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While New York's Oak Room Closes, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Starts A Music Festival In Vegas
Two main players in the hotel music world are really getting the shake-up this month, and all we can do for now is sit back and watch (or, you know, listen) as the changes come to pass.
For starters, let's face the awful truth that The Algonquin is saying bye-bye forever to the Oak Room, its famed piano lounge that has hosted cabaret legends from Barbara Carroll to Julie Wilson to Steve Ross. According to the NY Times, audiences there have been "declining."
But it's not all doom and gloom! Head west—about 2,200 miles west—and witness a positively burgeoning indie music scene when Sports Illustrated Swimsuit hosts its first-ever music festival at The Cosmopolitan (where else?). The two-day lineup will feature indie acts like The Black Lips (above), Delta Spirit, and Elan Atias among others, and will hopefully do for the Strip what SI's Swimsuit issue has traditionally done for non-sports fans—make everyone sit up and pay attention.
Hotel Openings / Wyndham Hotels / DoubleTree Hotels / Hilton Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Tryp by Wyndham / → All Tags
Wyndham Trades In A Garden For A Tryp
The new lobby at DoubleTree Times Square South
We told you last month that DoubleTree was planning on taking over the Wyndham Garden Times Square South—which, we can safely report, officially transpired. However, the rooms remain intact, as well as the ground-floor cafe, Greenhouse 36, so not much has really changed except for the name. And the added bonus of a welcome cookie.
But this neighborhood hasn't seen the last of Wyndham! Oh, no. Just one block south, this month the brand is launching Tryp by Wyndham Times Square South. So we thought we'd do a little compare/contrast to see which of these two (verrry similar) hotels is worthy of your dollar.
For starters? The price. For a random date (we picked a one-night stay on Feb 22nd), Tryp's lowest starting rate is $179, which offers a queen bed, iPod dock, and free WiFi. Meanwhile, DoubleTree will do you one better with starting rates of $152, and pretty much all the same amenities.
Hotel News / Hotel Openings / Manhattan Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Edition Hotels / Public Hotels / Hotel Construction / King and Grove Hotels / → All Tags
From A Hotel Standpoint, New York Is Pretty Much Done With the Recession
New York, New York—so great they named it twice. But, hey, don't just take our word for it (we live here, so we're a little biased). Talk to all the hotel developers who are buying up hotels left and right. Because of them, New York City alone accounted for 20% of hotel transactions across the entire country in 2011, announced The Real Deal.
In some ways, we already knew this. Well. We didn't know the exact numbers ($3.5 billion in sales, to be exact), but we did know that there were some major hoteliers sniffing out the next NYC locations for their brands. At a glance: Public New York is on its way, Edition New York has already found a location, and two other Marriotts (a Courtyard and a Springhill Suites) will be popping up in Herald Square.
Further downtown, Andre Balazs' Standard empire is steadily expanding eastward. And let's not forget about King & Grove, who recently burst onto the scene with two well-established NYC properties firmly under their belt.
Celebrity Scoop / Florence Welch / Bad Celebrity Behavior / Manhattan Hotels / Kanye West / → All Tags
Florence Welch Set Fire to Her Room at The Bowery Hotel After Drinking with Kanye West
That might be one of the oddest headlines we've ever written but it's all true. Flame-haired (heh) singer Florence Welch, the frontleader of Florence and the Machine known for her powerhouse voice and questionably retro bathing suits, nearly burned down the Bowery Hotel in Manhattan.
The rocker recently told Britain' Q Magazine that she accidentally left a cinnamon tea light burning:
“I came back to the hotel, passed out in my ripped dress – no phone, chipped tooth – came round and there was black stuff all over the wall, my book had melted on the bedside table and there was a bucket of water on the floor. Actually the last scene you want to wake up to with a hangover. Half the room was singed.”
Valentine's Day Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Love / → All Tags
Hotels Are Getting Sexy, Er, Ready for Valentine's Day in NYC
It's just two weeks now until Valentine's Day and if you haven't made plans with your schmoopie, well then you better get started. We've been inundated with a ton of Valentine's Day hotel deals and promotions and we're trying to keep up with them all. Here are a few more romantical options for NYC since we know that's a fave destination for you lovers. We'll have more cities to come throughout the week. Got a particular location in mind for V-Day? Let us knowLet us know and we'll tell you what sort of love connection is happening there.
New York
· The London NYC: The all-suite hotel on West 54th Street is offering two Valentine's Day packages--the Classic and the Modern. The Classic is pretty standard--flowers, champagne, bath salts and chocolates while the Modern offers a 60-minute in-suite couples massage, along with Gordon Ramsay Martini and assorted canapés prepared by the culinary team of Gordon Ramsay. Rooms start at $547 a night for the Modern package and $564 for the classic. Both packages include a stay in a London suite.
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Be Cool Forever, Wear The Ace Hotel's New Varsity Jacket
Ok, we're a little worried that the Ace Hotel may just be getting a little too cool for school. Wait, what are we talking about? They've always been that way. The only difference now is that you can show off your allegiance to the hip brand by wearing one of their new "Letterman jackets".
Retailing at around $300, the jackets are (surprise!) handcrafted in Washington, by a 73-year-old family-run company, using pure Melton wool from Oregon. Got all that? Oh, and they look pretty good, too.
Standard Hotels / Andre Balazs / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / → All Tags
Andre Balazs Plans to Make Good with the Neighbors Around The Standard, East Village
Sorry, Andre is not quite sure what he wants to do with this space here.
While the Cooper Square Hotel is officially now the Standard Comma East Village, not much has changed. And it might be a while before things do as hotelier Andre Balazs told the Wall Street Journal that he was still figuring things out.
However, Andre does plan on making the hotel "cost-conscious" with rooms starting at about $190. Given that these rooms are incredibly small, we think that's a fair rate. He also new ideas for the hotel's public spaces--meaning the lobby and the restaurant and possibly that rooftop performance space we heart so much. But alas, no real plans for these areas seem to be shaping up.
However, Andre did get in a little dig to the guys who built Cooper Square--Greg Peck and Matt Moss. The two notoriously had a falling out during the construction of the hotel and needless to say, that probably affected the hotel's future. But another big problem for the hotel was how badly they pissed off the community before the hotel even opened. And here's where Andre puts in his two cents:
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Luxury Collection Premiers Final Cut Inside The Producer's Suite
It's Guess the Hotel revealed!
Were you able to figure anything out from the video we posted on Friday? Two people called out The Chatwal, which was correct! We were there last week, in the Producer's Suite on the tenth floor, to watch a new promotional video by Luxury Collection called HERE.
If you're at all restless like us, you might wind up booking an impromptu trip to Vermont, Scottsdale and/or Hawaii after you watch it. The 15-minute film is set at Equinox Resort & Spa, The Phoenician and The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki successively, and each hotel comes off looking more idyllic than the next.
Gay Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Bars / Hotel News / → All Tags
At Least One Room At The OUT NYC Will Be Opening Today
Yup, after quite some build up, The OUT NYC is slowly stepping out into the spotlight. And as we predicted last summer, the first part of the hotel to open will be XL Nightclub, the 14,000 square foot cabaret and dance venue. And the grand opening event is tonight.
XL hopes to distinguish itself by filling two holes in the NYC gay nightlife scene: nightclub and cabaret. Frequent big-name house music DJs will get the crowds dancing, plus a proper stage and lighting have been installed to accommodate proper cabaret performances. Tonight's big attractions? Amanda Lepore (who took part in an ill-fated party at Gansevoort Park not so long ago), DJ Lady Bunny, and an open vodka bar from 10-11pm.
TV Set Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Celebrity Scoop / TV Hotels / → All Tags
A New Hotel-Themed Show Is Coming To Comedy Central
Since we still haven't heard anything about Andre Balazs' rumored HBO miniseries on the Chateau Marmont, it's a good thing another network has picked up the slack. Comedy Central has ordered a pilot episode of Almost Vacant, which Deadline describes as following "the misadventures of two inept friends, Jim and Nic, as they work at a low-end budget hotel in upper New York."
The show's been written by Nicolas Wright (above) and James Woods, who co-starred in IFC's The Business, which was about an ex-softcore-porn-director trying to make a name for himself as a respectable indie filmmaker. While not too many details on Almost Vacant have emerged, we're sure glad to see more hotel-set TV shows hitting the airwaves (see also: Gordon Ramsay).
As we've known for quite some time now, you don't have to hang around in a hotel for long to see some pretty crazy shiz.
Hotel Rumors / Andaz Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Could the Hyatt Union Square Actually Become an Andaz? (Updated)
UPDATE: 1.26.12, 3:58PM EST: We got too excited and read way too much into the tweet below. The Hyatt Union Square will stay a Hyatt but there is an Andaz coming to Amsterdam later in 2012. But hey, Hyatt? Andaz Union Square would still be awesome.
We've been anxiously awaiting more news about the Hyatt Union Square and today, we just might have it.
Just a few weeks ago, we heard about the exciting restaurants and bars that might open up inside the hotel but we've been following The Points Guy on Twitter as he attends the One World Mega Do and he let the news slip:
Upcoming hyatts: Amsterdam andaz, union square NY and French quarter new Orleans
We knew about Amsterdam and we thought we heard something about New Orleans before but UNION SQUARE NEW YORK CITY? That would be awesome. More free WiFi and minibar snacks for us! It would also mean Andaz has the island of Manhattan well-covered, after Andaz Wall Street and Andaz Fifth Avenue.
We've put in a line to Andaz to see if this is really true but we are praying that it is.
Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Tryp by Wyndham Hotels / Wyndham Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Tryp by Wyndham to Open in Times Square on February 1
Now that we've got this monster list off our backs, it's time to start breaking down some notable openings one-by-one. Today we're starting with the Tryp by Wyndham Times Square South which will finally open on February 1st.
We found a non-refundable rate of just $161.10 on opening night for a deluxe king bed. Regular rates for that same room category are only a bit more at $179 a night. If you want to try and squeeze in some of your friends, a guestroom with two queen beds, a sleeper sofa, a refrigerator, microwave and wet bar was going for $269 a night.
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