HotelChatter

Have You Done This / Hotel Photoshoots / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Smoking / Hotel Furniture / → All Tags

Have You Ever Smoked While Lounging On A Beanbag Chair In Your Underwear?

Where: 518 W 27th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001-5505

We all know that hotels aren't as forthcoming as they should be with photos of their rooms and public spaces on their websites but we still have a chuckle over the other kind of photos hotels put on their website--the totally staged shots of people doing totally random things.

The Hotel Americano caught our attention over the summer with its low-lying Japanese ryokan beds, bento boxes and wool slippers. None of which, however, relate to what the hotel really wants us to be doing during our stay there: puffing away on a cigarette in our skivvies while snuggling up to the hotel's custom-made Zanotti black vinyl bean bag chairs.

It turns out all that talk about proximity to art galleries and views of the High Line were just ways to get us in the door.

more ›

Photo Galleries / Hotel Opening / Grupo Habita / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Pools / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Design / → All Tags

The Americano Teaches Us A Thing Or Two About Culture

Where: 518 W 27th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001-5505

The best way to explain the Hotel Americano's name is to point out a piece of artwork found in the lobby—a large photo montage of President Obama, sporting an afro, from his college days. "We want to feel like a New Yorker who isn't quite from New York," a heavily-accented Carlos Couturier (co-founder of Grupo Habita, above left) explained to us during our visit yesterday.

And they've succeeded. The 56-room hotel embodies that cool, effortless—heavily multicultural—essence of America without necessarily becoming Americana. From the minimalist rooms (low beds are as pervasive here as the concrete floors) to the sexy rooftop lounge and pool deck to the Bebel Gilberto-curated music playing overhead, there is a little bit of everything spread around this hotel.

For inside shots of the rooms and public spaces, click below!

more ›

Hotel Openings / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Apps / iPad Apps / Hotel Hype / → All Tags

Whiskey, Soda, Rock 'n Roll...And An iPad App

Where: 518 W 27th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001-5505

The hotel named after the 1950s Italian hit song Tu Vuò Fà l'Americano (which literally means, 'You want to be an American') has finally opened its doors. And in addition to its homegrown Chelsea glamor, its bento boxes, and its impeccably golden location, now The Americano has one more thing to sing about: its own iPad/iPhone app.

We already knew the hotel was fond of name-dropping its community—quite a number of the better-known Chelsea residents have already appeared on the Americano's candid "neighborhood" blog. Now, taking the neighborhood-y, insider-y angle one step further, they've tapped a few more neighbors to provide personal recommendations on exploring the city. People like architect Enrique Norton (the man responsible for the hotel's austere mesh facade). It's an insider's game, you know?

more ›

Hotel Openings / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Opening Rates / Grupo Habita / → All Tags

Are You Ready To Do The Americano?

Where: 518 W 27th St [map], New York, NY, United States, 10001-5505

We hate to say it, but September isn't that far away, and one fall opening we're keeping a close eye on is the Hotel Americano. One reader tipped us off to the fact that the Americano's website now has availability starting—just as promised—September 1!

An Uptown Queen (220 square feet, free WiFi, and a "city view") matches the starting rate of $325 that we originally heard about. So is this for real? And can we expect any other upcoming changes to the website? A representative for the hotel confirmed that indeed, the hotel will be taking guests as of September 1, and that, yes, the website will be updated. Not that a hotel website incontrovertibly has to have photos of its rooms, but, you know. It helps.

more ›