Tag: Queens Hotels

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Bike Your Days Away In Long Island City

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  Site Where: 8-08 Queens Plaza South [map], Long Island City, NY, United States, 11101
September 28, 2011 at 9:48 AM | by | Comments (0)

OK, so we can all agree Queens is making some strides in the hotel department. Though we originally put up a fight in 2010 about trekking so far just to see a rooftop bar, we've since expanded our horizons. For our next visit, however, we're setting our sights a bit closer to the ground.

The Ravel Hotel just announced a new bicycle amenity, the first of its kind by a hotel in the entire borough of Queens. Helping them achieve this goal is Bike New York, a nonprofit that promotes safe bicycling around New York City. Already, we can tell this is going to be a more practical endeavor than W London's celebrity-designed novelty bikes. Wouldn't want to be riding alongside the East River on one of those things!

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Hotel Rooftops and Terraces To Enjoy in New York Before It Gets Cold

September 26, 2011 at 9:15 AM | by | Comment (1)

As unhappy as we are to admit it, summer is over and the warm weather is quickly receding. And to think, we only made it to the beach once this entire summer! But nevermind. While New York temperatures are still lingering in the high 70s, we thought we could all benefit from one last hurrah of outdoor hotel spaces. From outdoor movies to pizza ovens, we found something for everyone on this list.

Next time you find yourself on Fifth Avenue and 55th St with nothing to do, book yourself a 75-minute spa treatment at the Peninsula New York. The session will automatically grant you access to the hotel's Sun Terrace, which we were lucky enough to visit two weeks ago. If we had to pick our favorite spot, it would probably be the wicker chairs around the coffee table. Who said magazine browsing and sunbathing can't happen at once?

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Hotel Hopping On The East River

August 24, 2011 at 9:33 AM | by | Comment (1)

If you haven't already tried it, the East River Ferry is a great way to get around NYC—especially in the summer. For $4 a ride, you can zip between lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, and get to enjoy stunning views of the city while you're at it.

But for hotel geeks, this efficient cruise also poses another possibility: hotel hopping on the East River! Believe it or not, more than half of the eight ferry terminals are within walking distance of some of the neighborhood's essential hotels. And given NYC's blatant oversaturation these days, this is a great way to enjoy the city's diversity of hotels, without ever spending too much time in one particular neighborhood. Off to sea!

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From Seat Cushions To Free Limo Rides, These Tennis Packages Have It All

August 11, 2011 at 11:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

In just eighteen days, the 2011 US Open Tournament barrels into Flushing, NY. Here's a look at which NYC hotels are serving up the best rates, tennis packages, and, of course, tennis swag.

TENNIS SWAG

Make it a double-night stay over in midtown's new-ish Sanctuary Hotel, whose US Open Tennis package includes an unlimited weekly Metrocard—not quite a free limo ride (see below), but convenient enough! Also lumped in with the $499 rate (or $249 per night) are a Serena Williams skin care bundle kit, a Rafael Nadal "Rafa" crew shirt, and a free room upgrade. Hopefully, Hank Freid's S.T.A.R. staff is up to par!

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Not Quite A Floating Brothel, The Boggsville Boatel Is A Hit

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  Site Where: Marina 59, near 59-14 Beach Channel Dr [map], Far Rockaway, NY, United States, 11692
July 26, 2011 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

Only yesterday were we telling you about a new flophouse-turned-boutique-hotel set to open on the Bowery in Manhattan. Today, we direct your attention to an even cheaper alternative located in Far Rockaway, Queens. Somewhere between an artsy pop-up restaurant and a no-frills budget motel lies the Boggsville Boatel, an interactive art project by Constance Hockaday (above).

Now, we've covered hotel art installations here before, but clearly, this one's a little different. In the case of the Boatel, the floating hotel itself becomes the art.

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The Z Hotel Has An Electric Violinist Of Its Very Own

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  Site Where: 11-01 43rd Ave [map], Long Island City, NY, United States, 11101
June 29, 2011 at 12:21 PM | by | Comments (0)

The Z Hotel had our attention last week when they debuted their 100-room hotel with sky beams, a light-footed Henry Zilberman, and one of the most beautiful views we've seen in a while. For their July 4 bash (which remains invite only, sorry outer borough friends!), they have chosen to enlist the skills of the very same electric violinist who one-upped the DJ at their opening party, Gray Devio.

We've heard of hotels hiring global music directors to oversee the music scene, and once in a while a lounge pianist catches our eye. But a resident electric violinist—who plays on the roof?! This is something new.

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Watch The Owner Of The Z Hotel Tear Up The Dancefloor

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  Site Where: 11-01 43rd Ave [map], Long Island City, NY, United States, 11101
June 23, 2011 at 10:45 AM | by | Comments (0)

We can now confirm with absolute certainty that the newly-opened Z Hotel has alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. The independently-owned Long Island City hotel celebrated its grand opening with a wild rooftop party on Tuesday night, and—we have to give them credit—the views were killer.

Just take a look at this video to see what we mean. In addition to the freely-flowing liquor, champagne, and beer, pizza was being served out of the oven, a violinist was jamming on the roof, and the dance music was so infectious even the owner, Henry Zilberman, couldn't keep still.

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The Z Hotel Is Almost Ready—It Just Needs Some Booze

Where: 11-01 43rd Ave [map], Long Isand City, NY, United States, 11101
June 3, 2011 at 8:58 AM | by | Comments (0)

Another boutique hotel pops up this summer in one of New York City's outer boroughs, and—surprise!—it's got a rooftop bar. Long Island City's Z Hotel, a sleek 100-room tower adjacent to the Queensborough Bridge, is almost ready to open its doors, but will the area's total lack of foot traffic spell doom for the much-hyped project? Owner Henry Zilberman, whose background as the owner of a local car service makes him something of an expert on location, is optimistic about the destination's appeal to tourists and business travelers. In a 2007 interview, Zilberman made the convincing case:

"I drive around here all the time, and you can take the Queensboro Bridge and be at Bloomingdale's in three minutes. Even with traffic, it's faster than the subway. It's a mystery to me why it took so long for Long Island City to be discovered."

Renderings of the Z (Z for 'Zilberman,' or for 'zany?') have been circulating on the web for a few years, and now that the whole thing is up, we have to admit, we like it a lot better than the nearby Ravel Hotel's bland exterior. At the Z, balconied walkways are set off by playful multicolored panels, and the grey-brick-and-glass facade is much more at peace with the neighborhood's industrial backdrop. But the question remains: how will a hotel premised on the appeal of its "Gansevoort vibe" make out in such bleak surroundings?

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Would You Go to Queens for a Rooftop Bar?

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  Site Where: 8-08 Queens Plaza South [map], Queens, ny, United States, 11101
January 7, 2010 at 10:56 AM | by | Comment (1)

OK, this hotel bar is Queens. Let’s get that out in the open right now. But, kids, it’s a rooftop bar. And it’s enclosed and heated. What’s more, it has a name worthy of The Jersey Shore, Penthouse 808, and sits atop a relatively new hotel, the Ravel in (perpetually up-and-coming) Long Island City.

Since we have to wait a few more months for most of New York’s rooftop bars to open—including the new one at The Kimberly Hotel—we thought what the hell? Let’s look at Queens! Except, um, it’s really cold, and we’ll be in Vegas this weekend, and we can’t jump on the subway to check this baby out just yet.

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Manhattan Hotel Prices Striking a Nerve? Stay at The Verve

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  Site Where: 40-03 29th Street [map], Long Island City, ny, United States, 11101
October 7, 2008 at 12:33 PM | by | Comments (2)

Consider this: Your nice, Midwestern parents are coming to New York City for the weekend, and because you live in the proverbial shoebox, they can't stay with you. And with Manhattan hotel prices as sky high as the Empire State Building, asking your nice, Midwestern parents to shell out $400-plus for the pleasure of being in your company for three nights seems like, well--a lot to ask. So what do you do? Book them in an outer-borough hotel, specifically, in the industrial section of Long Island City, Queens.

How does it turn out, you ask?

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NYC-Area Hotels: Unraveling Whether The Ravel Is Worth the Stay

Go To The Hotel's Web 
  Site Where: 8-08 Queens Plaza South [map], Long Island City, ny, United States, 11101
June 16, 2008 at 2:06 PM | by | Comment (1)

New York's five boroughs can easily be equated with select members of the Brady Bunch: Manhattan is so obviously Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! and Brooklyn, with its hipster scene and neighborhoody vibe is paramount to Cindy and her lisp--annoying, but also cute on occasion.

The Bronx, with its northern location, is sort of like when Greg finally landed his own room in the attic and Staten Island is the borough we liken to Jan, since it never gets any respect.

Then there's Queens. Very much the forgotten borough unless its baseball season; sort of like how no one remembers any significant story line for Bobby except the episode where he got to play football with Joe Namath.

Which is why we were so intrigued to learn via Bloomberg News that NYC tourists are venturing to Queens, particularly the Ravel Hotel in Long Island City, as a way to be in close proximity to Manhattan without the Manhattan price tag. (Ravel rates start at about $200.)

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