new york Travel Guide
Hotel Renovations / Hotel Art / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Snapshot / Hotel Design / → All Tags
The Milford's New Hallways Will Transport Guests From Times Square To SoHo
A hallway mural at The Milford New York
The re-designed rooms at The Milford New York (formerly the Milford Plaza) have been finished for almost a year—and their new look is bright, colorful, and very fresh. But one of our favorite parts of the re-design can actually be found in the hallways.
In an attempt to show tourists that there's more to NYC than just the Empire State and Central Park, each floor has been assigned a different neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, with vivid depictions of picturesque spots in places like the West Village, or the Lower East Side.
What's so cool about the images, though, is how life-life they are. Above is a hallway mural depicting Balthazar Bakery, a well-loved spot in Soho, which when we first saw it, we thought we were staring into a time-space vortex that opened a portal from Times Square to Prince Street. It was as if we could walk right in and grab a baguette!
Manhattan Hotels / New York Hotels / Holiday Inn Express / Hotel Openings / Hotel Rates / Hotel Deals / AAA Card / → All Tags
How We Found a Brand New Hotel Room In Manhattan for Under $200 a Night
If you're looking to visit to Manhattan this summer, you're probably in disbelief over the room rates. We mentioned the truly outrageous ones last week ($700+ for a Sheraton) but we're also seeing some non-spectacular, chain hotels going for at least $300 a night. If you want to stay two or more nights, that's going to be at least $600, not including taxes or WiFi charges. And thanks to a recent court ruling, you can't even use AirBnB.com anymore to try and score a cheap room in the Big Apple.
While our 5 fave hotel booking sites can help us get the best deal, they can't lower the rates to the price point we like/need--which is about $200 a night, before taxes. But after some digging and throwing some caution to the wind, we found a room for just under $200 a night in mid-June at the just-opened Holiday Inn Express, Manhattan West Side.
Located at 48th and 10th Avenue, the hotel is firmly in the old Hell's Kitchen nabe but it's ideal for folks who have business or leisure plans in and around Times Square which is about four big blocks away. We've stayed in the area before, at Ink48 (which is sold out the nights we are visiting), and it's not the most exciting neighborhood in Manhattan but we're hardly going to be in our room at all. And besides, we didn't pick the hotel because of the neighborhood.
Hotel Fitness / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Yoga / James Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Killer View / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Pump Up Your Estrogen Levels With Rooftop Yoga At The James Hotel
A rooftop yoga class is making waves in New York, and it's taking place at none other than The James Hotel. Led by a local NYC yoga teacher, the class was launched last year and has been slowly gaining momentum, no thanks to the jaw-dropping views seen from the top of the hotel.
Another reason the class stands out? It's women-only.
Twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at 8am, ladies gather up on arguably the most scenic rooftop in the city and breathe and stretch and go 'ohm' in the company of other ladies. As in, all the mamas without the papas. As in, girls not guys. As in, the rooftop is called Jimmy, but he's the only dude allowed to the party.
Hotel Openings / NYLO Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Design / Stonehill and Taylor / Michael Suomi / → All Tags
NYLO's First NYC Hotel is Ready to "Meet Its Maker"
Back in March we got a preview of the upcoming NYLO Hotel on Manhattan's Upper West Side which will open inside the existing On the Ave Hotel. Today, we learn the hotel is nearly finished with a June/July opening on the horizon but there's also a way to stay in one of the NYLO rooms as early as tomorrow night.
We chatted up Michael Suomi of Stonehill + Taylor, the architecture and interior design firm responsible for the NYLO Hotel (and the man behind the awesome Hyatt House chair) to get more detes on just what to expect from NYLO's first-ever New York City hotel.
Suomi and his team at S+T were responsible for doing not just the guestrooms at the hotel but also the public spaces including the new LOCL lobby bar which we've already shown you here. But doing the first NYC hotel for a brand whose name actually means "New York Loft", yet who have only opened hotels in suburban Texas and Rhode Island, meant the design had to be something the brand has never done before. "It's sort of like meeting your maker," Suomi said.
Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel Construction / Hotel Openings / Hotel Hype / Hotel Delays / → All Tags
After 3-Year Delay, Four Seasons New York Downtown Is Back On Track
Three years ago, we told you to mark your calendars for the 2014 opening of Four Seasons New York Downtown. Well, here we are in 2013 and not much progress has been made. In fact, we were juuust getting ready to strike said reminder from our iCal when we stumbled across this article yesterday throwing our hopes back into the air.
The reports says that the project is once again moving forward—now that financing has been secured—and that the 185-room luxury hotel is now set for a 2016 opening. Originally, this hotel was slated to open in 2011 (ha!), though by now we've come to understand that projected opening dates mean diddly squat and any hotel that opens on time is a rare thing indeed.
But back to the Four Seasons: the report doesn't give us too much new information except that the building will be 926 feet tall (one of the tallest hotels in NYC) and that the lobby will be a three-story atrium with lounges, a ballroom, a restaurant, meeting spaces, and a spa.
Hotel Anniversaries / Hilton Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Events / Historic Hotels / → All Tags
New York Hilton Midtown Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity...Or, At Least, Hotels
We recently mentioned an Atlantic City casino hotel that was celebrating its 10th birthday with cash giveaways and a big ol' concert. Well, that's one way to do it.
Over in Manhattan, New York Hilton Midtown is celebrating the big 5-0 by launching a new website that fills people in on the hotel's colorful history (did you know this was the first hotel to replace keys with keycards? Yeah, neither did we!).
But there's more happening here than just reminiscing over old black-and-white photos (see above).
Another component of the birthday celebrations are what the hotel is calling 50 Random Acts of Hospitality, which calls for New York Hilton Midtown employees to "engage in random acts of hospitality". In case you're wondering just what that means, the acts will include: offering complimentary room upgrades, handing out umbrellas on rainy days and helping guests score tickets to local attractions and events.
In other words, everything a hotel is supposed to do anyway.
Hotel Amenities / Hotel Spas / Hotel Check-In / Manhattan Hotels / Plaza Athenee Hotels / Hotel Packages / → All Tags
Now You Actually Have A Reason To Check In Early At the Plaza Athenee
Nothing is worse than showing up bleary-eyed to your hotel and being told your room isn't ready yet. Worse still if your bones ache from sitting on a plane all day and you've been dragging around your suitcase for so many hours that your hand has become permanently locked in claw grip position.
Thankfully, the Plaza Athenee in New York has come up with a solution to the whole early check-in conundrum: the "Rest and Refresh" package. By reserving ahead of time, guests can kill time in their own private Spa Suite, which comes with a marble bathroom and private steam shower. In addition, they can request a facial or massage, and even sneak in a quick breakfast or lunch at the hotel's Arabelle Restaurant.
With pampering like this, who needs the guest room?
Killer View / Viva Vegas / Tingo / Las Vegas Hotels / → All Tags
The View From New York, New York in Las Vegas is Quite Scary
But it's only scary because we can catch the folks riding up one of the roller coaster peaks right before it dips back down. Luckily, these windows are noise-proof so we can't hear the people screaming. Other than that, we're quite pleased with the view especially since once we look down we can spy on the pool scene.
As for the rooms at New York, New York, we're staying in a "Park Avenue Room" but let's be clear here--it's a long ways from Park Avenue in the real NYC. The furniture is new as are the bedding, pillows, curtains and such but the bathroom is showing its age, the shower in particular. Also, we're bummed by the bland toiletries that are offered.
The rest of the hotel tower is also a little beat-down with old hallway rugs and room doors and not-so-clean elevators. Then again, we nabbed the room for $75 a night on Tingo.com so we can't complain too much (And no, we didn't get any money back from Tingo.)
However, the WiFi is rather slow. So slow, we can't even upload the rest of the room photos. The WiFi is part of the $18 plus tax room rate but still, this is unacceptable. We posted the screenshot over here where we are keeping tabs on hotel speeds but let's just say the grade begins with F.
Hotel Art / Hotel Bars / Art Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Pop-Up Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Frankfurt Artist Recreates His Neighborhood Bar At Hôtel Americano
When we first uploaded the above photo into our story, we worried that it was upside down*; then we realized it actually didn't matter because disoriented, confused, and slightly dizzy is exactly how you're supposed to feel at Bar Oppenheimer, a new pop-up bar that debuted this week inside Hôtel Americano.
Bar Oppenheimer is located in the basement of the hotel via a narrow cement staircase behind the hostess stand in the lobby. There's no sign, no big door with a velvet rope, not even a hint of the bar's presence anywhere in the hotel.
(However, that may be a good thing because when you eventually find it—as we did, after five minutes spent aimlessly wandering down hallways and opening emergency exit doors—you feel like you've stumbled into a secret room that no one else in the hotel knows about.)
The truth is that lots of people in New York know about this place. It was designed by Frankfurt-based artist Tobias Rehberger, who felt a desire to recreate his neighborhood bar in Germany, also called Bar Oppenheimer, in the basement of a Manhattan boutique hotel. Cool, right?
For more photos of the triply black-and-white striped bar, read on!
Hotel News / Hotel Restaurants / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Delays / Cassa Hotels / → All Tags
BLT Is Out At Cassa New York, But What Will Go In Its Place?
If you thought the only exciting thing about Cassa Hotel was its abrupt re-branding into a Viceroy hotel last year, you're wrong. It turns out that the hotel's proposed restaurant, BLT American Brasserie is causing even more drama than the hotel itself—and it hasn't even opened yet!
Chef Laurent Tourondel created a lot of buzz when he attached himself to the hotel back in 2011. He was famous for his BLT restaurants, so that's what we all expected to open at Cassa. And as of last February, that was still the plan.
However, nothing ever happened, and the other day we received an anonymous tip that the "BLT coming soon" sign has been removed from the hotel.
So…now what?
Hotel Rate Watch / Manhattan Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / Starwood Hotels / Langham Hotels / Kimpton Hotels / Hotel Rates / → All Tags
Would You Pay $700 a Night (and Up) To Stay At These NYC Hotels?
Summer is almost upon us, and along with all the regular seasonal delights (rooftop cocktails, long weekends in Cape Cod, ice creeeaaam), one thing we hate, hate, hate about summer in the city is the exorbitant hotel rates.
We've seen numbers climbing to $600, $650, and even $700/night for a standard room, and we feel someone needs to take a stand against such preposterousness. So that someone may as well be us.
At a glance, we found several hotels overstepping the line with $700+ rates on a weeknight in June. Sheraton Times Square must be really raking it in, as they claim their "lowest available rate" is $749/night. Meanwhile, less than three miles away, the Sheraton Lincoln Harbor is offering a room on the same night for $289. For the difference in price, we could treat ourselves to a steak dinner at Peter Luger's and still wind up saving money.
Our question is: considering that hotels can justify these kinds of rates because it's the summer season, would you pay $700/night to stay at a Sheraton? Or would you look elsewhere? Let us know your thoughts below!
Celebrity Scoop / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Bars / Hotel Openings / Hotel News / → All Tags
Cameron Diaz Flirts With Strangers In Hotel Bars
Either Cameron Diaz has been reading HotelChatter, or she's got friends who keep a close eye on the NYC hotel scene. The Jade Hotel is still brand new (it officially opened just over two months ago) but that didn't stop the long-legged beauty from stopping by this past weekend.
The NY Post spotted Diaz hanging out at Grape & Vine, an intimate cocktail bar and bistro located behind the lobby. According to the spy:
"The bar area was so crowded, but Cameron and her friends sat right in front of the bar and joked around with the bartender . . . Most people were dressed up, but she was in a T-shirt and jeans, wearing flats with her hair up."
The article goes on to say that she "graciously spoke to a guy who was trying to flirt with her." We can't imagine ever trying to walk up to Cameron "Something About Mary" Diaz and asking for her number, but it's nice to know if we ever do see her in a hotel, we'd have a shot.
Meanwhile, we wonder if she surprised the bartender by ordering one of the bar's secret, off-the-menu cocktails that we wrote about last month. Or maybe her visit inspired them to name a whole new drink after her…
Diaz, who's in town filming scenes for her next movie, The Other Woman, didn't spend the night at the hotel (despite her admirer's best efforts, we're sure), but if you feel like resting your head in a place Cameron Diaz likes to hang out, rates here start at $280/night.
