The Mercer Hotel Sort of Accuses The Bowery Hotel of Copycatting

9/10/2007 at 4:11 PM
Tags: Downtown Manhattan Hotels, HotelChatter Reviews

The clock in front of the Bowery Hotel.

The clock in front of the Mercer Hotel.

Ok we know you are probably sick of all our NYC reports from last month but we were flipping through our photos and we were reminded of something.

When we checked into The Mercer, we mentioned to the front desk staffer that we had just come from a night at The Bowery.

The staffer was very curious about our stay because as he put it, "We hear the Bowery is very similar to us." And when he showed us to our room, he asked, "Doesn't this look familiar at all?" And we had to disagree.

The Mercer is very modern inside while the Bowery is a fake throw-back to some Victorian-era. So while our room at the Mercer felt like a big white box with a nifty overhead light installation, the Bowery was full of browns, greens, oranges and little accents like doilies on the chairs and tassles on the keys.

There are some similarities but we chalk that up to both being hip boutique hotels. For instance, the Mercer and the Bowery used a door magnet instead of a traditional door knob sign. One side of the magnet said "Do Not Disturb" and the other side had some version of "Clean this room."

Also both hotels had fun and exciting mini-bars. We have to concede that the Mercer's was indeed superior. C'mon, who doesn't love his-and-her cigarettes?

And lastly, they both have the same types of clocks hanging from the entrance. Aside from these, the places are as different as night and day.

Related Stories:
· Inside the Mercer Hotel [HotelChatter]
· Inside the Bowery Hotel, Part Two [HotelChatter]