New York Travel Guide
Hotel Events / July Fourth Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel Food / Celebrity Hotels / → All Tags
Catch the World's Fastest Hot Dog Eater At Eventi Hotel
Food has been one of the main attractions over at Eventi Hotel since 2010, when they opened a fancy-pants food court called FoodParc next to the lobby. So it's kind of fitting that the hotel will be hosting a July 4th hot dog eating contest, next month featuring none other than Takeru Kobayashi, the world's greatest hot dog eater.
This is great news for Kobayashi fans who usually have to trek all the way out to Coney Island to watch their hero scarf down wieners (his personal record is 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes).
The event will be hosted at the outdoor plaza in the back of the hotel, where Kobayashi will compete with seven other "acclaimed competitive eaters." We still can't believe that some people make a living in this world as "competitive eaters," but hey, if it pays the bills…
Manhattan Hotels / Killer View / Anti-View / Standard Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Best Western Hotels / Andaz Hotels / Conrad Hotels / Lower Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
5 Hotels In Lower Manhattan For River Gazing
For most of us, we're just happy that our hotel room in Manhattan doesn't look out onto a brick wall. But for those of you who are particular about your views, we've rounded up the best hotels in lower Manhattan for river gazing. And no, you don't have to spend a fortune to do it, which is another reason to consider downtown versus uptown when planning your stay.
5 SCENIC WATERFRONT HOTELS IN LOWER MANHATTAN
1. It's all about the views at Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, which also took quite a beating during Hurricane Sandy (everything's back to normal now, though). The 298-room hotel often gets overshadowed by its uptown counterparts (Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons New York), but actually this place outshines all of them put together when it comes to fresh sea breezes and plenty of open spaces around the hotel The rooms even come with telescopes!
Rates from $395/night.
Four more after the jump!
Sneak Peek / Manhattan Hotels / High Line Hotels / Boutique Hotels / → All Tags
A Sneak Peek at The High Line Hotel in NYC
The other month we teased you with a snapshot of the antique custom embossers found on the desk at the new 60-room High Line Hotel in Manhattan. Today, we've got the full monty and it's a beauty.
Here are some snapshots from inside a High Line Suite which is meant to evoke a "a romantic and eclectic 19th century guest house with a separate tranquil sitting area." These rooms also have a king bed, one-of-kind furniture from throughout the U.S. large windows (with black-out shades), bathrobes and slippers and our fave, free WiFi. These rooms also overlook the Close, a private garden open only to hotel guests.
Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Breakfast / Shakespeare Hotels / → All Tags
Get Thee To The Kimberly For NYC's Shakespeare In The Park This Summer
To stay, or not to stay—that is the question. At a hotel, that is. And this summer, The Kimberly Hotel is making the decision a whole lot easier by offering guests exclusive access to performances of Shakespeare In the Park, a popular NYC summer tradition of high-quality, free theater in Central Park.
As the official hotel partner, the Kimberly has launched a Shakespeare In the Park travel package that makes a serious case for battling through the unpleasant summer crowds. Starting out with a two-night stay in a one-bedroom suite (it's worth noting that all suites come with marble bathtubs and balconies overlooking the Manhattan skyline), the deal also covers breakfast on the hotel's rooftop (another, lesser-known, but equally pleasant NYC summer tradition), and, finally, two tickets to a Shakespeare play of your choice.
And just so you know what you'd be getting yourself into, this summer's Shakespeare In The Park lineup includes two featured plays: 'The Comedy Of Errors' (May 28-June 30) and 'Love's Labour's Lost, a New Musical' (July 23- August 18).
Hotel Vodka / AKA Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Central Park Hotels / Hotel Cocktails / → All Tags
Did You Know? AKA Has Their Own Brand of Vodka
We know hotels go all out with their specialty cocktails but AKA, the luxury brand of serviced residences, has gone one step further--by creating their own branded vodka, called a.vod.
The spirit is actually a specially distilled Charbay vodka crafted exclusively for AKA by Marko Karakasevic, a 13th generation master distiller. But AKA doesn't just let the vodka hang out on a shelf above the bar. Instead, they keep a.vod stored inside a special "Vodka Vault" at the AKA Central Park. The doors to the Vodka Vault can only be opened with a special AKA a.key--a large, chrome-shaped key in the shape of the letter "a"--and there are only 12 keys in existence.
Sadly, you can't buy a.vod on your next trip to the liquor store. But you can sip on cocktails made with a.vod when you visit the a.lounge at AKA Central Park and other AKA spots with a.lounges such as AKA Sutton Place, AKA White House and AKA Beverly Hills. Wanna try out a.vod in a more romantic setting? Then consider the AKA Central Park's outdoor bedroom package on the 17th floor's 1,000-sq.ft. terrace.
HotelChatter Reviews / Holiday Inn Express / Hell's Kitchen Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
So, About That Deal We Scored on a Brand New Hotel in NYC...
The other week we were pretty proud of ourselves for nabbing a brand-new hotel room in NYC at the Holiday Inn Express, Manhattan West Side (aka Hell's Kitchen) for under $200 a night, especially when room rates in New York were hovering around the $350 mark. Today, we're having a bit of buyer's remorse. While the rate was a good deal, the experience was marred by a few problems.
Here's what you should know:
THE GOOD
· Loyalty Perks. Being a Priority Rewards Club member, we were given two bottles of water at check-in.
· Outlets. The room had a ton of outlets everywhere.
· Extra Toiletries. Housekeeping will deliver up any toiletries that you may have forgotten like a toothbrush and toothpaste. This was extremely convenient at ten o'clock at night.
· Friendly Staff. The hotel employees were extremely friendly and helpful, even when things didn't go as planned (See below.)
Hotel Amenities / Hotel Concierges / Hotel Services / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
The Mark Maintains Its Baller Rep With Bergdorf Collab
We’ve become accustomed to NYC's The Mark hotel going above and beyond when it comes to offering deluxe amenities to its guests, whether that be their Airport Concierge service or even loaning out fab MacLaren strollers so you don’t have to lug your own.
Now they’ve taken it a step further. We’ll preface this by saying since we’ve introduced our Fantasy Friday section, we realize there’s a whole lotta travelers out there with deep pockets and a love for special service. We’re trying to get there. Lord knows, we are.
So, that’s why we can now appreciate The Mark’s new collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman. The program is designed for the traveler with luggage mishaps (stop checking bags, people!) or in need for a last minute outfit for an event (example--we needed a ballgown in the 11th hour while at another hotel and had to fend for ourselves).
Hotel News / Hotel Construction / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
NYC Moving For a New Hotel Near Chinatown in 2015
Should we just create a “New NYC Hotel of the Day” category here at HC? It might be necessary at the rate these properties are rolling out.
A report from the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center provides details on a new 20-story, 220-room hotel scheduled to open at 50 Bowery in Spring 2015. The high-rise hotel will be located south of Canal Street and near the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge.
We spoke to Peter Poon Architects (the firm behind the Grand Street Hotel and Hyatt Place) who told us the property, which is currently named "Hotel Bowery" (not to be confused with The Bowery Hotel) will be constructed after the demolition of two existing buildings. Problem is, the application to demolish 50-52 Bowery hasn't been approved and the tear-down process was supposed to begin last month. Seems there's a bit of resistance from the neighborhood to build at 50 Bowery, which has some rich history behind it as an 19th-century entertainment venue.
Once completed however, the foundation, which is scheduled to begin next summer, will be laid down for the hotel which is expected to span from Bowery to Elizabeth Street. For now, the area is one big eye-and-traffic sore.
[Photo:TheLowdownNY.com]
Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Hotel Hype / Hyatt Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Hyatt To Open New Hotel in Times Square This Fall
Another New York hotel will open, most likely with dramatic flair, given its location, in the heart of Times Square.
Details of the 487-room Hyatt Times Square New York is already laced with hype. This 54-story silver tower with a glass exterior will be Manhattan’s largest Hyatt in over 30 years and is scheduled to make its near-Broadway debut in late October 2013.
It’ll open just in time to show off SPaN company's fireplace-decorated Skybar rooftop lounge and its views of the Hudson and the East River before the season comes to a close.
With the proximity to Broadway and 7th Avenue theater district, Radio City Music Hall, and Rockefeller Center, this hotel is sure to be a tourists dream. And for those in town for work, it’s close to the 6th Avenue business hub. In other words—something for everyone!
Hotel Fitness / Manhattan Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Queens Hotels / Indigo Hotels / Hotel Gyms / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Sweat It Out: 3 New Hotel Fitness Amenities Launching In NYC This Summer
NYC is like the Holy Grail for fitness hounds: jogging the Central Park reservoir, kayaking on the Huson, anti-gravity yoga classes. The list goes on. But for first-time visitors, the array of options can easily become overwhelming.
Luckily, this summer, hotels are going out of their way to offer unique work-outs, custom-tailored to individual guests' needs. So forget staring at a blank wall while pounding the treadmill, and consider these brand new hotel fitness amenities:
70 Park Avenue: Kimpton's swank Park Avenue abode just launched a new fitness center, and to promote it, the hotel is offering two new fitness amenities—first off, a "Power Bar" menu, which offers an a la carte list of different fitness options, from in-room personal training sessions ($100) to yoga ($65) to boot camp ($65).
Alternatively, guests can check-out a mini iPad pre-loaded with a Virtual Fitness Library of workout videos, tutorials and fitness tips.
Two more after the jump!
Hotel Bars / Hotel Cocktails / W Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Terraces / → All Tags
W New York Downtown's Summer Nights on "The Terrace"
Pre-Memorial Day we boldly announced the beginning of rooftop bar season worldwide. We have the chops to make such declarations. But in New York, specifically, the W New York – Downtown, the hotel decided the official start of summer would be called “Terrace Fest”. Why? Well, cuz they don’t really have a rooftop, per se, but their fifth floor Living Room outdoor is as good as any officially designated spot we’ve seen in our extensive NYC list (and you’ll see more soon!).
The W kicked off their summer soirees on May 29th, but no worries, there'll still be loads of parties to attend as the season winds on. In fact, there’s one tomorrow, June 4th, called “Travel Tuesday: Transport to W South Beach”! This is for the poor souls who can’t hop down to their outrageously cool Florida outpost of the brand, so they’ve brought it to Lower Manhattan, instead.
Morgans Hotel Group / Hotel Woes / Mondrian Hotels / Soho Hotels / Miami Hotel Mambo / Boston Hotels / → All Tags
Will The Mondrian Soho Be No Mo'?
On Friday, a letter sent to shareholders of Morgans Hotel Group detailed some frightening behind-the-scenes financials for the uber-trendy Mondrian Soho Hotel as well as other key Morgans properties.
To quickly get you up to speed, OTK Associates (one of the largest shareholders of the Morgans stock), has sued fellow board members to stop them from doing a deal with Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa company and from recapitalizing assets. It’s an extremely complicated situation but a Delaware court recently ruled in favor of OTK, who is now trying to replace the exist boardmembers with picks of their own.
In their recent letter to shareholders with their boardmember suggestions, OTK Associates revealed that foreclosure proceedings began in January for the Mondrian Soho. But that's not all:
In February 2013, the owner of Mondrian SoHo, a joint venture in which Morgans Group owns a 20% equity interest, gave notice purporting to terminate our subsidiary as manager of the hotel. It also filed a lawsuit against us seeking termination of the management agreement. We intend to vigorously defend our rights to continue managing the property under our management agreement and related agreements, but we cannot assure you that we will be successful.
Ouch.
