Rotana Hookah Place

Been to this Hookah Lounge about 4 – 5 times. I have tried other places around (the whole street is hookah lounges), but I like this one the most compare to the other ones. The music is not too loud, tables are not too close to each other, not ghetto, and authentic.
A hookah costs about $ 12-​$ 15. You can add fresh fruits as the base, I tried a fresh pineapple base once, additional $ 10, but I didn’t like it that much.
The service is very fast here. Someone is always changing your charcoals. I wish they serve food though. Like wings or pizza.
Oh, the other bad thing is, it’s cash only.

My last time going there was an absolute disgrace! me and three friends went in there but two of us were leaving in 10 minutes so only one hookah The waiter was SOOOO rude. He questioned us; gave us a problem with the waters; we asked him to break the check down because we were leaving quickly and wanted to split it according to who ordered which drink and he said oh my god, threw his hands in the air, and walked away. He was absolutely unprofessional. We had to tell the manager, who couldn’t do much anyway. Ill never return

Great hookah for the price was only $ 9 for regular flavor. Their mint tea is great they actually use real mint leaves to brew it. The staff is really attentive with the coal changing.

Always get great service. They have great hookah, is never burnt, the coal guys are always walking around so you don’t have to call them. The atmosphere is very relaxed, the furniture is comfortable, no loud music.

Worst hookah I have ever had and the music and the price was really bad… smoked for 5 minutes and left don’t come here and do not give a tip they have very bad service here

I was surprised at my experience, or should I say «lack of» experience here. It must’ve been because my friend and I were there early… Like 9pm. As soon as we walked in there was nothing but old men. We walked right out. Not one girl or younger person in sight! When we passed by around 1am, place appeared packed with younger people. I guess I’ll give it another try on some occasion.

In my last review I said the décor was not all that great, but after the new renovation this place rivals some of the best looking lounges I’ve been to! Definitely a place you can bring a first date on now, especially the back.
Everything else is still the same but I think prices increased by 1 – 2 $ which is def understandable and it’s still one of the better bang for your buck places in Steinway. And sometimes they’ll randomly enforce a 1 drink minimum but not too often. Happened to me only about twice.

My friend and I came here on a Sunday afternoon to enjoy their solarium area. It is well priced hookah, better than you’d ever find in Manhattan. The service was impeccable. Adel was always refilling coals and was very attentive. The ability to sit in a semi-​outdoor space with the sun shining on your face cannot be understated. Will definitely be back especially during the great weather.

Normal hang out spot for my friends and I. My favorite hookah is the grapefruit mint. They put an actual grapefruit on top of the hookah. The back is remodeled with a sky roof. Try the Arabic coffee its great. Great place to go to have great conversation or just dip into the middle eastern side of you.

This place is just awesome, hookah is ligit, natural coal, good atmosphere great people who work here, very hospitable and like to joke around.

This place is so nasty. Worst hookah I have had in New York. Has a very strong rose water taste that overpowers the actual flavor we ordered. We even switched it out and same exact outcome. It tasted as if they just gave back the hookah we sent out

Awesome for late nighters with friends, family or coworkers, great atmosphere and music!

If I could give it 0 stars I would. Simply put if you like loud crappy music and you hate conversation, this is the place for you. The waiter whilst replenishing my coals blew ash in my friend and my drinks. On top of that the service is horrible, we were the only ones there and we couldn’t get ahold of the waitress to get our check. There are about 10 other hookah places on steinway, choose any over this one.

I have always appreciated hookah and am fortunate to say that although I am Latina I have an uncle from Jordan who introduced me to hookah and it’s culture.
ROTANA is the closest to the real deal that I have experience so far here in New York!
–AMAZING SERVICE: great friendly staff, quick service (literally had our hookah within 5 minutes of ordering), and consistent changing of coals which kept our hookah running smoothly !
–FAIR PRICES: they have a descent variety of flavors and I must say their house flavors where yummy ! (Tried the rose flavor $ 9 and it was great!)
–ATMOSPHERE: laid back, music varied and it was at a volume where you can still engage in conversation. I noticed I was the only female there but the importance was the quality of the sheesha and I guess I can say I was a lucky gal surrounded by men lol
–LOCATION: it is on the main strip of hookah bars so it is a great place to start if you plan on venturing out to bars or other hookah bars (which you shouldn’t because it’s the best hookah place on the strip). It is not a fancy place but it is comfortable. The restrooms where down a staircase but it was nice to get fresh air away from the accumulated smoke that after a couple hours may be overwhelming.
The only reason I did not give it a 5 star is because my Arabic coffee was not good and they did not have ice cream available so they were not prepared to meet their menu options.
IF YOU LIKE AUTHENTIC QUALITY HOOKAH AND UNDERSTAND ITS CULTURE… THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO GO TO.

Horrible place. The waitress blew the coal ashes into my drink and they do not put the coals on right, so the hookah will be impossible to smoke.

The worst Nescafe I have ever tasted in my life! Don’t try it! And the tea is not bad I guess.

Rotana has quickly become THE only go to hookah lounge for me in all of Astoria… or the city for that matter.
What makes this place so great versus all those others out there?
— The environment is very relaxing and it is a really chill spot to go to with a big or small crowd.
— Hookah quality is way better & cheaper than you’ll find anywhere in Manhattan. The price range is from $ 9 — $ 14 for a hookah, depending on the flavor, which will last you a really long time.
— Service is remarkably impressive. You will have guys coming around and changing your coals very often, which you just will NOT find in most places. The majority of places you get 1 coal and that’s it! Not here.
— You always find a diverse crowd of people here. However, you tend to see more men than women in this venue.
— Everyone is either engaged in their own conversations, watching a game on the TV sets, or enjoying some snacks (which you can bring and enjoy at this establishment).
— There is a patio area in the back with a couple of TV sets and tables set up. If you want to enjoy some fresh air while smoking your shisha you can come back here.
The only drawback (for some) might be that this place doesn’t serve ANY alcohol. You have to keep in mind that you are going to an authentic hookah bar, which if it’s authentic you won’t find any liquor on the menu.
Personally, the hookah quality is so good and strong that I don’t mind not having alcohol at all.
Parking can be a bit limited since it is Steinway street so give yourself enough time to look for a spot!

Nice spot, really chill, music was not too loud. The seats were conformable and the hookah was good. They used the actual wood coals which was cool but they needed to be changed more often. The people that worked there were nice. This place is what I am looking for in a hookah bar in the city, the prices were extremely cheap and I enjoyed smoking there.

I always forget how cheap hookah is in Astoria. The hookah is pretty good, and a steal at $ 9 a bowl. Unless you opt for the upgrades, like a fruit bowl, you aren’t gonna be spending too much. It’s got lounge type seating, and the hookah uses the most natural coal, not coco naras. I haven’t seen a place use this type of coals in years.
But the problem is, those coals require constant attention. The service here did not replace the coals often enough. Seating wasn’t the best either.
But the hookah was good and the price is great.

I’ve been coming here for about 4 – 5 years now and Rotana has only gotten better over the course of that time. Rotana’s really come a long way over the years having had renovations done almost yearly to upgrade the establishment.
Sometimes it takes having a lousy experience to realize how good you really had it at the place you went. I’ve tried other hookah bars and the experience is mixed but for the most part I prefer Rotana over all of them.
Rotana tends to attract a very mixed crowd. During a regular weekday you’ll see older men watching soccer. Rotana is ery relaxed during the daytime hours. There’s usually only one guy on shift at this time and even when it gets busy his service is impeccable. I’ve literally watch this guy zip and zoom from one customer to the other in order to give fast attentive service. He not only is your host and takes orders but he’s also the coal guy. How he manages to do all of this at once when it’s busy and rmeember what you order is beyond me. He also makes really great hookahs.
Later on the evening you get a lot of late teens and twenty somethings but again the crowd is still very mixed. The regulars all know each other and are all friendly. They’re definitely characters that’s for sure. Rotana is one of the few hookah bars that’s open ²⁴⁄₇ which is really convenient. The service at night is just as good as the daytime. There are a lot more people on staff but there’s also more customers in the evening.
The hookah prices range from $ 8 – 16 depending on what you order. They don’t serve alcohol but they do have great smoothies and tea options.