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Gem Hotel "Soho" Also Now Open

Where: 135 E Houston St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10002

A few weeks ago one of the first Ascend Hotels opened in New York City--the Gem Hotel in Chelsea. If you remember, Ascend is the new Clarion Collection from Choice Hotels. And today we also walked by another Gem Hotel--this time in the Lower East Side.

Despite the hotel's location on Houston Street and Eldridge (which is clearly LES turf), the hotel's name is listed as Soho. Hmm...not quite. But you are just two short blocks away from the massive Whole Foods store.

Just like the Chelsea location, rooms here look small with nothing in it aside from a massive white fluffy-looking bed and a flat-screen TV. Sometimes, that's all you need. Rates were going for tonight at $189 a night which is not bad. Except we paid $170 a night for our room at Thompson LES.

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Tags: Hotel Opening Rates / Ascend Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Gem Hotel Opens in Chelsea at $189 a night

Where: 300 W. 22nd Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10011

Mad props to Amy over at NewYorkology for being all up in the grill of the new Gem Hotel in Chelsea and getting the scoop on the opening rates. As you may recall, the Gem is part of Choice Hotel's brand-new Ascend Hotels brand. Amy writes:

So far, 35 of the hotel’s rooms are ready for occupancy. All 81 should be complete early next week. The $189 rate is good through the end of the month, including at Thanksgiving. There is no restaurant on premises, but rooms feature plasma TVs, Gilchrist & Soames bath products, bath robes and free shoe shine service. There’s free high-speed Internet in rooms, and wi-fi in the lobby.

Also, the hotel is completely 100 percent smoke-free. Dayum. This is an amazing deal. Free WiFi, Gilchrist and Soames toiletries and a free shoe shine? We were about to book it but we noticed on the website that the rooms look teeny. So you decide--more room to move about or free WiFi in a room for under $200 in NYC?

Related Stories:
· Choice Hotels Announces Ascend Collection of Hotel [HotelChatter]
· Gem hotel officially open in Chelsea with $189 room [NewYorkology]

Tags: Ascend Hotels / Choice Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

Choice Hotels Announces Ascend Collection of Hotels

Where: United States

Choice Hotels has been busy lately, what with ads about dog poop and several promotions for their Choice Privileges loyalty program. Today, they have another announcement--the formal launch of their Ascend Collection of hotels in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Ascend Collection properties, all of which are historic, boutique, or unique hotels, must meet well-defined membership criteria and demonstrate a commitment to service excellence. Travelers have the peace of mind that comes with staying at hotels that offer authentic experiences and attentive guest care yet are still a part of one of the world’s largest lodging companies.

Choice Hotels actually announced their plans for Ascend way back in May. While there are a few historic properties in the collection, Choice is also re-branding several of their Clarion hotels as Ascend. Some Ascend properties to look for? There's three in New York City under the GEM Hotel name as well as the Golden Hotel in Colorado, and the historic Hotel Bothwell in Missouri. For more on the brand and its hotels, go to AscendCollection.com.

We're guessing Choice Hotels won't be releasing any ads involving dog poop for this brand. Just a thought.

Tags: Choice Hotels / Clarion Hotels / Ascend Hotels / Steve Joyce / → All Tags

Clarion Hotels To Change Brand Name to 'Ascend'

Where: United States

Evidently there's some news to tell from Choice Hotels. While it's gone unreported, for the most part, by those in the know, we did a little research. And now that we know, we'll tell you.

During a convention earlier this year, the staff got to meet and greet the company's new President and future CEO, former Marriott International bigwig Steve Joyce. And once Steve took the mic, he announced something big was in the works.

Seems there's a rebranding campaign afoot regarding the company's more upscale Clarion Collection of hotels. Word is they'll be rebranded as the Ascend Collection, complete with nifty new logo and designations as "historic," "boutique" or "unique." Hmmmm...this also sounds alot like Aloft by Starwood.

While all this news continues to fly under the radar, such is not the case with Mr. Joyce's earnings. Word is his new gig got him a major raise worth $1.3 million in stock incentives before he even officially assumed his role at the company May 1st.

Forget the nunnery, we say, get thee to a job at Choice Hotels.