HotelChatter

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In-Room Magazines: Reading Between the Sheets

Traditionally, it is the job of a hotel lobby to convey to its guests the energy and mood of the property, but the days of the grand reception desk and kowtowing bellboys are over. The rise of smaller, boutique hotels has done more than just stylize the hotel experience, but has allowed individual properties to develop their own tastes, which are then impressed upon the guests. The most obvious example of this is in interior design, but we're not interested in the obvious; instead, we're digging into those piles of magazines on the side table.

In-room magazines may seem like a do-it-yourself concierge, as often the offerings are city guides like Where and FrontDesk, but any other titles give a peek into the hotel's sensibility. For instance, two of our most recent stays, at The James in Chicago and the notorious New York Standard, have yielded some seriously eclectic glossies. From The James' choices of a Skrebneski coffee table book and readily available copies of TimeOut and The Reader, they are painting the hotel as a bastion of local culture. On the other hand, The Standard's indie artsy choices of Interview, TAR and Art in America paint the hotel as an art school dropout with a penchant for indulging in expensive periodicals.

Next time you plop onto your hotel bed and reach for the room service menu, take a gander at the magazine pile and marvel at the little personality it creates for the hotel. So long as you're not staying at the Trump Las Vegas with their Ivanka Trump jewelry catalog, something should pique your interest; in any case, it sure beats whipping out the good old Bible.

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Inside The James Chicago :: Setting a Standard

Where: 55 East Ontario [map], Chicago, IL, United States, 60611

Returning to a city where we were once a local and having to stay in a hotel can be a jarring experience. So to soften the pains we opted to check out what is currently Chicago's hottest hotel property: The James.

According to The James' website, we are supposed to keep our eyes open for more properties to come in both New York and Miami, as Chicago is the standard-bearer. Turns out The James is exactly what the blustery old hotel scene of Chicago needs; it rivals the attentiveness of The Peninsula while standing out from other heavily-tapestried properties around Michigan Avenue.

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Tags: James Hotels / Hotel Hype / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags

Never One To Be Left Out, New York To Get Its Own James Hotel

Where: 101 West 57th Street [map], New York, NY, United States, 10019

New Yorkers are a competitive bunch, which is why it should come as no surprise that come 2010, the Big Apple is set to have its own version of Chicago's wildly popular The James Hotel (pictured). The hotel chain also is branching out to Los Angeles and Miami, though no details on any of the new properties are available at the moment.

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