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The Soho Grand Joins the Ranks of Hotels with iPhone Apps

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  Site Where: 310 West Broadway [map], New York, NY, United States, 10013
September 3, 2010 at 2:52 PM | by JetSetCD | 1 Comment

In addition to checking out the Soho Grand Hotel's newly redone tech suites this week, we also picked up a curious little card in the lobby, alerting us to the fact that their GrandLife iPhone app is up and active. Even better, it's totally free over at iTunes.

To get the app, you can simply go here to download it, or, if you're on site at the hotel, just scan the code supplied on the card with your smartphone.

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Twist & Pout (And Drink The Cocktail) At The Pierre's Two E Bar

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  Site Where: 2 East 61st Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10065
September 3, 2010 at 12:01 PM | by MsRebecca | 0 Comments

Who's thirsty? It's time for another installment of our Summer Cocktails series. All summer long we've been profiling fun new summer drinks served at hotels around the world, and even though summer is coming to a close you should still feel free to share your favorite hotel cocktail recipes with us. And, as always, @reply us when you're wasted!

Today's cocktail does double duty in that it's not just a Summer Cocktail, it's also part of Fashion's Night Out. This fancy beverage will be served up at The Pierre's Two E Bar/Lounge next Friday, September 10, when fashion fans are getting down at at FNO party from 6–11 p.m.

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Where to Drink on the Cheap When Staying at The Chatwal

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  Site Where: 130 W 44th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10036
September 3, 2010 at 9:26 AM | by MsRebecca | 0 Comments

Spot the difference! These two bars may look similar when you zoom in solely on the rows of bottles—and they may share a street just off Times Square—but that, drinkers, is where the similarities end.

The bar on the left? The Lambs Club Bar at The Chatwal New York. On the right, we have Jimmy's Corner, a beloved dive full of boxing memorabilia and a jukebox loaded with soul classics.

So where should you drink when you find yourself thirsty in Times Square?

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10 New York Hotels With Empire State Building Views

September 2, 2010 at 2:01 PM | by MsRebecca | 1 Comment

Last week we heard all about the new skyscraper to rise about the Hotel Pennsylvania and how it would block people's views of the Empire State Building.

Our first reaction to this whining was: Woe is me to those who can afford to live in a building that offered them in the first place! Our second thought: there are loads of hotels with views of the Empire State, either from the guest rooms or the rooftops, and not all of them are the most expensive joints in town.

So here, in no particular order, are 10 New York City Hotels With Views of the Empire State Building for your virtual sightseeing pleasure. Of course, there are many more, especially in Midtown, so don't be shy—share your additions to our list in comments below. In the meantime, enjoy the Killer View ...

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Meanwhile, Not Too Far From the Soho Grand....

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  Site Where: 130 Duane Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10013
September 2, 2010 at 12:11 PM | by juliana | 0 Comments

You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.

...we had this view from room 306 at the Duane Street Hotel in Tribeca, approximately a four-minute cab ride away from the luscious suites at The Soho Grand.

Sure, this is New York and we could be staring at a brick wall or a dirty air shaft. We're probably lucky that we have a view at all, especially for the rate we paid of $159 a night. But still, the odd assortment of shops on Church Street (wide feet shoes and Domino's anyone?), which looked closed most of the time, had us a bit depressed. Maybe our next series should be Hotels Under $200 with Killer Views of Manhattan. Any suggestions?

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Naturally, The View is Grand from the Suites at The Soho Grand

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  Site Where: 310 West Broadway [map], New York, NY, United States, 10013
September 2, 2010 at 11:56 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

We are suckers for a room with a killer view.  We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.

Yesterday, we dished on the new suites at the Soho Grand Hotel assaulting you (in a good way!) with photos, videos and extreme details. But today, we'd like to take a moment away from the Apple products that are stocked in the room, to just admire the view.

Yup, this is what about $1,350 will get you inside suite 1634. The bedroom view (above) looks out east over West Broadway, actually directly into the fancy new Soho Mews apartment building where hotelier Vikram Chatwal has just bought a place.

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Trump Hotels In New York Girl Up For Fashion's Night Out

September 2, 2010 at 11:21 AM | by MsRebecca | 0 Comments

You already know that the Trump kids have got their hands all over the family's hotels these days—but let's not forget that Ivanka also dabbles in fashion with her Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry line. No need to write this down, though—the New York Trump hotels are happy to remind you, this time via their Fashion's Night Out package.

At least there is also a feel-good side to this power-coupling: Ivanka's jewelry boutique has partnered with the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up campaign to launch a special-edition Girl Up Bracelet, with 100% of the net proceeds from its sales going to the UN campaign.

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Bathroom Doors: A Cautionary Tale Starring W Downtown New York

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  Site Where: 123 Washington St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10006
September 2, 2010 at 9:56 AM | by MsRebecca | 2 Comments

Earlier this week, we looked at 10 Annoying Hotel Room Designs but today we'd like to take a closer look at #5 on that list: Sliding Bathroom Doors. Specifically, we want to tell you how we got locked inside the bathroom at the W New York Downtown.

Now, we're not usually claustrophobic, but when we get stuck in a tiny bathroom inside a Financial District hotel on the weekend (where no one can hear you scream!) ... with some peekaboo strips on the frosted glass shower window our only view to the outside world ... we do start to get anxious.

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If You Stay At The Jane, Don't Expect to Have a Night in the Ballroom

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  Site Where: 113 Jane Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10014
September 1, 2010 at 4:06 PM | by juliab | 0 Comments

Off limits come night time if you’re a hotel guest

As you may have gathered from our review yesterday, we didn’t exactly dig our stay at The Jane NYC. But what we lacked as regards a clean room and a pleasant environment, we told ourselves, we were gaining in street cred, as staying there would surely get us entry into the fabled Ballroom, which reopened in May.

What were we thinking? Of course they’re not going to let plebs who pay $89 for a room into One Of The Most Exclusive Spaces In Manhattan. We would ruin the hipster vibe if we dared enter, smelling of The Jane.

We got in around midnight on Thursday night and could hear the choons as we walked up the staircase. We noted the hipsters standing outside smoking and jumping in taxis and loafing around in the lobby looking way too cool for school. And we wanted to join them (actually we kinda needed a drink to persuade us to return to that room, but anyways).

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Guess What Luxury NYC Hotel May Have Bed Bugs?

September 1, 2010 at 3:31 PM | by JetSetCD | 2 Comments

If you think that paying $400+ per night for a luxury room in a New York City hotel means you don't have to share the pillow with bedbugs, then you're wrong. Not to make you super paranoid, but it's the truth; with a rash of recent bedbug infestations in everything from flagship retail stores to entire office floors, there's no guarantee that the little blood suckers aren't also in your hotel sheets.

Pop singer Lauren Hildebrandt tells USA Today that she recently emerged from a stay at a "luxury hotel in New York City's Union Square neighborhood" with bites on her body and now—even though we've never heard of her until this incident—she wants to become the voice that speak out for bedbug awareness.

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The James New York Is Now Open (But You'll Have To Wait For The Rooftop Bar)

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  Site Where: 27 Grand Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10013
September 1, 2010 at 10:31 AM | by MsRebecca | 0 Comments

Summer may be dwindling but you know what's still hot, hot, hot—other than the temperature? The New York Hotel Scene! Today is the big day for The James New York, which finally opens in Manhattan after building a solid fan base in Chicago.

It's hard to believe that just a year ago we were still calling this project the Grand Street Hotel and wondering what the controversial building had in store for us.

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New York's New Park Hyatt Struggles To Get Vertical

Where: 157 W. 57th Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10019
September 1, 2010 at 9:06 AM | by MsRebecca | 0 Comments

We've been excited about the prospect of Park Hyatt returning to NYC for eons now and we hope that the latest news doesn't mean we have to wait eons more.

As the New York Post reports, the developers of the Carnegie 57 residential tower—the future home of the new Park Hyatt—were talking big game about the building "going vertical" early this summer. But when reporter Steve Cuozzo checked out the 57th Street site on Monday, he saw nothing above sidewalk level.

But that doesn't mean nothing's happening. Extell boss Gary Barnett was keen to tell Cuozzo that the construction is moving ahead, just at a slower pace than expected. (Uh, in other news, the sky is blue.)

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