New York City Travel Guide
Hotel Renovations / Amsterdam Hospitality Group / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
New York's Moderne Unveils Its Moderne New Look
While we've been eagerly anticipating the The Moderne's new renovations so we can check out the communal lounge with iPad terminals, silver sofas and brick fireplace, we got a peek at the revamped guestrooms. The hotel's goal was to combine an intimate European hotel with the style of an NYC townhouse.
Living up to its name, the rooms are very modern, all done up in black, white and gray with some bursts of color. It has a tufted white leather headboard with zebra-striped pillows, a stainless-steel desk and a Charles Eames-inspired black and white woven carpet. Rooms also have works from artists like Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis.
Celebrity Scoop / Jersey Shore Hotels / New York City Hotels / → All Tags
Sammi Sweetheart Ditches Karma for the Hotel Gansevoort
Could it be that Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola has finally gotten over Jersey Shore boyfriend Ronnie? The constantly yelling reality star was seen stepping out of the Hotel Gansevoort with another reality star, Kim Kardashian buddy Jonathan Cheban of The Spin Crowd.
There probably wasn't any hanky-panky going on there. After all, he's not her type—a big gorilla juicehead. We're guessing she's looking to employ the publicist to give her image a much-needed makeover, since she's known as one half of one of the most toxic couples on reality TV.
Tribeca Film Festival Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Film Festival Hotels / Tribeca Hotels / → All Tags
Where to Stay for the Tribeca Film Festival
Movie buffs are getting ready to hit up the 12-day Tribeca Film Festival from April 20 to May 1. If you plan on visiting New York City to join other movie-goers at the fest, book your hotel now—last year, the event drew 410,000 cinephiles, filmmakers and actors.
Of course, you'll want to stick close to the trendy Tribeca 'hood to be in the middle of all the action. Here are some hotels that are still open for next week's 10th annual festival.
St Patrick's Day Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Holiday Inn Express Hotels / IHG Hotels / → All Tags
Hit the Holiday Inn Express Midtown for a Last-Minute St. Pat's Day Option
It's not easy to find a last-minute hotel along the route of New York City's famous St. Patrick's Day Parade. The Irish (and wannabes) are serious about the parade and festivities, filling all of the nearby hotels to make it easy to drunkenly stumble home after a nonstop party.
But for you procrastinators, the Holiday Inn Express New York Midtown, right off the Fifth Avenue parade route, still has rooms available on the holiday starting at $344 a night.
Valentine's Day Hotels / New York City Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / W Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
New York's W Hotels Will Give You a Shot This Valentine's Day
Every Valentine's Day, we're inundated with crazy hotel packages that would require a Real Housewives-sized budget (and aren't all that inventive). So this week, we're taking a look at affordable, but fun deals that us regular folks would book.
The W Hotels in New York and Hoboken will give you lovesick sweeties a shot of lurve medicine for Valentine's Day.
Seriously—the New York hotels will offer a Love Sick package that includes a Max Brenner chocolate syringe. You'll also score goodies like Max Brenner massage oil, an in-room movie credit—romcoms only—breakfast in bed, a bottle of bubbly and late checkout.
Hotel Packages / Manhattan Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
Use the Ritz-Carlton's In-Room Telescopes to Watch the Cunard Ocean Liners' 'Royal Rendezvous'
We know it's a horrid Photoshop attempt on our part, but the above scene could be something like what you'll experience if you book the "Royal Rendezvous" package at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park for the night of January 13. You see, the "Royal Rendezvous" refers to the special event going down on the harbor that night, as all three current Cunard ocean liners will be on the water, together, complete with a giant fireworks display.
The ships—the Queen Victoria, Queen Mary 2 and newly-christened Queen Elizabeth—will leave back out to the Atlantic Ocean in a parade with the pyrotechnic fanfare, while thousands of onlookers gather in Battery Park and other spots outside in the January cold. Which is why it makes sense to go for it and book a hotel room, since the $595 package includes a view of the harbor (with in-roon telescope), a book on the Queen Mary 2, a seafood tasting for two and breakfast in bed the next morning.
New York Hotel Suites / Downton Manhattan Hotels / Soho Hotels / Hotel Video Tours / → All Tags
Inside The New Soho Grand Suites
If you are a fan of downtown NYC hotels, these just might be the moving and still pixels you've been waiting for -- a look inside the Soho Grand Hotel's brand spanking new "Grand Suites".
In order to get to any of the ten suites you must nab an exclusive key card from the front desk that will get you up to the 16th floor, where all the suites are located. How do you get said key? Well, obviously you will have to book a Grand Suite. While July saw and incredibly justifiable intro rate of $700 for these suites, September is a different story, we were just quoted $1350.00 for a Thursday night this month. Ouch. Why so high? Two reasons: 1) NYC is back and so are the hotel rates. This August was at far higher occupancy rates than a year ago. 2) Fashion week is coming and Soho Grand can charge crazy rates for fashion week and still fill the rooms.
Hotel Spies / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Courtyards / Killer View / → All Tags
Beyond The Tabloid Mentions at The Bowery Hotel
Our very own hotel Agent Zero returns with yet another review. Her not-real name is Myra Ellen and she's our version of Alex Goran who travels once a week for business, usually along the Eastern seaboard. Every so often, she'll be dropping in with her latest hotel and travel observations. In this episode, she revisits a hot hotel in NYC.
I hadn't been to The Bowery Hotel since it first opened in 2007. Then, some described the hotel as carefully broken-in like a pair of very expensive jeans. Now, a few years and scores of tabloid mentions later, that look and feel remains true.
However, arriving and departing in the bright light of day, the hotel did feel a degree less glamorous and the decor in the lobby and the narrow hallways slightly dingy. But at dusk and into the night, the cozy intimacy of my room was unbeatable.
In a deluxe king room that was more guest house than hotel room, I worked comfortably from the bistro table with the heavy-paned windows cracked open to a view of the secret half-block-long stretch of green behind the hotel.
Hotel Spies / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Noise / Ascend Collection / → All Tags
Drill, Baby, Drill: A Night at The Distrikt Hotel
See The Distrikt Hotel's Response to This Review Here
Our very own hotel Agent Zero returns with yet another review. Her not-real name is Myra Ellen and she's our version of Alex Goran who travels once a week for business, usually along the Eastern seaboard. Every so often, she'll be dropping in with her latest hotel and travel observations. In this episode, she tries out a new hotel in Manhattan.
The scaffolding obscuring the entrance should have been my first ominous clue as I arrived at the new Distrikt Hotel, on a dark block and an easy walk from Penn Station.
The doorman ignores me when I enter. I'm happy for one less polite but pointless exchange in my day, but when I overhear a desk clerk tell someone else who's checking-in about their breakfast options, while my desk clerk says nary a word about it to me, I realize what's going on: this is not my kind of place.
Hotel Spies / Thompson Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Noise / Hotel Heaven / → All Tags
Sleeping in Lower East Side Peace at Thompson LES
Today, we welcome our very own hotel Agent Zero, the first in what we hope to be a larger network of hotel spies. Her not-real name is Myra Ellen and she's our version of Alex Goran who travels once a week for business, usually along the Eastern seaboard. Every so often, she'll be dropping in with her latest hotel and travel observations. And awwaaaaay we go!
I stayed at the Thompson LES recently and experienced a Manhattan nighttime first: silence.
True silence from about 11pm until maybe 7:30am. No street noise, no doors slamming or hallway clatter, no ruckus of any kind. I'm still bewildered by that and wonder if perhaps I was actually in a coma. It's hard to explain how rare this phenomenon is for me.
Where, I wondered, were the trucks? The sirens? The garbage trucks? And since this is a Thompson hotel, where was the thud-thud-thud of the lounge music? The answer: if it was there, we didn't hear it.
Ed. Note: Maybe the hotel really took the neighbors' complaints to heart.
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.
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.
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