HotelChatter

Check-in: The "Hotel Riverview" lives on for now, as no Jane Hotel signage has been placed on the exterior. Only when we reached the glass of the porter booth in the lobby did we see some Jane Hotel stationary, confirming that we were in the right place.

After the usual paperwork we were assigned our room: 522, a standard cabin of the 50-square-foot variety. To reach any floor, you must summon the vintage elevator; there is even an attendant and iron gate, contributing to a gritty first impression. The attendant plays steward as well, as he showed us the location of the bathroom (down the hall and around the corner) and demonstrated how to use the phallic room key to turn on our room electricity.

We took particular delight in traversing the hallways as it is reminiscent of maneuvering first class on a transatlantic liner (Titanic, anyone?), and because the room doors alternate between the dark wood of Jane Hotel rooms and painted pale green for the residents. The appearance of the difference doors down an already ominous hallway lends an air of mystery, as if behind each door are dark, magical passages to different time periods.

What does lurk in the hallway is a smell like that of men who only bathe every 4 days. It's a baked-in aroma, probably as much a part of the building as its vintage elevator. This is probably due to the scant use of air conditioning among the regular tenants.

Room Reaction: It's cozy. Really showing that great pains have been taken in picking out the details of the room design, everything looks successfully vintage even if it is not. The fan is most definitely vintage, which makes us wonder about fire hazards.

To our surprise, the pillows sport Frette pillowcases, the underbed storage is useful, and the A/C totally kept us comfy all night. But then, tragedy: The touted flatscreen TV did not have Bravo, robbing us of what was to be a pivotal Project Runway episode and the premiere of Top Design. But then again, it is a soft opening; can we expect them to have all their channels already?

Down the Hall: When you plod down the hallway for a middle-of-the-night pee, The Jane takes on a sort of dorm-like air, except that your neighbor isn't the star of your school's rugby team but some old guy in his boxers watching The Simpsons with his door cracked.

We found the bathrooms, shared as they may be, to be clean and loved the large individual showers with rainfall showerheads. We have to liken the bathrooms to those of gyms, with their in-shower toiletry dispenser for shampoo, conditioner and body wash and the dynamic of everyone ignoring everyone else also in the bathroom.

Jane's Goodies: Aside from the aforementioned toiletry dispensers, we also got generic hotel slippers, a robe to use, a bottle of Saratoga Springs water (mini bar cost?) and a notepad.

Internet Connect: Free wifi - worked without a hitch even during this softest of openings.

View/ Location: A room full of broken vending machines had a better view than we did; we faced into the courtyard area of an adjacent condo building and could vaguely watch other people's Tvs.

Get a room with a good view and you'll be seeing straight over the Hudson to New Jersey. Either way, the West Side running/ walking/ cycling/ rollerblading path is across the street and so is a posh playground, but right now The Jane is very much not kid-friendly.

What we liked: The shower, TV, and A/C are all superior to our own stuff at home, and minor thrills as these are we'll totally take them. We also enjoyed the human touch of the elevator attendant and the eco-friendliness of the energy key.

What we didn't like: A distractingly-noisy A/C, not knowing if we'll be charged for the in-room bottle of water, lack of window coverings, and neighbors who loudly watch The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. That's it, we swear.

Bottom Line: Spending only $99 a night for this excellent location and quirky but comfortable stay may spoil you; how can you ever go back to $350+ at an unremarkable property when you're out and about in the city for most of the time anyways?

For more photos from The Jane Hotel go to JetsetCD's Flickr Set.