Where to stay when you leave.
2/28/2007 at 9:19 AM
Tags: The Bowery Hotel, New York Hotel Reviews, Hotel Hype, Booze
Last night we went to The Bowery Hotel for the second time this week. We forgot the ol' digital camera the first time, so we went back for some snaps. But front office manager Steve Rachmat politely told us that there are no photos allowed during these early stages. So we're using an exclusive shot that one of our tipsters sent in last week. (Geez, that's the last time we ask before taking the picture!)
But enough about all that. What's the bar like? We got our drinks at the bar itself, a cozy enough nook with lots to choose from. Still, we opted for something simple: a Woodford Reserve Manhattan. It was damn good--as it should've been for $17.
Since there are no bar stools (as of now, anyway), we retired to the lobby with our cocktail. Lots of mix-and-match furniture, Persian rugs and Italian tiling fill the space, which channels a sort of Keith McNally meets Freemans vibe. Which all makes perfect sense: As Down By the Hipster first reported, Freemans is partnering with the hotel for a still-TK Italian restaurant called Gemma. Maybe we'll be able to get a photo of that?
Related Stories:
· Photos from Inside the Bowery Hotel [HotelChatter]
by pbb
2/26/2007 at 9:45 AM
Tags: Cambodia Hotel Reviews, New York Times, Booze
It's rough out there for travel junkies and road warriors. All that time away from home, checking into hotel after hotel, staying in new cities: it's enough to make you want a stiff drink. Or, apparently, not:
"Do you have nonalcoholic beer?" a guest asked a passing waiter. "Yes sir, we have beer," he was told. "But do you have nonalcoholic beer?" "Yes sir, we have beer," the waiter said again, politely gesturing toward the menu. "But do you have ... Oh, forget it. Bring me a beer."
That's the latest word from Stuart Emmrich who checked into the Hôtel de la Paix in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Wait, so a high level of service is now frowned on by the Times? (We give the waiter points for graciously doing his best.) Surely the hotel has something to make up for its lack of O'Douls? Indeed it does:
Even the standard rooms are huge: a soaring loft space with a large seating area, a comfortable, spacious bed on a wooden frame, and a terrazzo bathtub big enough for two (or three, for that matter), as well as a walk-in shower
The hotel spa and gym also get high marks, and an on-property cafe has free WiFi that draws tourists who don't want to drop $300 on a hotel room in Cambodia. Not paying inflated hotel WiFi rates: the quickest way to more beer money.
Related Stories
· Check In, Check Out: Siem Reap [NYT]
by pbb
