New York City Travel Guide
Tags: Digital Nomad Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Hotel Lobbies / Manhattan Hotel Reviews / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
Digital Nomad Lobbies: Millennium Broadway
There has been a lot of talk recently about the lifestyle of digital nomads -- folks who work from wherever they might roam. HotelChatter has been covering hotel wifi since the beginning, but as we cited in our 2009 annual hotel wifi report times they are a changin'.
Hotel: Millenium Broadway New York Times Square
Location Layout: There are three levels. The street level is the busiest level, level two is bound to have a conference going on and level three is fairly open.
Outlets: Plenty of 'em.
Furniture: Each level has a set of couches and good lighting. Aside from the street level, which is a bit darker.
Digital Nomad Tolerance: Light. If you are there during non busy hours you stick out like a sore thumb, and if you are there after 6 PM the place turns into a full fledged bar.
Phone Calls: Not a problem. There are three levels of lobby/conference rooms -- just pick the quietest level for your call.
Overall Mood: Business Time.
Digital Nomad Grade: A
Lack of outlets, bad furniture for working, dim lighting loud music -- they don't want digital nomads here and you don't want to be here. Keep searching.
Tags: Digital Nomad Hotels / Hotel WiFi / Hotel Lobbies / Manhattan Hotel Reviews / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
Digital Nomad Lobbies: W Times Square
There has been a lot of talk recently about the lifestyle of digital nomads -- folks who work from wherever they might roam. HotelChatter has been covering hotel wifi since the beginning, but as we cited in our 2009 annual hotel wifi report times they are a changin'.
Hotel: W New York Times Square
Location Layout: You enter around the corner from Times Square, but have to get yourself to the 7th floor before you are actually in the lobby. Once there, expect dim lighting, base pumping music, and fembot servers asking you if you want a drink regardless of the time of day.
Outlets: Could not find one.
Furniture: Low set couches coupled with low set tables make working comfortably difficult. Wheat grass is present, of course. Oh, and there is this cool old typewriter on one of the tables near the back.
Digital Nomad Tolerance: Light. If you are there during non busy hours you stick out like a sore thumb, and if you are there after 6 PM the place turns into a full fledged bar.
Phone Calls: Not recommended, unless you like your conference calls set to drum and base backgrounds.
Overall Mood: Millennial shiek.
Digital Nomad Grade: D
Lack of outlets, bad furniture for working, dim lighting loud music -- they don't want digital nomads here and you don't want to be here. Keep searching.
Tags: Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Toiletries / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Mr. Clean Would Approve of the Premier Hotel
Looking for an allergy-friendly room when you visit Manhattan? The Premier boutique hotel claims to be home to the only "pure" allergy-friendly rooms in New York.
The interesting thing is that through the Pure rooms concept--they have 16 rooms that are fitted with extra-hypo-allergenic pillow cases, mattress covers, and so on--The Premier has figured out that all of its guests could benefit from the flashy Lather toiletry collection (As Seen on "America's Most Smartest Model!"), not just the allergy-sensitive guests. The hotel recentlyl upgraded the amenities throughout the entire 125 room-hotel to the Lather Bamboo Creme collection; similar to the products in use at the Borgata in Atlantic City.
This is not the only up side to The Premier. It's also well located just off Times Square which makes it easy to get to plenty of great New York hot spots.
But if pure products and luxury amenities aren't what you care about in a hotel stay, The Premier also offers services like the Premier Lounge, where you can get free breakfast, hors d'oeuvres and beer or wine in the afternoon, and all day long, continuous snacks. Sounds like something for everyone.
[Photo: Brininbrin]
Related Stories:
· Manhattan Hotels [HotelChatter]
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Cubicle Dreamin': Colorful in Gerswhin's New York
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K picks out her funky choice for the Big Apple. Enjoy.
I miss the stimulation of New York. Gotta get back there soon. And while my idea of hotel heaven in NY is sleeping among the books of the Library Hotel, my other half would probably be bored to death. As a compromise I think we'd end up somewhere like the Gershwin Hotel on East 27th, mostly because of the attractively colorful exterior (and funky interiors too) and also because it wouldn't break our budget: there's gotta be cash leftover for plenty of shows, meals and fun.
The Gershwin is already a century old, and it's full of all kinds of art and design pieces. I'd be after the room they call the executive den (they also cater for backpackers, so be specific about what you're booking). I also love it that the top floor houses a bunch of artists-in-residence, this year including writers, filmmakers, photographers and multimedia artists. The suite room will put me back a max of $329 a night, but if we run low on funds we can swap to the hostel bunks and pay just $40. Everything's covered.
[Photo: SoCal]
Related Stories:
· Cubicle Dreamin': Bookworm Heaven in NY's Library Hotel [HotelChatter]
· Hotels in New York City [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotel Openings / Downtown-New-York-City-Hotel-Scene-Map / Mondrian Hotels / Morgans Hotel Group / Mondrian-Hotel-NYC / → All Tags
Mondrian NYC Hotel Rumored On Lafayette Street
Down By The Hipster is reporting that the old Chinatown Dialysis Center on Lafayette is set to become the Mondrian Hotel NYC.
That's right, the Mondrian is coming to Chinatown. The project represents Morgans Hotel Group's triumphant return to New York City. Crazy right? We know. The work is being overseen by the conversion experts at HTO. They even have a permit! The hotel will definitely have some big name restaurant and nightlife establishments, but no contracts have been signed with anyone.
This sounds about right. Since the beginning of the year Morgans, and more specifically, Mondrian, have made it perfectly clear that they will be expanding fast and furiously. Well, let's make one thing clear--unlike Yotel or aloft they aren't just firing off expansion press releases without opening hotels.
Back in January Morgans renovated and reopened the James Hotel as Mondrian Scottsdale, and now it appears they are readying a Mondrian Hotel in downtown NYC.
What does this mean? DeNiro, Pomeranc, and Sean MacPherson better ready themselves for some more competition.
Related Stories:
· Rumored Mondrian NYC Map [HotelChatter]
· Mondrian Hotels [HotelChatter]
· Psst...DBTH Has a Secret [DBTH]
Tags: Manhattan Hotels / Meatpacking District Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Gansevoort Billboard Update: No Visible View Blockage
Yesterday we heard from a TripAdvisor commenter, via Gawker, that Hotel Gansevoort had erected a view blocking billboard.
We asked you to send in photographic evidence of the blockage, and guess what? Hotel Gansevoort rep's emailed us saying the TripAdivisor commenter was way off base.
We posed the same challenge to the Gansevoort rep--get us pictures, and she came through.
You can see from these that the billboard is no where near as tall as the hotel and that views are not ruined or majorly obstructed in any way. There are no windows at all on the South side of the building so you can only see the billboard at an angle if you crane your head to the right from the 0,1,2 and 3 lines of rooms facing east. The billboard is not visible when looking at the skyline from the rooftop bar; only if you were to look straight down if you were standing where I was in the photo marked "rooftop 2".
Hotel Gansevoort Photo Tour from this morning showing no visual billboard blockage.
Photos don't usually lie. So unless someone can produce photos of this billboard actually blocking views, which we highly doubt will ever arrive in our inbox, this round clearly goes to the Gansevoort.
Hmm, it is also interesting to note that TripAdvisor appears to have completely erased the comment we originally quoted from, save the first sentence. Really odd.
We can tell you the original comment came from user bwayjoey.
Tags: Manhattan Hotels / Meatpacking District Hotels / → All Tags
Gansevoort Billboard Blocks Guest Views
Update Here: It appears that the commenter quoted below is completely inaccurate. Can hotel guests be so nutty that the completely make stuff up sometimes--signs point to yes. Maybe we are wrong, but take a look at the photos taken this morning and you be the judge. Don't worry, we will bust these whack job commenters whenever we find their web litter.
Ah, the Dennis Rodman of hotels is back in the news. So you know what that means--Hotel Gansevoort must have done something wrong.
Just when guest reviews and tipster thoughts were trending positive, Hotel Gansevoort decided to block the all important guest room view with a giant billboard a couple weeks back:
If you are planning a stay at the Gansevoort, be forewarned: the hotel has erected an 8-story (yes, eight stories, the height of the entire hotel) double billboard perpendicular to the building which is what every guest facing east (that's half the guests) will see out of their windows, instead of the beautiful city. (Those facing west get to see New Jersey. Enjoy.) It is giant, it is ugly, and you will think you are in Times Square. Oh, and you also get to see it (and have the view blocked) from both the rooftop bar and the outdoor bar on the street level. IT'S THAT BIG. See photo.
Perfect. Of course, if you send in a view from your Gansevoort room there is a 99% chance it will make the Anti-View section.
Related Stories:
· Hotel Gansevoort [TripAdvisor]
· Billboard Destroying Natural Beauty of Meatpacking District [Gawker]
Tags: The Bowery Hotel / Hotel Hype / Sean MacPherson / LES Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Photos From Inside The Bowery Hotel
A HotelChatter tipster sent us our first photos from inside the Bowery Hotel.
These photos take a look at a sixth floor suite, which as you can see above, affords guests a view of the East Village. Bet you never thought that view would become sought after did you? Is it actually sought after? Guess that is to be determined.
Either way, the Bowery Hotel officially entered soft opening this past weekend--three floors of rooms are open for business, rates, as we told you last week, are $245 at the moment, but be aware, Sean MacPherson can scrap those introductory rates at any time.
Our tipster added this:
I also wanted to let you know, I stayed at the bowery hotel all weekend and it was awesome, the views are sick, and everyone I gave a tour to had their jaws drop at the sight of the hotel lobby and rooms. The bars and restaurant won't be open for about 6 more weeks.
Tags: The Bowery Hotel / Hotel Hype / Sean MacPherson / LES Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Bowery Hotel Insider Reports: The Tower is Open For Business
A HotelChatter tipster has alerted us to a blog entry from blogger miye, (possibly a travel writer?) who toured The Bowery Hotel earlier this week.
The long-awaited opening of the Bowery Hotel has finally arrived. I recently had a mini-tour and can say that the photos in this month's article Vanity Fair spread doesn't even do it justice. It's really quite stunning, and the views are amazing. Not just in the penthouses or suites - but from plenty of rooms in the hotel. The building sits high on Bowery and Great Jones - providing an unobscured view of the city from several rooms with a terrace. With a full staff of suit-clad doormen and front desk reception, I expect it to be quite a shiny bauble on a block not even considered partially pretty
Oh and guess what, looks like they are taking reservations starting, like now.
We were able to go through the booking process and get a Bowery Queen, with oversized factory windows, for $245.00 a night.
Guessing these are opening rates, so no telling how long they will be available for.
Obviously, anyone who stays should send us details.
Related Stories:
· Bowery Hotel Buzz Snowballs [HotelChatter]
Tags: The Bowery Hotel / Hotel Hype / Sean MacPherson / LES Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Bowery Hotel Buzz Snowballs
[Update: The Bowery Hotel is set to open in March--that would be next month, which is the start of spring, not summer.]
The Curbed dubbed Tower of Bowery, aka the Bowery Hotel, is everywhere these days.
Vanity Fair recently published a piece on Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson's (creators of the Maritime Hotel) newest LES hotel.
The VF story chronicles the history of the Bowery area--from skid row to home of the New Museum of Contemporary Art.
Oh, and did you notice this tidbit:
Goode and MacPherson (who are also partners with the editor of this magazine in the Waverly Inn)
Looks like the transparency craze has even hit Vanity Fair, which is cool.
Back to the Bowery Hotel, here is what you need to know at this point:
·Almost every one of the 135 rooms has an open view.
·Several rooms have huge terraces.
·The lobby has dark wood paneling, vaguely Art Deco
·Gemma, will be the Italian restaurant at the front of the hotel.
·The photos in the VF piece are pure brochureware, but those pillows sure look nice.
Tags: Loft Hotel Tribeca / Tribeca Hotels / Sam Chang / Luxe Hotels / Downtown Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Formerly Known As Loft Hotel Tribeca Drama Continues
The Loft Hotel Tribeca, which was scheduled to open back in April 2006, and is now scheduled to open in December 2006 as the Duane Street Hotel, according to what seems to be the official hotel website (and verified by a pre-recorded message at the pre-sales office) could be opening soon. At the very least we see the original renderings back on the official website. We did some further investigation after our original tipster, who we quoted earlier this week when we received an email where the header read LOFT HOTEL TRIBECA asked us to correct the tip.
Please correct your header - the information that was sent to you (below underlined) is regarding another hotel by Sam Chang at 6 York Street, 1 block south of Canal St, on 6th Avenue-This is not about the Loft Hotel - This is entirely another project.
So what is going on here? Well, we do see that the Duane web site still claims "a unique refuge of timeless comfort and intimacy" is coming to Tribeca, so maybe all this was just a name/ownership change. Did Chang bail on the Loft Hotel Tribeca for this new York Street project? Who knows, but we have also received a couple of tips this week questioning Mr. Chang's development tactics. We aren't going to publish those emails, or try to sort all this out right now. If someone from Luxe wants to weigh in on what is up with Loft Hotel Tribeca Duane Street Hotel, or if those of you emailing us about Sam Chang want to get your opinions out there--go for it in the comments section below.
Between Chang and DeNiro this whole Tribeca hotel scene is a mess--hey Pomeranc, get in here and don't take 5 years to do so--capiche?
Related Stories:
· Loft Hotel Tribeca Sleeps With The Fishes [HotelChatter]
· New York City Hotel Openings Preview 2006 [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotel Parties / Downtown Manhattan Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags
Hotel Gansevoort Party Serves Up Sneakers, Martinis and Brownies
Hotel Gansevoort is all about the parties lately. First their Halloween rooftop bash and now a celeb-studded Gap affair. The unveling of Gap's new online shoe venture, Piperlime was the latest "it" scene:
Vanessa Minnillo, partying in New York City at a launch bash for Piperlime, the Gap's new online shoe shop, at the Hotel Gansevoort penthouse. Other celebs making the scene at the event, hosted by celeb stylist Rachel Zoe: Rosario Dawson, Parker Posey and Lucy Liu, who sipped the night's specialty drink, lime martinis, and feasted on caviar, dumplings, sushi and mini-brownies.
Something is really wrong in this however, Rachel Zoe shouldn't ever be in the same sentence as "feasted" or "mini brownies." We totally buy that the martinis were being downed in major fashion at this event but we'd be willing to bet they didn't have a single taker on the brownies.
Related Stories:
· Caught in the Act [People]
· Hotel Gansevoort Reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Gansevoort to Host Rooftop Halloween Party [HotelChatter]
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