Tag: Times Square Hotels
View All TagsNew 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.
Wyndham Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / DoubleTree Hotels / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
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.
Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Snacks / Hotel Food / Marriott Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Times Square Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Toys / Hotel Vending Machines / → All Tags
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!
Hotel Delays / Manhattan Hotels / Wyndham Hotels / Tryp Hotels / Hotel Openings / Times Square Hotels / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
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.
Hotel Openings / Manhattan Hotels / Gay Hotels / Times Square Hotels / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
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.
Halloween Hotels / Renaissance Hotels / Marriott Hotels / Times Square Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Suites / Celebrity Scoop / Blake Lively / Leonardo DiCaprio / → All Tags
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.
Hotel Desserts / Hotel Freebies / Hotel Perks / Manhattan Hotels / Food Trucks / Hotel Brownies / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
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!
Hotel Liquor Licenses / Hotel Rooftops / Manhattan Hotels / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
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?
Hotel Club Lounges / Photo Galleries / Manhattan Hotels / Westin Hotels / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
Get Away From Times Square In The Westin's Atrium Club Lounge
A while ago, we showed you the inside of a Presidential Suite at the Westin New York Times Square Well, here's another way to get high-class at the self-proclaimed "healthy" hotel (for a lot less money). Located on the eighth floor, the Atrium Club Lounge is available to any guest staying in one of the 126 Atrium Club rooms. More on those later.
We poked around inside the Lounge on a rainy Sunday evening, and found quite a few couples, families, and lone travelers making use of the large space. Without a doubt, the best seats in the house are by the slanted windows, where you can look down on Times Square—and enjoy it from a distance (the best way).
Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Sex / Times Square Hotels / → All Tags
What Happens When Hotel Signs Slowly Burn Out
It's a rare occurrence, but when it does happen, it's definitely worth heading out into Midtown at night armed with a camera. What're we talking about, exactly? Oh, just the fact that Manhattan's old Milford Plaza Hotel isn't the most well kept up place, and that sometimes its neon-lit letters on the exterior burn out to read "MILF PLAZA."
Credit for the recent sighting goes to @cmbenz on Twitter, perhaps better known as fashion designer Chris Benz. He appropriately freaked out over it on Twitter, and now the excitement has passed on to us.
Sneak Peek / Times Square Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
Another Sneak Peek at Times Square's Sanctuary Hotel
We’ve been following the prolonged transformation of Times Square's grimy, budget Portland Square Hotel. Finally rid of the scaffolding, the (nearly) complete, 115-room Sanctuary Hotel is a pricier, but still within-wallet’s reach option. Here’s what HotelChatter sussed out during our stay:
Jump on It: The grand opening isn’t until September, so the hotel isn’t complete, restaurant and bar wise. The previous pics we’ve shown are what the owners are hoping for, but it’s still a construction zone and the second tower and roof top bar aren't completed yet. But the current $179 rate is going faster than the free WiFi speed and gets you a modern, clean room, free workout privileges at either Equinox or Sports/Club LA (your choice) and all the lemon water in the lobby you can drink. Hard to beat for its location and New York’s notorious summer high season rates.
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