10021 Travel Guide
Tags: Hotel Opening Rates / Hotel Renovations / Taj Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
The Pierre is Open Again, If You've Got a Few Hundred Bucks to Burn
| June 8, 2009 at 12:42 PM | 0 Comments
The good news: The Pierre is open again. The bad news: rates are pretty high. The slightly better-than-bad-news: they're not quite as high as we'd originally thought — and the lowest rate we could find, $506, comes with a free shoe shine. Yay, we guess?
Taj's (well, now Taj's) iconic midtown property underwent a $100 million renovation and reopened on June 1st; and the new design, according to designers James Park Associates:
Each [room] is infused with subtle references to the heritage of The Pierre's Indian custodian, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. Soft colour palettes, inspired by the jewels of the Maharajas, are complemented by soft furnishings of rich silks and brocades, whilst traditional patterns are abstracted into decorative motifs, reinforcing the theme in a delicate, understated manner. The high ceilings of these residential-style interiors, and an abundance of natural light, emphasise The Pierre's renowned comfort and opulence.
The photo above is one of the first we've seen of the new rooms, which are going for $506 as a "summer special" rate. They go up (er, significantly) from there — a City View Suite with one king bed, for instance, will run you $1,628.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Drew Barrymore / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Parties / → All Tags
The Rebirth of The Pierre Inspires the Rebirth of a Celeb Couple
| April 16, 2009 at 9:15 AM | 1 Comment
Looks like the rebirth of the iconic, historic Pierre Hotel in Manhattan — officially opening this June after a massive renovation next month — may just bring rebirth to, um, relationships that are also a part of history.
At the afterparty for the premiere of Drew Barrymore's new movie, Grey Gardens, which was held in the Pierre's ballroom earlier this week, Ms. Barrymore and her ex-dude, Justin Long (the guy from the Mac commercials), were seen by Page Six looking like the flames had been rekindled: "'They were giggling and kissing each other all night and ended up leaving together,' says [Page Six's] spy." Though Barrymore's rep told the New York Post that the pair were just good pals, we like to think the new-and-improved old hotel will be bringing some newness and improvements to old relationships. Or something.
Apparently, the Pierre was a hot scene that night: Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., former MSNBC general manager Dan Abrams, and Debbie Harry were seen working the room at the same party.
[Photo: Gossip Girls]
Tags: Hotel Deals / Quikbook / Manhattan Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
The Swanky Carlyle Hotel Now Affordable at $304 a Night
| March 31, 2009 at 4:31 PM | 0 Comments
We stayed at glorious Carlyle Hotel in New York last summer and when we booked it, we used a heck of lot of our credit card points to do so. It was the only way to afford the hotel which usually commands rates well above $500. This is the tony Upper East Side after all and the Carlyle is legendary.
But now thanks to Quikbook's "Risk Free NYC" sale(no pre-payment and no fees for cancellations or changes), we can spend a night at the Carlyle starting at $304 a night. But you must book before 5pm on April 3. The deal is good for stays throughout the rest of the year. Yes, please!
Visit Quikbook.com to book. You will have to hunt around for the $304 rate but weeknight stays are your best bet.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Donald Trump / Dennis Rodman / TV Set Hotels / Loews Hotels / Jonathan Tisch / → All Tags
'Celebrity Apprentice' Contestants Attempt to Run Loews Regency
| March 30, 2009 at 8:56 AM | 0 Comments
Oh dear. We certainly hope you spent your Sunday evening watching the contestants of this season's Celebrity Apprentice as they attempted to run a few rooms at the Loews Regency Hotel. Because, um, you know how we said reality shows about hotels don't work? We take it back: hotel TV shows most definitely work when you throw Joan Rivers and Dennis Rodman into the mix.
If you didn't catch the episode, no worries: we've got a rundown of what, um, went down when Loews' head honcho Jonathan Tisch challenged the remaining 12 contestants (separated into male and female teams) to step in to take over the management of several rooms (per team) at his NYC hotel.
Tags: Celebrity Scoop / Jennifer Lopez / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
J. Lo and Marc Spend V-Day With the Kiddies at The Lowell
| February 16, 2009 at 11:26 AM | 0 Comments
Paps caught sorta under-the-radar-lately couple Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony checking out of their NYC hotel yesterday. J. Lo and Marc each grabbed a twin and hurried past the swarm of photogs while covering their two kiddies in blankets as their holiday weekend drew to a close.
Apparently Anthony had a huge Valentine's Day concert at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (which we did not attend — though we're certain a live performance of "You Sang to Me" would have been just the sort of romance our V-Day needed this year). He spent the rest of the weekend with the fam around NYC before checking out of what the gossip blogs are calling "their swanky Manhattan hotel" on Sunday.
After some sleuthing (read: detective work that led us to identify this hotel based on the proximity of The Post House to the hotel entrance in pictures), we concluded that they were staying at The Lowell. And now we can also conclude that although we haven't heard too much from either half of the still-puzzling couple, their careers are doing just fine: a one-bedroom suite at The Lowell runs around $1,650 per night — though we're not sure if they snagged something fancier (like the 2,000 SF penthouse suite).
Just to be safe, we'll go ahead and add all the suites at The Lowell to our growing list of Suites We No Longer Have Any Interest in Staying In.
[Photo: Gossip Girls]
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Manhattan Hotels / Taj Hotels / → All Tags
New York's Tony Pierre Hotel Set To Re-Open June 1st
| January 21, 2009 at 3:11 PM | 1 Comment
NewYorkology reminded us that The Pierre, which has sorta gone off our radar since it closed its rooms for renovations and major upgrades, will be reopening this summer. After Taj had taken over, the hotel underwent a two-phase makeover: the newly-spruced up function areas were revealed in '07, and the rooms have been closed for renovations since the beginning of '08.
All the work should wrap up in May and the new rooms should be revealed this summer; we called the hotel, and according to someone in the catering department, rooms are set to start hosting guests on June 1st.
We wish we had mockups and renderings to show you, but all we know about the reno so far is what's on the website:
All 200-guest accommodations, including 41 suites are presently being upgraded and renovated, as well as the corridors, public areas, Café Pierre & bar. Estimated overall cost associated with the renovation is over $100 million.
Don't get too excited, though: the reservations haven't opened up yet, but we'll keep an eye on things and let you know when you can start booking.
Tags: Hotel Spas / New York Hotels / Luxury Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / → All Tags
"Cocoon" in Luxury's Lap at the Carlyle's Sense Spa
| January 16, 2009 at 10:23 AM | 0 Comments
Cached in The Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side, the Sense spa is making headlines for its unabashedly luxurious bent. Both Vanity Fair and the New York Times’ T Magazine recently reviewed the place, and the consensus was clear: This is the place to evoke Great Depression-era excess in the name of the new Depression.
Designed by interior designer Mark Zeff, Sense is about as exclusive as spas go in New York, with just five intimate, super-private treatment rooms, a relaxation room, duet suite, and steam rooms. To get to them, you walk through a barrel-vaulted staircase blanketed with ultra-spendy mosaic platinum squares. VF says it’s like being “cocooned in luxury.”
Tags: Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Restaurants / Hotel News / Condo Hotels / → All Tags
New York's Mark Hotel to Get a Five-Star Restaurant Of Its Own
| October 14, 2008 at 12:56 PM | 0 Comments
Fresh from opening his Chambers Kitchen restaurant inside of Minneapolis' new hot property, The Chambers Hotel, New York chef extraordinaire Jean Georges Vongerichten has returned to the Big Apple to take up another hospitality project.
Jean Georges, who always has something cooking with hoighty-toighty hotels, already owns swanky restaurants Mercer Kitchen at The Mercer and the three Michelin star Jean Georges at the Trump International Hotel. His most recent news is a partnership with the tony six-star Mark Hotel to create yet another dining experience and bring the buzz further uptown.
Tags: John Edwards / Political Hotels / Hotel Sex / Loews Hotels / Hotel Bars / → All Tags
John Edwards Joins Long List of Politicians Who Began Affairs in Hotels
| August 11, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments
By now, everyone knows that one-time presidential candidate John Edwards cheated on his wife (and possibly fathered a child) with Rielle Hunter, an underqualified video producer that he met in a bar.
Well, the NY Post reported that the bar where the two infamously had their first meeting was inside the Loews Regency Hotel on Park Avenue. Edwards now joins the ranks of politicians who start the road to career suicide by having extramarital affairs in a hotel.
The bar could possibly be the hotel's Library Bar which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as drinks. Here's a quote from the wesbite:
Of course, The Library also boasts two flat-screen televisions, the world’s leading newspapers, and the best people-watching in town. Get comfortable and stay awhile.
The best people watching indeed. We're sure the National Enquirer would have paid loved to have been a fly on the wall in the bar when Edwards met Hunter.
Tags: Guess the Hotel / Hotel Video Tours / Luxury Hotels / Rosewood Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / HotelChatter Reviews / → All Tags
Guess The Hotel Revealed :: Inside the Carlyle Hotel
| July 24, 2008 at 12:30 PM | 0 Comments
Wow. Yesterday's Guess the Hotel game was super easy for you as everyone guessed correctly--it was The Carlyle Hotel on E. 75th Street and Madison Avenue.
We spent a very short time in the hotel as we got in late at night and had to be out the door by 10am for a meeting. However, this was plenty of time for us to realize why the hotel is one of Manhattan's best luxury hotels. That is, unless you overstep your check-out time.
Keep reading for the full review.
Tags: Jimmy Buffett / Hotel Books / Pet-Friendly Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Jimmy Buffett's New Kids Book is About a Pig-Friendly Carlyle Hotel
| May 23, 2008 at 10:45 AM | 2 Comments
Parrotheads-in-Training and their Parrothead Parents listen up: Your hero Jimmy Buffett has just released a new book, called Swine Not?, about a family who lives with a pet pig inside the Carlyle Hotel. And the story was actually inspired by a family who once lived in the hotel with their pet pig.
Bloomberg writes:
When the McBrides move to Manhattan, Rumpy takes surreptitious walks on the hotel roof, wears a dog suit to Central Park, outwits the villainous chef of the hotel restaurant and provides narration for half the book (the other half being told by the family's soccer-loving son, Barley). The feel-good plot nominally revolves around Rumpy's quest to find her brother in New York, though really it's just an excuse for Buffett to offer his laid-back commentary on life through the eyes of the pig and the boy (whose voices as narrators are exactly the same).
So through Rumpy the pig, Buffett is telling his own experiences with New York in this fish (pig) out of water tale which is aimed for tweens.
In real life, the Carlyle is pet-friendly. Dogs are welcome so long as they are under 25 pounds (would Tank make it?) and a $50 fee is required. here is a $50 per night fee. Canine guests (under 25 lbs.) The dogs do get pet beds, food bowls, treats and Fiji water.
But the Carlyle may want to tighten up their pet policy going forward. We have a feeling a lot of pigs will try and check-in here.
Tags: Killer View / Sweet Suites / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Room with a Killer View :: The Royal Suite at the Carlyle
| February 14, 2008 at 2:25 PM | 0 Comments
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Just think this could be the view that A-list celebs like Tom Cruise and Gwen Stefani are checking out when they check-in to New York's Carlyle Hotel.
Courtney May dropped in this photo of the suite's killer view into our HotelChatter Flickr Pool. The suite is room #2209 on the 22nd floor and overlooks the East River. Inside there is:
1,700 square feet of living space and features both a king-bedded and twin-bedded bedroom. There is a full kitchen, dining room for six, two marble bathrooms, a double-high ceiling in the raised living room, grand piano and mantle fireplace.
.However, since those windows do open (which is great for us adults) you probably want to keep the little ones (aka Suri and Kingston) away from them.
Hotels In: Africa | Asia | Australia | Caribbean | Europe | North America | South America
Our Publications:
Jaunted | HotelChatter | VegasChatter
