Tag Archive for: The Surrey

Meet “Naughty Angels,” An Art Show By Jimmie Martin That’s Making Mischief at The Surrey Hotel

If you’ve ever stopped by the art-filled Surrey Hotel on the Upper East Side, you’ve probably noticed Graffiti Armoire, a curvy legged, scrawl-covered antique chest that stands near a commanding Chuck Close tapestry portrait of Kate Moss.

The sassy black and white cabinet was created by the Swedish-born design team of Jimmie Karlsson and Martin Nihlmann, aka Jimmie Martin, and is usually closed. But for now, a door is flung open, revealing a slick chili pepper red interior and a glass shelf holding a distinctly uncherubic silver cherub checking his flip phone. Dubbed Cardinal NYC, he sports a cigarette, a red skullcap, a cross dangling from a heavy chain and wings. Read more

What Are New York City’s Best Hotel Restaurants?

This month Michelin and Zagat had their say. Which hotel restaurants did these reviewing heavyweights smile upon?

The Modus Operandi differ sharply between the two guides. That said, you’ll see many of the same names in both. Read more

Is Hotel Room Service on the Way Out — And Do You Care?

The news last week that the New York Hilton-Midtown plans to stop offering room service later this summer was a shocker. Envisioning a big player like the 1,980-room Hilton without food-bearing, cart-pushing servers is, at first blush, like imagining a hotel without fresh towels or porters or doors that lock.

Room service has been a basic amenity since it was popularized by the Waldorf Hotel, the 1893 forebear of the Waldorf=Astoria.

I know I’m a fan. I can recall a litany of memorable room service deliveries from a romantic breakfast for two at the Four Seasons New York, complete with a rolling white-clothed table bearing lemon ricotta pancakes nestled in a warming cupboard, to the midnight coffee – in a silver pot next to an orchid in a bud vase – my jetlagged husband and I poured happily at Honolulu’s Royal Hawaiian. Read more

Feed Me: Michelin and Zagat Pick Their Top Hotel Restaurants for 2013

October isn’t normally thought of as the start of a new year – unless you’re publishing a restaurant guide. This month biggies Michelin and Zagat unveiled their 2013 guides to New York City restaurants. As always, we snapped up copies (yes, we still like paper guides).

How did New York’s hotel restaurants fare? Read more

Michelin and Zagat’s Serve Up Their Best NYC Hotel Restaurants for 2012

The first week in October is pretty innocuous unless you’re a foodie — or to be precise, a guide-loving foodie. This week Michelin and Zagat published their respective, red-covered 2012 New York City restaurant guides within a day of each other. That’s like back-to-back Golden Globes and Academy Awards. Read more

White Flowers, a Dux Bed and Kate Moss: A Memorable Night at The Surrey

It was just a matter of time. The Surrey, a small 1920s hotel, occupies a prime spot steps from Madison Avenue’s high-end boutiques, art galleries and the Whitney Museum of Art. For years it was a frowsy but dependable place where East Siders put up visiting relatives or moved in after a divorce if the nearby Carlyle proved too pricey. Read more