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The NYT is Obsessed with Facing in the Direction of Manhattan

December 18, 2007 at 9:00 AM | 6 Comments

The New York Times follows our lead (again) this week with a stay at a property we've been obsessing over. This week, Fred Bernstein checks into Hotel Le Bleu and comes away with a not-too-pleasant review of Room 604, which is just down the hall from the unit we checked out in September.

Thing is, Bernstein seems to miss the point of Hotel Le Bleu. Saying it doesn't offer much lower prices than Manhattan doesn't ring true: A room of this quality across the river would cost hundreds more. And while this stretch of Fourth Avenue isn't that nice, the bubbly, yuppie epicenter of Park Slope is but a couple blocks away; guests who can stand to be more than 100 yards from a Starbucks should manage to live through a stay.

None of these strange observations, though, compare to his bizarre room layout demands:

Oddly, the room was designed so that there is no way to see Manhattan from the bed, which faced the wrong direction.

We're not sure what other direction the bed *could* face, given the room layout. And if you're staying anywhere in Brooklyn, hotel or not, you'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty at all, let alone the full Manhattan skyline. (That's the thing about NYC, it's, like, full of tall buildings.)

Bernstein was right to criticize the service, though, even if it was just a hiccup:

The hotel's Web site says "Our motto is: `Ask, and consider it done.'" But I was denied the one thing I asked for: a second plastic chair, so my partner and I could eat our Thai food somewhere other than the bed. A bellhop told me he wasn't allowed to enter any of the empty rooms to fetch a chair.

It may be cheaper than Manhattan, but for $309 a night, an extra chair is definitely a reasonable request.

[Photo: Andrea Mohin for The New York Times]

Related Stories:
· Check In, Check Out [NYT]
· Hotel Le Bleu Now Open...Finally [HotelChatter]

Hotel Le Bleu

Hotel Le Bleu Now Open...Finally

November 5, 2007 at 9:30 AM | 3 Comments

We were beginning to think Hotel Le Bleu would turn into Brooklyn's Six Columbus with delay after delay.

But GM Robert Gaeta wrote in to confirm rumors that the hotel opened over the weekend:

Hotel Le Bleu, Brooklyn's first luxury boutique hotel is now open as of 4PM Friday. The Department of Buildings gave us our Certificate of Occupancy. We had our first guests check in today. Guests from Virginia...Next big story: When the top floor restaurant and roof lounge Vue opens.

Hey, that will be a big story. Last we heard, it'll be opening sometime next year.

[Photo: Gregory P. Mango]

Related Stories:
· Hotel le Bleu Finally Opens [NewYorkology]