10022 Travel Guide
Tags: Gossip Girl Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Historic Hotels / Hotel Renovations / → All Tags
Is The New York Palace Hotel Being Renovated?
No doubt aware of our Gossip Girl fixation, a tipster alerted us to the news over on Curbed—in turn, supplied by another tipster—that the New York Palace Hotel would be closing in 2010 for an entire year of renovations. “I believe that includes the banquet space as well, but am not 100% sure,” wrote the spy.
Keen to stay on top of what this could mean for the GG cast, and of course Serena, we checked in with the hotel’s publicist to get the skinny. She tell us:
There have been no decisions made regarding the renovation of The New York Palace. Management is still in the process of assessing the full scope of the project and, as such, we are not currently in a position to determine if the property will close at all. Given the extent of the research that is necessary, the planning stage is expected to take up to two years.
Tags: Cancellations / Hotel Packages / St. Regis Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Mad Men Hotels / → All Tags
Pour Us a Stiff One: The Mad Men Package at the St. Regis Gets Cancelled
Man, do we wish we had little bars in our "offices" right now. This Examiner pointed out that they could not book the Mad Men package at the St. Regis New York that we wrote about the other week.
In fact, the Examiner was told via a hotel PR person that the package was canceled. Hmm...we guess our notice about the package being canceled must have gotten lost in the mail. But hotel's pr firm did confirm this for us as well today.
As we stated back then, the package was available for Sunday nights from August 16 to November 8, starting at $895 for a whole of Mad Men-inspired amenities. The press release also said to call Denise Hartnett at 212-339-6738 for reservations and we realize that we did not put that last bit in, which was our fault. But still, we wish we would have been alerted when they canceled it.
Either way, it's a shame. We really loved the idea of Draper-ing it up at the hotel. Guess we'll just have to watch the season three premiere in our Mad Men costumes at home instead.
Tags: Hotel Packages / St. Regis Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Get the Full (Expensive) 'Mad Men' Experience at St. Regis New York
While the idiot dude friends in your life are busy booking Entourage packages and chasing around women way out of their league (remember, boys: Eric would not be able to date any of those girls if he were not a fictional character on a fictional show), you can do something a little bit more sophisticated (but still TV-themed!)
The St. Regis New York is now offering an exclusive package in conjunction with the return of the third season of the insanely-popular (and insanely-awesome) AMC TV series Mad Men. Starting on August 16th, every Sunday night when Mad Men airs, you can immerse yourself in the full Mad Men experience — complete with Bloody Marys, 60's-ish food and Bergdorf shopping.
Tags: Hotel Rooftops / Hotel Parties / W Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
W New York Wants To Spend Sunday Nights With You
Rooftop hotel parties in New York are all the rage these days. From uptown to downtown, hotels are finally understanding that their guests want a piece of the pie — that is, the glorious rooftop pie where they can be on top of the world for a little while without having to book the penthouse suite.
In that spirit, The W New York on Lexington Avenue has just announced its own Summer Sundays rooftop parties inside the hotel's Extreme Wow Suites (these are essentially the presidential suites.) Starting June 7 and running through Labor Day, every Sunday from 6pm to 10pm, the terrace of these suites will open and guests can order drinks from a cash bar or through bottle service.
Tags: Hyatt Place / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Sam Chang / → All Tags
Manhattan Will Get Its Very Own Hyatt Place in 2011
Having only just reported on the Hyatt Place coming to Downtown Brooklyn from New York super-developer Sam Chang, we're thrilled to hear from The Real Deal that plans for a Manhattan outpost are also well in the works.
Due to snuggle into Midtown East at 208-210 East 52nd Street and 3rd Avenue, the 225-room, 29-story hotel will be the first Hyatt Place in Manhattan, and boy do we need one. Why all the excitement, even though NYC already has a Grand Hyatt ten blocks south? You see, Hyatt Places are all about budget business travelers who have to haul around laptops and other gadgets and want the hotel resources to support these tech toys. In addition to the draws of free wifi and ergonomic work chairs, Hyatt Places have a heck of an outlet panel!
Too bad we've got to simmer down quick, as "[Chang] expects the hotel to open in 2011, but the date depends on the city's approval process." Don't they understand that we need it now? If they're thinking two years from now, they'd better be capable of installing touch-screen work surfaces and other fancy gadgets that we envision will blow up in hotels in the near future. Here's hoping, Hyatt Place. Here's hoping.
[Photo: The Real Deal NY]
Tags: Hotel Lounges / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Bars / Snapshot / Thompson Hotels / → All Tags
Thompson LES's Outdoor Lounge is Open and Warm
It's supposed to be spring in NYC (well, everywhere), and those of us in the Big Apple know that the only glimpse of the warmer season we've had so far happened on Sunday. And then the nice weather disappeared and now it's cold again.
What we always look forward to most with the official calendar arrival of spring (despite what the weather seems to be suggesting this year) is the arrival of rooftop bars and outdoor lounges at hotels around the city. And this year, we've got a new one to add to the roster, as '09 marks the debut of the outdoor lounge at the opened-last-fall Thompson LES — and even though the weather's not so warm just yet, we're happy to report you can still get the same kind of outdoor-y effect out there right now thanks to, yes, the fact that the area is enclosed for now. And the view of the Lower East Side is good!
Tags: Hotel Staff / Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / Luxury Hotels / → All Tags
New York Palace Hotel's Manager Fired For Religious Remarks
Yikes. There's been some major drama at the New York Palace Hotel — and this time, it has nothing to do with Gossip Girl.
According to the New York Daily News, managing director Niklaus Leuenberger has been released from his position at the Palace after not-so-nicely ordering a Catholic employee to clean the ash off his forehead on Ash Wednesday.
NYDN reports:
"Wipe that f-----g s--t off your face," managing director Niklaus Leuenberger told a bell captain at the New York Palace Hotel on Feb. 25, sources said. [...] "As of Monday, March 23, Leuenberger is no longer employed by the New York Palace," hotel spokeswoman Teresa Delaney told the Daily News Tuesday. The incident was deemed so severe, Christopher Cowdray, head of the London-based Dorchester Collection, which owns the Palace, flew here to hand Leuenberger the pink slip.
Oh, and one more thing: the NYDN says the Palace actually leases its land from the Catholic church. Goodness gracious.
Tags: Hotel Restaurants / Four Seasons Hotels / Hotel News / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Just What NYC Needs: A Four Seasons Caviar Lounge
We are way sick of those "Recession? What Recession?" openers, so we'll go ahead and let this one ultra-luxe-new-service-during-a-recession slide and go with a positive spin on this: The Four Seasons New York is staying true to its ritzy roots and is opening a caviar lounge the week of March 23.
Grub Street reports:
The Four Seasons Hotel will open a caviar lounge serving (and, for the first time in the States, selling tins of) Calvisius Caviar, an Italian sustainable-farm brand making inroads here (it has long been served at restaurants like Le Bernardin and was recently added to the menu at Da Silvano).
Designer James D’Auria is installing an onyx bar that’ll dole out Calvisius’s relatively large, mild, and minimally cured White Sturgeon caviar (and also a newer Oscietra variety), plus smoked sturgeon, and of course Champagne, Italian sparkling wine, and vodka.
You can order up the indulgent treat Solamente — seven grams of Calvisius with blini or toasted bread — and it will run you $25; or "The Italian Way" (warmed potato purée with ten grams Calvisius for $35.
For more info, give the hotel a call at (212) 207-8222.
Tags: Hotel Renovations / Hilton Hotels / Hotel News / Ross Klein / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
At Long Last, Old Lady Waldorf is Getting a Facelift
In a city full of pretty young things, the older ladies and gentlemen of the NYC hotel scene have, one by one, been succumbing to the pressures of keeping up with the younger, newer, hipper kids like the Thompsons and the AB Hotels.
The Plaza had a facelift; The Pierre is having a bit of work done — but the Waldorf-Astoria seemed to be the one holdout, determined to age gracefully without renovations and updates. But as it turns out, not taking the Joan Rivers route was hurtin' old lady Waldorf; she wasn't lookin' so hot.
Tags: Hotel Packages / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel Amenities / → All Tags
Forking Over $500 at The Benjamin Will Help You Sleep at Night
Well, the sleep concierge at The Benjamin probably has the most secure job in America right now. With the economy keeping people stressed out and up at night, her job — which involves dishing out advice on pillow selection (the hotel has an extensive pillow menu), arranging massages, and sending up milk and cookies or white noise machines — is serious business.
Actually, everything sleep-related at The Benjamin is pretty serious business: In addition to the Sleep Concierge, The hotel's Sleep Program also includes amenities like The Benjamin Bed with a custom-designed Serta mattress, 400-plus thread count sheets, aromatherapy bathroom amenities and windows double-glazed with argon gas between panes for keeping out the street noise.
They're about to get even more serious about helping you get your Z's: in March, the hotel is teaming up with the National Sleep Foundation to arrange "The Sleep Retreat," a two-night package designed around educating guests on how to get a really good night's sleep.
Tags: The Pod Hotel / New York Hotels / Hotel Suites / Manhattan Hotels / Budget Hotels / → All Tags
Pod Hotel's $199 Townhouse Suites Are Decidedly Un-Podlike
When we went inside NYC's Pod Hotel, we opened the door to our bunk room and were shocked at its miniscule size. Even for $169 a night in a prime Big Apple location, we were a bit let down — and the bed was, as we said, "quite frankly, hideous. Thin, hard and narrow -- that's what we'd like to sculpt ourselves into if we had the dedication to go to a gym. That's not what we like in a bed." Still, we'd be up for a lil' Podding if we were traveling by ourselves and were down for spending zero time in our room and were willing to deal with the bunk bed.
But! Now the Pod Hotel has introduced a cheap, large-ish and appealing option for families (or groups of 3-4) with the completion of their new Townhouse Suites.
Tags: Reader Reviews / Manhattan Hotels / Waldorf-Astoria Collection / → All Tags
The Waldorf-Astoria Is Not What You Think It Is
Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. Today's review takes place in the big bad city of New York. Enjoy.
Let's hope that the model that Waldorf-Astoria Collection is using as they go around snapping up properties around the world is not based on the experience at the flagship Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. We received an email last week from a reader while she was staying in the hotel and she was far from pleased. In fact, she even called the storied hotel a "1-star hotel."
A one-star establishment is expected to offer clean, no-frills accommodations with minimal on-site facilities for the budget traveler for whom cost is the primary concern.
Guestrooms generally are small, functionally decorated, and may not have a private bathroom, in-room telephone, or amenities. On-site dining is usually not available. Public access and guest reception may not be available at all hours.
With the exception of the lobby, this is a 1-star-hotel. The sad part is, the room 1215, isn’t even clean, the upper room toilet is leaking on me and my little girl.
The thing is, we can totally vouch for this review because we stayed there last year and we were sort of shocked at the condition of the hotel rooms (however, all of them do have their own baths.) Granted, it's a very old historic hotel but we just though the Waldorf would live up to its (luxury-implied) name.
[Photo: MusicLover-UK]
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