Tag: Times Square Hotels
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The Novotel Times Square is Getting a Futuristic Upgrade
Summer has barely just begun, but we find ourselves looking forward to fall already. That's because the Novotel Times Square, the only Novotel in the U.S., is expected to unveil a new futuristic look by October.
The renovation is currently underway for the lobby spaces and the public areas on the 7th floor with all the work being implemented by Stonehill + Taylor, the interior design and architecture firm behind the new NYLO NYC. (The John Hardy Group is also the project manager onboard.) And it is going to be out of this world, almost literally.
From the moment you walk into the hotel, you will be taken through a "passage of time", a reference to Times Square's place in pop culture history, especially all those New Year's Eve celebrations. Stonehill + Taylor also added a sensory component to the lobby with ambient sounds, video art, purposeful materials and lighting. More specifically, there will be hexagonal LED ceiling panels that will light up different colors in response to changing music and sounds throughout the day.
Up on the 7th floor, the hotel's expansive wrap-around terrace will be updated with 5,700-sq.ft of space, along with bar service. The restaurant and the bar will also go back to the future, with pretty much every seat offering a great view out onto Times Square.
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New Hotel Deals Are Here for Ski Bums and Daddy Warbucks Alike
Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)
DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*
Spring Skiing Hotel Deal in Mammoth: Most of you might be getting ready to some surfboading instead of snowboarding but at Mammoth Mountain in California, the snow is just getting good. Ok, well, not really but spring skiing is apparently really fun there with both the US ski and snowboard teams visiting and with the Annual Pondskim on April 21. Plus, hotel guests at any of the mountain's hotels get a nightly discount based on the temperature from April 14-May 23. For example, if it's 45 degrees both days, then you will get a $90 refund on your hotel room at checkout. The daily high temp is based on the high temperature at Main Lodge recorded on the Ski Patrol website and you must stay two or more nights to get he refund. Go here to book.
Pay Your Respects to Lilly Pulitzer at Sea Island: The Cloister at Sea Island Resort, off the coast of Georgia, put together this Lilly Pulitzer Mother Daughter Getaway for Mother's Day weekend before the colorful designer passed away but now it seems the best way to pay your respects to the woman who made wearing crazy pink and green outfits acceptable. The deal includes a complimentary upgrade if available; a welcome bottle of pink champagne and green macaroons; a special Lilly Pulitzer gift; one massage for each guest at The Spa at Sea Island; one mani/pedi for each guest; one dinner at Tavola, the resort's new Italian trattoria; one dinner at The Georgian rom, a Forbes five-star resto and one pink rose petal bath for each guests. Rates start at $510 per person per night. So $2,040 for both of you for two nights. The deal also includes access to several Lilly-themed events over Mother's Day Weekend like a tennis clinic with Murphy and Luke Jensen, a Lilly Pulitzer runway show, and brunch on Sunday, although those are separate costs.
The Omni Wants You to Visit Sun Diego: The Omni San Diego is luring travelers to their hotel with promises of sun, sun and more sun. Oh and some sunscreen. Their new Sun Diego package includes room accommodations, complimentary valet parking for one car, two complimentary Seabreezes at McCormick's and Schmick's at the hotel, a bottle of sunscreen and a guide to the best outdoor activities and events in town. Rates start at $281 a night which is a little steep but if there's a ball game going on, it's totally worth it as the hotel is adjacent to the park. Go here to book and use code PKGSUN. No word if you get a refund if it rains but you could ask?
Have a Culinary Liason in DC: The Liaison Capitol Hill has redesigned its new restaurant, Art and Soul, as well as its lobby and guestrooms and is enticing guests to check out the changes with their Artisanal Fare Escape. Starting at $179 a night, the deal includes a stay in a recently renovated guestroom, plus a $100 dining credit for Art ad Soul. Go here to book and use promo code NEWART. The deal is good through September 2nd.
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W Times Square to Host First Instagram NYC Exhibit, and They Want Your Photos
We don't have to tell you that we're pretty crazy for the social photo sharing app Instagram and its potential for peeking into the hotel rooms of other travelers. This week saw the launch of Instagram for Android and now, more good news:
The W Hotel Times Square will open New York City's first Instagram photography exhibit on May 1. On display in the hotel's Living Room lobby area through June, the photos consist of works from five of the most popular Instagrammers in the Instagram NYC community. BUT! There's still a opening for one more, thanks to a contest of course. The details:
New Years's Hotels / Times Square Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Kayak / Hotel Booking Engines / → All Tags
Last-Minute Room Rates for NYC New Year's Eve Were Crazycakes
The two screenshots of hotel rates you see above come straight from our iPhone's Kayak.com app, just before 8pm on New Year's Eve. As we sat at home, safely ensconced in the warm glow of our TV set showing the Times Square spectacle, hundreds of thousands of other were similarly holed up in hotels rooms around the area, watching it unfold beneath them live.
As much as we love to encourage staying in hotels, New Year's is the one night where we'd definitely advise against going for it...if you want to be anywhere near Times Square. Hotels are near capacity, you're practically barricaded in by the growing crowds (and police), and there's too much potential for something to happen, anything from a violent threat in the area to a messy toilet back-up in your room.
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Wyndham Garden Hotel Gets Uprooted By Hilton's DoubleTree in Times Square South
The Wyndham Garden Hotel Times Square South is no longer. A tipster let us know that the hotel on West 36th Street will turn into a DoubleTree Hotel on February 6.
Wyndham has already pulled the hotel off its website and we presume it's undergoing some slight updating to get ready for the DoubleTree takeover.
But the loss is really no big deal to Wyndham considering that they have another Wyndham Garden hotel just 12 blocks south in Chelsea on 24th Street. We guess the upcoming Tryp by Wyndham Hotel in Times Square, just one block over, will be re-routing guests to this property from now on.
However, we will mourn the loss of the hotel's free WiFi as DoubleTree will be charging $9.99 a day. Not sure a DoubleTree cookie will make up for that. Ok, it helps a little.
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Instead of Casinos This Month, Try Your Luck At The Marriott Marquis Vending Machine
On a recent evening, we found ourselves in Times Square with some time to kill while waiting for a friend. Unable to think of something better to do, we headed straight for the huge eighth-floor lobby of the Marriott Marquis Times Square.
As it happened, we were also a little snackish, but didn't want to spoil our appetite for dinner (an extravagant feast awaited in K-town). So we hopped on over to the vending machines in search of something salty. Inserted the bill, pressed the button, watched the metal rings coil, and then—nothing. A pack of trail mix hung precariously from the tip of the dispenser. Sadness!
But just when we were about to give the whole machine a much-deserved headbutt, the mechanism sprang into action again to let fall not one, but two packs of trail mix. Score!
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An Unexpected Tryp To Wyndham Garden
Bad news if you were planning on staying at the new Tryp by Wyndham in time for Thanksgiving. The yet-to-be-finished hotel taped a sign to their door yesterday re-routing guests to the nearby Wyndham Garden Times Square South, which is less than ideal. Sure, you're still in Times Square. And the originally price will be honored (on average, Tryp's rooms go for about $100 less than Wyndham Garden's).
But if it's a brand new hotel with 'Mediterranean accents' you were looking for, you're going to be disappointed. The closest you'll come is by heading over to Eventi's Bar Basque—they sure have plenty of 'accents' to go around.
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The Out NYC, When It Opens, Could Revitalize An Entire Neighborhood
New York's imminent, first-ever gay hotel, The Out NYC, is slowly transforming a remote block along W 42nd St between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues with practically nothing else around it. Two avenues over, you'll find a veritable slew of mid-range hotel options (Distrikt, Four Points by Sheraton, Fairfield Inn), but pretty much anything west of Ninth Avenue is the No Man's Land of New York hotels.
Sure, Yotel changed up the scene on Tenth Avenue with its moody purple lights and futuristic, robot-operated lobby. But Yotel will almost certainly be catering to a different crowd than The Out NYC, which is built specifically for gay travelers. So whether that means bright pastels in the lobby or fun-sounding elopement packages (or both), this developing property should be considered a game-changer for the neighborhood, and has the potential to turn an otherwise barren slice of the island into a hip destination spot.
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The Renaissance Times Square Was So Scary, Blake Lively's Face Froze
Don't be scared, Blake, it's just make believe!
OK, we'll be honest. When we first saw this photo, and read the caption about a special Halloween suite at the Renaissance Times Square being decorated by Madame Tussauds, we thought they were referring to a wax sculpture of Ms. Lively. Sorry, Blake! Your features just looked so....erm, lively lifeless.
Blake Lively stopped by last week for the debut of the hotel's "Dare To Check-In" Halloween suite. And since she is on the rebound from her short-lived relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio, Renaissance made sure there were plenty of toys to keep her distracted. Like tarot cards. Obviously, when you've just had your heart broken on the national news, a fortune teller is exactly the person you want to speak to.
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Why, Hello, Free Delicious Brownie
Back in July, we remember hearing something about a Mister Softee truck pulling up outside the Distrikt Hotel and supplying over-heated guests with some free ice cream. Though wildly successful, a Distrikt employee had explained this was "not a normal thing" and no other such events were planned for the near future.
Until yesterday! Anyone lucky enough to be walking down W 40th St between Eighth and Ninth Avenues between the hours of 4pm and 5pm were rewarded with a free item (and drink!) from Sweetery NYC.
The graphic dessert truck was parked directly outside the hotel's front door—to the delight of guests and staff members alike—and didn't really seem to discriminate between hotel peeps and non-affiliated passersby. "Yep, it's totally free," one friendly concierge noted, at which point we smiled widely and raced over to claim our mid-afternoon pick-me-up.
Hotel Renovations / Hotel Elevators / Marriott Hotels / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
Inside The New Marriott Marquis Lobby
'Tis the season...for New York City hotel renovations. In the past month, we've seen total makeovers from both the Affinia Manhattan and the Roosevelt New York. And now, the Marriott Marquis, a favorite of elevator nerds everywhere, adds its name to the list.
In addition to its 2,000 rooms, the hotel's eighth floor lobby has been transformed in three main areas: the Crossroads dining area (above), the Crossroads bar, and Broadway Lounge. We stopped by last night to inspect, and found the already-sizable space looking cleaner, fresher (the silvery new furniture helps), and much more to our liking. Says Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins of the new look: "This is our razzle dazzle transformation. This is a space that is designed to wow people, and that's what's gonna happen." Yes, sir!
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The Sanctuary Hotel Is A Temple Of Sin
It looks like the Sanctuary Hotel is finally making headway with its planned rooftop bar, but not without some resistance from a nearby church. St. Mary the Virgin, which is located right next door, cannot stand the idea of so much alcohol consumption taking place less than 200 feet from the holy site—on a rooftop, no less! Apparently, the church has forgotten it is located in one of the busiest corners in the world. Surely, this would have come up at some point?
This isn't the first time a hotel has run into liquor license problems from a nearby place of worship. Back in 2009, it was the Ace that was being pressured by the Masjid Ar-Rahman mosque to move its bar. At which point co-owner Ken Friedman laughed. Now, we wonder what will be the response of the Sanctuary's big poppa, Hank Freid?
