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First Look Inside the Lafayette House Hotel

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  Site Where: 38 E 4th St. [map], New York, ny, United States, 10003
March 28, 2007 at 9:10 AM | by pbb | 6 Comments

We went down to the Lafayette House Hotel yesterday and had ourselves a good look around. We liked what we saw. There's a definite Sean MacPherson-Eric Goode vibe, with antiques everywhere and that Victorian flavor. But the effect is sort of country-lodge-in-the-big-city, which would probably be nice to come home to after a day in New York.

The overall effect--given that the hotel has only a few rooms--is that of a bed and breakfast, though as our tour guide pointed out, "without the breakfast." That's not a stumbling block for us, as the property is in easy striking distance of plenty of restaurants. Next door, B Bar handles lunch and dinner, and will even deliver room service to guests in the hotel. (The bar provides after hours support, too.)

The property itself fills the five-story building, with only a couple units per floor. (That debate about 14 or 15 rooms? One is used as an office, but can be dressed up for guest occupancy if need be.) First floor rooms, while smaller, have the benefit of soaring ceilings. Room 4 has a small balcony, and a few other rooms open onto a small courtyard. At the back of the hotel, rooms can be a bit dark. Business types looking to work in the room should book facing 4th Street.

Right now, rooms start at $350, but some rate structure changes may be on the horizon. More exclusive photos after the jump.

EXCLUSIVE interior and exterior photos after the jump.

6 Comments

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  1. juliana

    HotelChatter Editor

    Finally!

    This place isn't a scary gothic sex castle. Altho, i wonder if it will be noisy next to the BBar?
    March 28, 2007 at 11:16 AM
  1. pbb

    HotelChatter Contributing Editor

    Re: First Look Inside the Lafayette House Hotel

    That's a good question. I was there in the middle of the day, so all was quiet. B Bar's (infamous?) courtyard is on the corner of Bowery and 4th--to the left, out of the frame in that last photo. Maybe the indoor part of the bar insulates the hotel from the sound?
    March 28, 2007 at 11:36 AM
  1. juliana

    HotelChatter Editor

    hmm...

    maybe, maybe not. but that entrance to BBar is right next to Lafayette, where people congregate and have a smoke. i just think it might be off-putting if you are looking for a relaxing night at Lafayette and frat boys are trying to get into BBar or a gaggle of girls are trying to decide where to go next.
    March 28, 2007 at 12:05 PM
  1. pbb

    HotelChatter Contributing Editor

    Re: First Look Inside the Lafayette House Hotel

    V v true. I have seen veritable herds standing in line there... I can't explain it, I just know it's true.
    March 28, 2007 at 12:50 PM
  1. s2007

    HotelChatter Member

    Re: First Look Inside the Lafayette House Hotel

    a friend of mine used to live in that building -
    looks like they didn't renovate much
    (although he didn't live in this room/apt.)
    the bathroom and the kitchen look quite similar.
    but it's nice that they kept a lot of the original architecture (wood trim/floors/etc.)

    and YES, thnanks to the B-Bar, the front rooms get quite noisy at night on the weekends.

    March 29, 2007 at 12:31 PM
  1. buster

    HotelChatter Member

    Re: First Look Inside the Lafayette House Hotel

    "frat boys"?

    heh, that's quite a liberal description. I daresay that not too many "frat boys" are attending the weekly beige parties at B Bar.

    March 30, 2007 at 9:04 AM

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