An Under-The-Radar Supporting Role For The Mark Hotel In “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”

OscarHotels don’t win Academy Awards, but that hasn’t kept New York City hotels from landing in movies that get nominated. 

Consider 2013, when NYC hotels had close-ups in three movies chasing Oscars –Best Picture contenders The Great Gatsby and American Hustle which showcased extravagant, if wildly different, interiors at The Plaza, and Blue Jasmine (Best Actress, Cate Blanchett), which features a contentious argument shot near the big clock in front of the erstwhile Tribeca Grand (now the Roxy Hotel Tribeca).

Only one New York City hotel is in the running for reflected glory when the 93rd Academy Awards air on Sunday, April 25, and it’s on screen for less than five minutes. But the scene filmed in a suite at The Mark won instant notoriety when Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Sacha Baron Cohen’s cheeky mockumentary, debuted in October. It wasn’t for the interior design. Read more

A Starring Role For Brooklyn’s William Vale Hotel in Ailey II’s Spirited New Dance Video

Touring is a big part of the job for members of Ailey II, the ebullient company of next generation modern dancers affiliated with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Tuskegee, Alabama; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Bonn, Germany are just a few of the 13 international cities the 12-person troupe has visited already this year.

So we think it’s inspired that the company chose a hotel — the Brooklyn-cool William Vale, no less — as a backdrop for the new video promoting their upcoming New York season at Ailey Citicorp Theater, which was to open on March 25 but may be rescheduled for later in the spring.  Read more

The Mark Hotel, Its Grand Penthouse and Meghan Markle’s New York Baby Shower

Score one for The Mark.

New York’s most boldly lavish hotel, to quote the Mark tagline, is known for stylish rooms devised by celebrated French designer Jacques Grange, a sophisticated bar scene and super chef Jean George Vongrichten’s glamorous restaurant The Mark, which also provides room service. Add a royal baby shower to its credits. Read more

$125,000 for a Second-Hand Door? Bidders Pay Dearly for 52 Original Doors from the Hotel Chelsea

And to think they were destined for the dumpster.

On Thursday night, an auction was held for 52 original doors from the Hotel Chelsea that were discarded when renovation began in 2012 and harvested by a resourceful former homeless man. And prices shot through the proverbial roof.

To wild applause from bidders and onlookers in a packed Ricco/Maresca art gallery, a battered, whitewashed door to a room once occupied by singer/songwriter Bob Dylan sold for $125,000, eye-popping even for an item associated with a Nobel laureate. Read more

Matilda, the Celebrated Algonquin Hotel Cat, Lands Her First Book

As one of New York’s oldest and most storied hotels, The Algonquin has long been catnip for wags and writers. For decades, nearly everyone associated with the place, from the Vicious Circle and beyond, has shared stories about the hotel and its history. Everyone, it seems, except Matilda, the Algonquin cat.

That has changed. In a new illustrated children’s book, aptly titled Matilda, the Algonquin Cat, the hotel’s resident blonde in fur tells all about the hotel she’s called home for most of her nine lives.
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Backdrops Count: The NYC Hotels Where Trump and Clinton Addressed the Faithful After Election 2016

Election night 2016 was full of surprises, but not from the standpoint of anyone familiar with New York City hotels. Donald Trump’s post-election festivities unfurled in a ballroom of the New York Hilton Midtown, a go-to venue for big-ticket political events  (the 53-year-old hotel boasts that it’s hosted every U.S. president since JFK).
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Vaclav Havel Slept Here: A Peek at a Presidential Suite Designed in His Style at the Hotel Elysee

Hotels love to name their suites for famous guests, creating an instant brush with glamour and a decorating theme in one swoop. Consider the Dorothy Parker Suite at the Algonquin, the Warwick Hotel’s Marion Suite, a nod to the Hollywood honey of its founder William Randolph Hearst, and the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons New York (he invented Beanie Babies — and owns the place). Read more

Basketball Star Jeremy Linn Is Coming Back to New York. Will He Live in a Hotel This Time Around?

Remember Linsanity? As New York’s beleaguered basketball fans know, it was a moment of euphoria spun by the unexpected play of Jeremy Lin, a 6’3” California-born, Harvard-educated point guard who leapt from NBA obscurity to propel the New York Knicks to a winning streak back in 2012 (those were the days). Read more

Why the Sheraton New York Times Square Came Up Big on New York Primary Night

As you may have noticed if you followed the coverage of last night’s New York Primary, Hillary Clinton and 1,500 of her closest friends and supporters were stomping at Sheraton New York Times Square for her victory soiree. Read more

How the Berlin Hilton Became a Stealthy Scene Stealer in the Oscar-Nominated “Bridge of Spies”

As Alfred Hitchcock knew, a movie cameo can make a big impression, even if it’s over in a blink. Consider the brief appearance of the Berlin Hilton in Bridge of Spies, Steven Spielberg’s clear-eyed dramatization of a Cold War spy exchange that’s nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Production Design. Read more