the phone with her right in front of us. I said okay, we will take 10% discount for the inconvenience for one night and will head out.
While getting ready to leave, we get another phone call stating by front desk person saying "My manager says we won't pay the second day because you guys already signed up for two days."
For the record, another unique part of the charging practice of this place is they charge you full at front when you first arrive at the place. When you get there, they will ask your credit card so they can charge in full. For anyone who stayed at plenty of hotel, this is a scary practice. They put you at risk even before having stayed at the place.
Now I get the fireplace isn't the huge "emergency". But what gets me is that 1. Manager refused to even talk to the customer. 2. They refuse to refund the money for the night guest don't stay while they failed to deliver on their advertised service/product.
We didn't stay for second night even after their scare tactic. We have put credit on dispute and are fighting. If you are staying here, be aware. See the YELP reviews. They told us as we are leaving they are going to charge us for the night we didn't stay. Make sure all the parts are working before you move in. Be aware if they ask you to charge your full money at front even before having stayed there full days.
We are not paying for the night we didn't stay. We promise will keep you guys updated with what's going on on credit dispute.
For clarification: Yes. The electric fireplace wasn't working as the guest checking out that morning informed the front desk. When this guest checked in we apologized and offered our standard inconvenience discount of 10% without his having to ask. He stated that "it's not really a big deal" (or an emergency, as he says in his review) and proceeded to check in. The hotel was fully booked and moving the guest to another room was not an option. A short time after checking in the guest approached the front desk saying that the 10% was not enough, that he wanted a 40% discount. Our Front Desk staff member contacted Crystal, our General Manager, to ask if this was possible. [As a side note: she was in the Emergency Room with her 10 year old son, who had been bitten by a dog, that is why she "was not around".] Crystal stated that no more than our standard discount would be offered and, if that was not satisfactory to the guest we would be happy to refund their money for the second night (the deposit for the first night was paid at the time of booking) and they could look for more suitable lodging elsewhere. He had the option to stay or go (he wasn't kicked out) and he decided to stay.
Every hotel not just in Hudson, or New York, or even the United States requires a credit card at check in. This is not a policy limited only to The Barlow. That this guest was unaware of this common practice is perplexing. In addition, all guests sign a registration form clearly stating that they understand their responsibility for the entirety of the cost of the reservation, regardless of length of stay, which this guest signed accordingly. Scare tactic? Not quite. Standard practice? Most surely.
Finally, Yelp has been sued by by everyone from individual businesses up to and including State Attorneys General for unfair and illegal business practices for extorting money from small business owners for "good reviews". When the business doesn't pay (as The Barlow doesn't) the only reviews Yelp allows are "bad reviews" and the others are relegated to their "Not recommended" review category at the bottom of the page. We don't even bother reading or responding to our Yelp reviews. Google "Yelp lawsuit" for more information.
Just returned from a nice one night stay. I was impressed by the friendly staff and the simple, modern decor of this boutique hotel. Great, central location to visit the variety of art galleries, antique stores and restaurants in historic Hudson.
Thanks so much for the great comments! We're glad you had a terrific (albeit short) stay with us at The Barlow. We really appreciate the positive feedback about our wonderful staff who work tremendously hard to ensure our guests enjoy both the hotel and Hudson. We tried to make sure our guest rooms had everything a guest would need without overthinking the design - simple but modern is a great way to describe it. Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you back again soon!
Had a great time at the Barlow, fantastic location and the rooms were really nice. Only deduction was that the room's AC unit was a tad noisy. Otherwise I had zero complaints, we loved it. It is right in downtown, walkable to everything. The staff were helpful as well
On behalf of the management and staff of The Barlow thanks for the great review! We're so glad you had a great time staying with us. While some guests have felt the A/C provided light "white noise", we're sorry to hear you felt they were a little loud. Of course, we'll take a look and make sure the unit is working properly (since they are all brand new they do need a little "tweaking" from time to time). Hopefully you'll be back in the Hudson area again in the future and we will have the pleasure of having you stay with us at The Barlow once again. Until then, thanks so much for the terrific comments!
Like many European hotels , the Barlow is small , only 16 rooms , but the room was most comfortable . We had a queen size bed , and , even in a small space , there was a small sofa, chair, and coffee table . The coffee maker came with choices from different coffees and teas as well as hot chocolate . The bathroom had a tub and shower. No need to bring soap, etc. A bonus was the fireplace that comes in every room . Free parking is behind the hotel . Warren Street is the perfect location for shopping and restaurants .
We're so happy you enjoyed your stay with us so much and thank you for such an exceptional review! You've really captured the essence of what we have tried to create with The Barlow: comfortable rooms with ample space and furnishings as well as modern amenities like Keurig Coffeemakers, DirecTV, and complimentary WiFi. Thanks, too, for giving a shout out to our environmental practices - we do all we can to reduce the amount of waste the hotel produces, including our water usage, and at the same time effectively managing our energy consumption to appropriate levels. We hope to welcome you back to The Barlow and thank you once again for the fantastic review!
We enjoyed our stay. It is an old restored boutique hotel with upgraded amenities. The location was great. The only thing is that they installed a floor a/c unit and vented it out through the window ok but did not insulate in between the windows to keep the bugs out. We had to kill a few mosquitos until we covered the opening with a towel.
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We are happy that you noticed the old charm we kept but also made sure our guests were comfortable with the modern amenities. We also feel the location is a true asset. Our guests have the ability to walk out the front door to an array of restaurants and shops. We are sorry to hear that some mosquitos were in your room. Please understand with the old building we do try to make sure this doesn't happen.
