New York Travel Guide
Tags: Hotel Construction / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hersha Hospitality / Steven Kamali / → All Tags
What Hotel Is Going Up at 48th and Lex in Manhattan?
Welcome to the corner of 48th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan—and our latest burning question. What is this hotel? And when will it open? When little is released about a new property, especially one in New York City, our interest is piqued. And so it is with this glass-fronted number to be run by Hersha Hospitality.
Here’s what we’ve learned about the mysterious hotel:
Tags: Hotel Hype / W Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The W New York Downtown Will Be a 'W on Steroids'
Update: Yes, this Page Six story is from last year, but we were hungry for something new on the long-delayed W Downtown. We hope to bring you piping hot, fresh, new details on this baby very soon. Got any scoop? Let us know!
As with any hotel delay, we were disappointed when we learned that the W New York Downtown opening was pushed back until May 4. But thanks to a Page Six magazine interview with real-estate scion Matthew Moinian, we think we have an explanation. “Think of it as a W on steroids,” Moinian told the mag of his pet project. Huh? The W Downtown is busy bulking up and pumping iron?
Tags: Fashion Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Fashion Week Hotels / Reality TV Hotels / Firmdale Hotels / → All Tags
Rachel Zoe Moves Her Fashion Week HQ to the Crosby Street Hotel
Bravo reality show star and celeb stylist Rachel Zoe is back in New York City for Fashion Week, and for the third straight season in a row, she's hopped to a new new hotel to set up camp for the week.
We learned in the first season of her show—The Rachel Zoe Project—that Rachel usually takes over a suite at the 60 Thompson Hotel, but when the new Thompson LES opened just in time for another fashion week during the filming of the second season of her TV show, she understandably headed downtown to the penthouse there, and appropriately gushed over the slick decor and amazing views. And where is she staying now that she's filming the third season of the show? A totally different hotel, of course; it's the brand spanking new Crosby Street Hotel.
Tags: The Invited Hotel Reviewers / VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Sean O'Neill / Budget Travel / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
An NYC Hotel Recommendation That Keeps 'The Cost in Line'
It's back! We have decided to rev up our popular VIP Hotel Reviewer Series again, except VIP is sooo last decade. This time around, in light of all the private hotel sales popping up, we're calling this series, THE INVITED.
Every so often, we'll invite an expert in the travel and media worlds, and beyond, to tell us what are their favorite hotels and why. Pay attention: These invited guests are skilled at what they do and they don't mess around when it comes to their hotels.
Our first invited guest is Sean O'Neill, the deal-hunting senior editor at BudgetTravel.com who has detailed for HotelChatter his very own budget pick in Manhattan. Enjoy.
Type of hotel: Budget.
Kind of guests: Tourists.
Why I Booked It: My partner and I have lived in Brooklyn for a few years, so I decided to surprise him with an overnight in Manhattan. Given our personal priorities, I knew it’d be more important to splash out on the food and entertainment rather than on our hotel room. So I booked a night’s stay the Da Vinci for $164 (after taxes and fees) on an August weeknight.
Tags: Hotel Nightclubs / Hersha Hospitality / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
What's The Deal With The New Club at the Paramount Hotel?
It's been a long time since the Paramount Hotel was one of the hottest spots in NYC. Ditto its location in Times Square. But with news of a new club on the way, maybe it's time for a Paramount comeback?
We're hearing that hospitality consultant Steven Kamali, along with the peeps behind Tenjune and Abe & Arthur's are at work on a new club concept for the hotel's 10,000 square-foot restaurant space. Once upon a time this was the Diamond Horseshoe, a vaudeville-style joint that boasted Gene Kelly and Broadway types as customers. Can Kamali and co. bring a dash of New York cool back to the hotel?
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Kimpton Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Print at Ink48 Is Now Serving Breakfast & Lunch
Midtown far west isn't exactly known for attracting foodies, especially right over on Eleventh Avenue. But that's what makes Print, the new restaurant at Ink48, such a welcome addition. Guests at the Kimpton hotel, next to the West Side Highway and the Hudson River, will no longer have to trek for blocks to find decent food. The restaurant is now serving breakfast and lunch, and dinner is set to begin next Monday.
The dining room looks much prettier than its printing-press name would suggest, and so far the menu looks straightforward and reasonably priced for a hotel. (The $9 Print Breakfast is a scrambled egg sandwich with local cheddar, bacon and arugula on seven grain toast.)
Tags: Valentine's Day Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Insane Hotel Packages / → All Tags
Swim in Private With Your Lover at The Greenwich Hotel
Valentine's Day for hotels usually means breaking out the cases of champagne and loading up on chocolate-covered strawberries to place throughout their guestrooms. But we're not into that. We've already told you our favorite hotels for Valentine's Day but this week, we'd like to spotlight some of the most opulent V-Day packages out there. If you're going to impress your schmoopie, why not go all out?
The Greenwich Hotel in TriBeca, owned by Robert DeNiro, has put together a star treatment sans the pesky paparazzi. Upon arrival, a bottle of bubbly and aphrodisiacs will be handed to you. Then to get you in the mood, you'll nibble on Champagne truffles, raspberries with fresh whipped cream, and oysters.
Other rated-PG amenities in the package include a Japanese bath soak followed by massage for two in the hotel's Shibui Spa. You lovebirds will also dine at Italian restaurant Locanda Verde and be served breakfast in bed each morning.
But the rated-R-or-higher perks come out at night.
Tags: Hotel News / Hotel Closings / Hotel Rebranding / Manhattan Hotels / Helmsley Hotels / Starwood Hotels / → All Tags
Helmsley Middletowne Checks Out, Sheraton Midtown to Get New Identity
As the revolving door of new hotels continues to turn in NYC, a few older properties are getting the boot. Or a new identity. The Helmsley Middletowne Hotel will close in May, and over on the west side, the Sheraton Times Square will ditch its Sheraton name tag, and be known as a generic Starwood property—until execs decide what to do with it.
The Helmsley closes after 82 years in its 48th Street location—but if you're a fan of the Queen of Mean's palaces, rest assured the other Helmsley hotels in Manhattan will remain open. For now.
Tags: Hotel Openings / Guess The Hotel / Killer Views / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The Nolitan Hotel and its Roof With the Killer Views Should Open in May
As two out of three people guessed, yesterday’s new hotel with the killer view was The Nolitan. And after a walk through the construction site with the hotel’s architect, GM, and press rep, we have to say: we can’t wait for the hotel to open later this spring.
May is a tentative date for now, so jot it down in your Hotel Tracking Sheet in pencil and we’ll keep you posted as the date firms up. In the meantime, join us in whetting your taste buds for a friendly little alternative to some of the cooler-than-thou properties in this neck of the woods.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Scott Conant / → All Tags
The Cooper Square Hotel's New Restaurant Will Serve Sex in a Bowl
New York Restaurant Week officially ends this week, but when one door closes, another opens. Tomorrow, that door is at the Cooper Square Hotel, where Scott Conant's new restaurant, Faustina, makes its debut in the old Table Eight space. We could tell you all about the chic, grey design and the new mirrors and lighting, but in the spirit of "don't bore us, skip to the chorus" we'll get straight to the menu.
Like Conant's Scarpetta restaurant across town, Faustina is Italian. But in addition to the pastas and formaggi, here you can order fried chicken, crispy rock shrimp, and a posh burger. The dish we're most interested in sampling is the tajarin pasta with tomato and sea urchin—but only because Conant described it as "sex in a bowl" in the New York Times.
Tags: Odd Hotels / Unusual Hotels / Hotel Art / Pop-Up Hotels / → All Tags
A 'Night' at the Cardboard Hotel in NYC is Totally Free
We've seen all sorts of odd and unusual hotels here at HotelChatter but this one just might be our fave. The only problem is it's not really a hotel but rather an art gallery installation.
The Five-Star Cardboard Hotel was created by artist-designers, Sarah Kueng and Lovis Caputo, and is now on display in the Miyako Yoshinaga Art Prospects gallery in Manhattan. It is essentially a cardboard box, like the ones you used to play in when you were a kid. Except it has far better design that your draw-on window panes.
Tags: Political Hotels / Celebrity Hotel Demands / Hillary Clinton / Bill Clinton / Dick Cheney / Sarah Palin / George Bush / Colin Powell / → All Tags
Political Hotel Persuasions, From Both Sides of the Aisle
So far this week we’ve told you about his-and-hers hotel requests by the rich and famous. It’s not just celebrity songstresses and notorious blowhards who require all sorts of fancy amenities at hotels though.
Not ones to stay away from the spotlight, politicians are demanding hotel guests in an entirely different class—often with safety and conferencing requirements that have whole hotel staffs (and national security forces) scrambling. Then again, sometimes all they want is an Atkins bar and some decaf coffee. Here are a few of our favorites that we came across.
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