http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2012-02-14T08:28:52Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/First%20Look http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2011/11/23/13525/194 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/61268/Conrad_New_York___atrium_rendering.jpg" class="top"><p>Still aiming for an "early 2012" opening, <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Conrad+New+York/local/4796"><b>Conrad New York</b></a> is finally ready to offer us a glimpse inside its 463-room Financial District property. Above is the 14-story-high Sol LeWitt mural, "Loopy Doopy," rendered in shades of purple and blue, that hangs dramatically above the lobby. <p>Facing it is another large-scale work, designed by Monica Ponce de Leon, and installed by Feature Walters: this one, a two-tiered wall sculpture entitled "Veil" that required <b>77 tons of aluminum and 16 miles of Vectran cable</b>. We like how the fat, squiggly lines of the sculpture play off of Sol LeWitt's painting&#151;almost as if the arms had come alive inside the lobby. <p>See below for a snapshot from inside one ASchechter 2011-11-23T14:30:01-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/9/10/103317/214 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/17697/quill_bar.jpg" class="top"></p> <p>We popped into DC's shiny-new <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Jefferson+Hotel/ian/164281"><strong>Jefferson Hotel</strong></a> this week for a nightcap at the hotel's bar, Quill. And true to hype, Quill delivered with a high-class vibe and top-shelf cocktails. We snapped a few (admittedly not amazing) photos of the bar and entryway.</p> <p>A few highlights from our experience:</p> <p>Even though we're younger and far less moneyed than the Jefferson's chi-chi target clientele, everyone we encountered &#151; from the doorman to the bartender &#151; struck us as genuinely appreciative of our patronage.</p> <p>We ordered off the signature cocktail list ($15 each; pictures below), including one called the Master Mind that involved chatting with the bartender about our preferences and mood. He came up with a refreshing KatieK 2009-09-10T10:59:42-05:00 38.9056477 -77.040183 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/1/141353/990 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/admin/vchotelstay3.jpg" class="imgborder"> <p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2008/10/1/9396/92221/hotels/Vikram_Chatwal_Opens_Stay_Hotel_in_Times_Square_Today">This morning</a>, we brought you news of today's opening of <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Vikram%20Chatwal">Vikram Chatwal</a>'s Times Square property <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Stay+Hotel+NYC/local/1352"><b>Stay.Hotel</b></a> (the period is apparently part of the name). <p>Within hours, a sneaky Midtown tipster was kind enough to send along a couple snapshots and give us the lowdown on the scene:<blockquote><p> In true Vikram fashion, they are still doing plenty of work on opening day. Looked mostly like a staff walk-through day, though guests appeared to be there. <p>The lobby is split into two areas -- bright and vibrant check in and some sort of timber ceiling bar area <i>[Ed: we're guessing that's the Aspen Social Lounge]</i>, very trippy. Lobby/bar is actually respectably spacious for a Times Square Jenna 2008-10-01T14:14:58-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/