HotelChatter - Tag: Vintage NYC Hotels

New York: Before the Empire State Building, There Was a Hotel at 5th Avenue and 34th Street

JetSetCD — 2012-02-07T11:25:15-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/WAhotel34.jpg" class="top"> Here's a fun fact for today: Did you know that the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was in the spot where the Empire State Building now stands? It's true! The first version of the ritzy hotel was a combination of the Waldorf and the Astoria Hotels at 5th Avenue and 33rd/34th Streets, which stood and welcomed the most well-heeled guests from 1893 to 1929, when it was knocked down to begin the skyscraper ESB we now know and love. You won't hear much about that first building of some 1,300 rooms (with bidets) unless you pick a nice documentary from your Netflix queue; we recommend "Modern Marvels: The Empire State Building." Of course, history is history and we all

New York: A Time When The Carlyle Offered 'Transient and Residential Accommodations'

juliana — 2012-01-03T17:15:02-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/carlylepostcard_front.JPG" class="top"> <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Carlyle+New+York/local/627">The Carlyle Hotel</a> in Manhattan is one of our favorite "old luxury" hotels and today we stumbled upon something from its heyday--a postcard. You know, the kind that hotels used to stash in the desks so that you could send your friends smarmy "Wish You Were Here" notes? Sure, lots of hotels are still doing the postcard and stationary thing--probably even the Carlyle still--but in these green days where hotels are eliminating paper waste at every turn (even check-in and check-out!), hotel postcards are a dying breed. And we're pretty sure that today's modern postcards don't say things like, "Transient and Residential Accommodations" and "Telex" numbers. (For the record, the Carlyle still takes transients, aka hotel

New York: The Barbizon Hotel for Women is Now...What?

juliana — 2010-01-11T14:34:58-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/barbizon63.jpg" class="top"> Long before there was the cheesy <a href="http://www.barbizonmodeling.com/">Barbizon School of Modeling</a>, there was the Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York on 63rd and Lexington which was built in 1927. This where "all nice young ladies" stayed when they came to New York, including screen legend Grace Kelly. (See this <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/01/04/100104crbo_books_lane">New Yorker</a> piece on the actress.) According to an article in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/realestate/19posting.html">NY Times</a> a few years ago, the building had 700 tiny hotel rooms with just enough space for a desk, bed, dresser and a window. The bathrooms were shared and men were not allowed above the second floor. There was also a swimming pool inside so ladies could work on their fitness,

New York: The Algonquin Has Been Hosting And Toasting Glitterati For 100+ Years

JetSetCD — 2009-09-24T16:57:01-05:00

<![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6193/Algonquin.jpg" class="top"> We devote more than enough ink to <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/manhattan%20hotels">Manhattan Hotels</a>, but what about the days when hotels first started tuning their cool? Thanks to an old tourist materials from the 1930s-1950s, we're exploring back in the day versus today, for NYC hotels. Back in the day: Settle into a banquette for a cigarette and call over the maître d' for a story of his boyhood on the Aegean Sea, and you're having a grand evening in New York's <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/Algonquin/local/950">Algonquin Hotel</a>. It is the late 1930s, and The Rose Room frequently buzzes with the conversations of the glitterati. Diners in The Oak Room and The Round Table enjoy special evenings out order such fine dishes as "rolled

New York: Hilton Snaps Up A Piece of History in the Tudor Hotel

MsRebecca — 2009-09-22T12:58:44-05:00

Last week we took you back to a time when a hotel room near the United Nations cost a mere $3.50. Now, a tipster informs us that one of our Vintage Hotels, The Tudor Hotel, is set to become a Hilton. When browsing Hilton.com, this HotelChatter reader saw that the chain’s portfolio of New York properties had grown to include the Hilton New York/East Midtown.

Indeed, the Hilton site tells us that “this hotel will be joining the Hilton Family soon but is not yet accepting reservations. It is scheduled to open in March 2010.”