Matilda Meets the Marriott: The Algonquin Gets a New Partner

You’d never know it to look at them, but the Marriott Marquis, a brute, 1980s John  Portman behemoth, and the Algonquin, a demure, history-drenched Edwardian, share something besides easy proximity to Times Square. Read more

Are Those Designer Condoms in the Mini-Bars at Thompson Hotels?

Fashion Week may be history, but designers haven’t stopped unveiling their newest creations. Read more

Touring The Waldorf=Astoria, From the Kitchens to the Mirrors of Versaille

On a visit to the Waldorf=Astoria, I saw a notice for history tours of the hotel offered every Thursday and Saturday morning at 11:30.

Not many hotels boast sufficient history or chutzpah to warrant a tour priced at $50 a person (they do throw in lunch). Besides, the Waldorf devotes four bulging lobby display cases to memorabilia, from place settings for royal dinners to photos of illustrious guests, like Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Bruce Springsteen. What more could there possibly be? Read more

Waldorf Astroria’s Guerlain Spa Closes and Poses the Question: Are Hotel Spas an Endangered Species?

Given the blast of parties, press releases and popping champagne corks whenever a spa opens at a hotel, it’s amazing how quiet a closing can be. Consider the Guerlain Spa at the Waldorf Astoria. Read more

A First Look at Andrew Buckler’s Cool Uniforms for The James Hotel

New York Fashion Week unspools through September 16 in the big, gray cube planted temporarily next to Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House.

With over 100 designers strutting their Spring/Summer 2011 collections – and with more than a dozen new style-conscious hotels opening in New York this year – you’d think the two realms might overlap. And you’d be right. Read more

Taking Credit at Hyatt — Meet The Newest Hotel Credit Card

I find it really hard to get excited about a new banking product, even when there’s a hotel connection. But I can see the appeal of a new credit card that made its debut yesterday. Read more

With Plans Approved for a New Midtown Skyscraper, Is This a Last Look at the Hotel Pennsylvania?

Recently New York’s City Council approved plans for a new skyscraper to be built across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. Read more