In this era of transparency and instant information, it's no surprise that every business under the sun is trying to overhaul its digital image. Jumping on the bandwagon is the The Hotel Pennsylvania, which earned distinction last year as 2007 Hospitality Sales and Marketing Awards International (HSMAI) eMarketer of the Year. Also, as a Notable Hotel to Get Off of The Hotel DeathWatch List. (See The NY Observer.)
Their new website, hotelpenn.com, admittedly has all the usual bells and whistles -- neat graphics, plenty of information and links, an excellent monthly calendar (including all Madison Square Garden events, a gimme since the monster is just across the street over Penn Station). Oh and don't forget: music. What plays is "New York, New York," the instrumental version of course.
We like the history page, and the tidbit that their telephone number was celebrated in Glenn Miller's hit song, "Pennsylvania 6-5000" (the number is Manhattan's "longest continually used telephone number - impressive!)
Virtual overhaul aside, the literal hotel's overhaul can't come fast enough. A quick glance through a fraction of the more than 1500 reviews on Tripadvisor wildly sway, from "grim" and "filthy dump" to "pleasantly surprised" and "good value, great location." No groovy website can correct that until the work is finished.
Last week, we had the chance to stay overnight in the brand new Holiday Inn Manhattan 6th Avenue, one of the first HI properties to sport the brand's more upscale look, which includes the upgraded logo and all sorts of the new, chic decor planned to hit all Holiday Inns by the end of 2010.
And while we admit that the hotel did look pretty sexy (especially, you know, for a Holiday Inn) we couldn't help but notice that it would have been a terrible hotel for having good old fashioned sexytime -- and sorry, Spitzerface and Edwards: secret affairs here would be totally out of the question.
The reasons why (and a full review) after the jump.
USA Today was a day off on the opening of the report that the Holiday Inn Chelsea which said the hotel would open Thursday.
Our on-the-street intelligence actually confirms that the new hotel, one of the few Holiday Inns to sport the revamped logo and chicer interior, will be opening today and is already booked to capacity for the weekend.
Swinging by the scene yesterday at 125 West 26th Street and 6th Avenue revealed last-minute preparations like a mountain of recycling to do and four extra mattresses chilling outside. As we stealthily evaded security, we managed to peek into the small lobby and lounge area.
[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same region and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quoted here were captured on March 4, 2008 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]
The odd headline above is to highlight the fact that we've got a high season week to beat all high season weeks this year, with St. Patrick's Day, Spring Break (for many public schools and colleges), Easter, and the Latino "Santa Semana" week before Easter all hitting within one 7-day period. Good luck finding a deal anywhere warm.
How bad will it hurt in New York City, where you can catch the St. Paddy's Day Parade, hit some Santa Semana festivities, and go to mass in a big cathedral?
You're going to pay a bundle then no matter what, but some bad deals are worse than others. Take the Hotel Pennsylvania, for instance, one of those decrepit and sad places milking the high city occupancy rate for all it's worth.
As soon as we tell you about another Downtown NYC hotel opening up--the Four Seasons--we get word that a Cambria Suites hotel is coming to Midtown.
The 22-story, 239-room property will be across 8th Avenue from Madison Square Garden, roughly half way between the Javits Convention Center and Times Square. (It's replacing the Glad Tidings Tabernacle Church, pictured.) This'll be the second Cambria in to New York; a 300-room hotel is under way in Brooklyn. Both are being developed with PLC Partners, which plans to have both locations open by 2009.
Amenities are what you'd expect from a business hotel, including free wired and wireless internet. Rooftop bars are of course in the works. And the Midtown Cambria might have a bit of spice to it, too, because it's been designed by architect David Helpern--who did the Soho Grand and W Lexington Avenue among others.
A Fordham University senior is suing the New Yorker Hotel after the room she was placed in as substitute dorm room she claims was infested with bed bugs.
Michelle Hopkins filed a suit yesterday after the insects allegedly feasted on her in the Manhattan hotel that doubled as her dorm.
"I can't sleep anymore, I haven't slept in forever," Hopkins said, breaking into tears in her lawyer's office. "I'm petrified."
A student housing crunch at Fordham led Hopkins to find a room through Educational Housing Services, which leases four floors of rooms from the New Yorker Hotel at Eighth Ave. and 34th St
Colleges often use nearby hotels as a way to supply rooms to students but we were surprised the New Yorker was being used as a dorm since it is undergoing a huge renovation with completion expected around August 2008. Additionally, Hopkins is suing the hotel's owner and manager which happens to be Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church and Ramada Worldwide. Moonies own a hotel?
La Quinta isn't a brand we cover a lot 'round these parts. But after hearing a tip about Mé Bar on the roof of La Quinta Inn Manhattan, we had to check out the Koreatown scene.
New Yorker's can't get enough rooftop drinking, so even though Mé Bar is sort of trashy-beach-town-meets-hotel-lobby chic, it's worth a visit. You'll also be thrilled by the views of the Empire State Building, if you're into iconic Art Deco skyscrapers.
We went in a little early, and had to hang with the happy hour crowd. But once the commuter trains leave for the day you'll have some space to enjoy your $5 brews. And bonus: no membership required.
We've got no idea where the name comes from, but it's about as bad as the place itself. The centerpiece of the small, poorly lit space is a giant flat screen TV, tuned to Girlfriends. Our lovely bartender did a good job of keeping our mugs full, though she's "Not much of a beer person," and couldn't warn us off what turned out to be a terrible Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. The only local/"interesting" choices on the beer menu were Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn Pilsner--available in tons of bars around the city.
What would normally be a bright spot--the happy hour discount--wasn't really that great either: It's comparable to loads of seedy midtown bars with the same amount of character as U and Mie. The place does have cute novelty cocktail napkins, though. We're filling ours out to read like a memo to Scott Kerksman: There's plenty more work to be done.
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by annie0007
