Terry Trucco

A New Hotel with Great Views of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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For 364 days of the year the most desirable rooms at the new Courtyard Marriott Manhattan/Herald Square are those with views of the Empire State Building. But that changes on Thanksgiving Day.

The new 167-room hotel has the good fortune to sit on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 35th Street, a block away from Macy’s Department Store and directly above the street where Snoopy, Hello Kitty and all the other balloons, floats and bands pass by in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Read more

Terry Trucco

Was that the Tribeca Grand On View for a Blink in “Blue Jasmine?”

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Yes, it was, and what a plum, if fleeting, cameo Tribeca’s chic brick, pie-slice-shaped hotel landed in Woody Allen’s latest movie.

Without giving too much away, a lead character – Alec Baldwin as a huckster bazillionaire named Hal – is spotted canoodling a glamorous brunette by his wife’s sister as the pair exit the hotel. After registering the look of shock on the sister’s face, the camera lingers for a few seconds on the hotel and its iconic clock with Roman numerals atop a sculpted wrought iron stand, a Tribeca landmark since the hotel opened in 2000. Read more

Terry Trucco

Bored with that Solitary Mint on Your Pillow? JW Marriott Offers a New Take on Turndown

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It’s a tiny thing, but a treat at turndown is an easy way for a hotel to win points with its guests and differentiate itself from the competition — and airbnb. I know I’m grateful when something thoughtful and unexpected turns up at turndown. (I still use the tiny tub of mandarin and lemon lip balm left on the bedside table at the Crosby Street Hotel.) Read more

Terry Trucco

Want to Pay $100 for a New York City Hotel Room?

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Central Park after dark.

$200 a night: Central Park view at The Roger.

You’ll have to come to town in January.

But 12 hotels are offering rooms for $100 during the third annual New York Hotel Week, January 3 through 12, 2014.

Another $100 gets you 14 hotels in a spiffier range. And for $300 you can sample a pair of boutique hotels normally in the $400-plus range. Can Brooklyn Hotel Week be far behind? Read more

Terry Trucco

The New York Hilton Hits 50, And a Hotel Historian Time Travels Back to Its Early Days

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David Rockefeller, tk Uris and Conrad Hilton eye the future.

Conrad Hilton, Laurance Rockeeller and Harold Uris eye the future.

Normally, the New York Hilton isn’t one of those hotels that revels in its history with vintage photos and menus encased in glass in the lobby.

But on June 26th, the hotel celebrated its 50th anniversary with a big party in the airy duplex where Lucille Ball once lived. Read more

Terry Trucco

A Taste of France from the Ritz Paris — And Yes, You Can Try This At Home

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It’s the weekend of liberty, equality and fraternity as Bastille Day — July 14 — rolls around  this Sunday for the 224th time. Paris not in your travel plans? The Serendipity, created by Colin Peter Field for the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz Paris, bills itself as France in a Glass.  The Ritz is closed for renovations this year, but you can try this one at home. Read more

Terry Trucco

Yum — Summer Restaurant Week Returns with $38 Price Fixe Dinners and $25 Lunches

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Summer in the city doesn’t seem like summer without NYC Restaurant Week, now in its 11th year. Read more

Terry Trucco

Beacon Bar –A Moody New Bar At The Beacon Hotel on Broadway

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Robert Redford sprints past the Beacon Hotel, a stodgy budget property with a black awning, as he flees an assassin on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

The Beacon looks a lot better today – as does the West Side. Read more

Terry Trucco

Pass the Popcorn: What Movies Did Hotel Guests Watch Most in June?

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Tom Cruise in "Oblivion."

Tom Cruise in “Oblivion.”

Maybe we should rephrase the question and ask which actor got the most screen time on hotel room flatscreens last month. Read more

Terry Trucco

The Affinia Manhattan’s Roaring 20s Lobby Lightens Up — And Looks Great

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In with the new: wall sofas and mirrors.

In with the new: wall sofas and mirrors.

What did the management of the Affinia Manhattan request when they hired Rottet Studio to redesign the lobby of their 1929 midtown hotel?

Lighten up was my verdict the first time I saw the smartly renovated lobby.
The walls and ceiling are the color of whipped cream. Enormous mirrors paned in black offer a clever take on industrial loft windows — and double the space, visually at least. And the rectangular chandelier hugging the ceiling looks like it was formed from crystal icicles. Read more