HotelChatter

To the north on Crosby (between Prince and Houston) there’s a Housing Works, which sells used books and furniture for a good cause; a smattering of boutiques; and an Equinox gym. Up on Houston there’s even a gas station. On the southern end of Crosby and Spring you have Starbucks on one corner, Balthazar on another, and the MOMA store, which is always worth browsing for unique gifts.

Spring (between Crosby and Lafayette) is home to a couple of delis, a FedEx, and a newsstand, along with fancy stationers Kate’s Paperie and Papyrus. Round the corner onto Lafayette and there’s a cleaner’s, a fire station, parking station, and a couple of bike shops. There’s also the back of the hotel, where you can peek at the folks mingling in the Drawing Room.

Of course there are more shops (and restaurants, and banks, and the Apple store) in pretty much every direction from the hotel, but the main drag, Broadway, is just one block west. There you’ll find almost any chain retailer you can think of, including Victoria’s Secret, Mango, Sephora, Banana Republic, David Z, Steve Madden, and—our favorite—Uniqlo.

With rooms starting at $650 this Friday night (they’re booked out on Saturday), Uniqlo and Old Navy may be the only places you can afford to shop. But at least you can always grab a croissant from Dean & Deluca and do breakfast at Prada …