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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's already been good enough for Roger Federer in the past, and now there's one more reason to stay at the Carlyle New York. They're about to open Sense, a Rosewood-branded spa, across two floors of the hotel. That's no small spa, and it sounds like there's quite a lot to enjoy there.
In fact the new spa complex will cover 4,000 square feet and include full-service locker rooms (we're intrigued about exactly what's included in full-service here ...), a designated relaxation room where you can stay between treatments, a steam room and raindrop showers, as well as a salon with full hair, make-up and nail services.
The most striking thing about the Carlyle's new spa is the interior design, which is supposed to fit right in with the rest of the hotel's elegant areas. The pictures certainly make it look like they've got that right, with plenty of sleek black and white tones finished with shiny glass, nickel and chrome. You'll have to wait until the official opening of the spa in 2008 to check if that style is for real.
The beautiful Pierre on Fifth Avenue, NYC, is about to get even more beautiful. The NY Times reported that it's about to close for a major renovation, but details on exactly when and for how long are still sketchy.
A hotel spokeswoman wouldn't give any details at all, other than to say a press release would probably come out in the next couple of weeks. If you try the Pierre website now, you can book up until December 30, but from then on all rooms are marked as sold out.
The rumored renovation is supposed to be costing the relatively new owner, Taj, $122 million, and will update the lobby and all 200 guest rooms. In fact in the last couple of years they have already renovated some of the function areas but it seems like more is to come.
There are some permanent residents in the Pierre and apparently they won't be kicked out during the renos, but will only be receiving limited services. Watch this space for more news on the Pierre's big remake.
How did we miss this last week? The Loews Regency in New York hosted a 24-hour See-Saw-a-Thon on Halloween with proceeds from the event going to the Modest Needs organization, a nonprofit dedicated to aiding hard-working individuals who find themselves faced with unexpected emergency expenses.
With all good works aside, doesn't this seem like something Michael Scott would force the Scranton Branch of Dundler Mifflin to do?
But Anna...we have a feeling you already knew that. For Roger Federer fans who haven't been fortunate enough to get courtside seats at all of his matches or throw him a party at the Gramercy Park Hotel, the object of your affection is staying at the Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side.
For Four Seasons employees this is quite a shock. We hear that Swiss tennis god Roger always stays at Four Seasons but this time people kept recommending the Carlton (maybe Anna had a hand in this too?) So he switched his reservation and is staying on the same floor as the hotel's general manager, James McBride, who has an apartment there. Now, Anna knows where to get an extra key.
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by juliana
