When “Happy Holidays” Is Just the Starter: Hotel Holiday Decor with an Added Message

Some of the most fetching hotel decorations in town come with messages that go beyond Happy Holidays and champion a good cause. Here’s a sampling. Read more

Another Reason to Love the Holidays in New York: Meet The Peninsula’s White Chocolate “Snowpage”

He’s a chocolate lover’s dream – a child-size snowman concocted almost entirely from white chocolate (the carrot nose is marzipan). He greets all who enter The Peninsula hotel through early January. Read more

Where Did Beyonce Check In When She Wanted to Shoot a Sexy Music Video?

“I see music,” Beyonce declares in the press release for Beyonce, her new album of songs and videos released yesterday without the usual rev-up fanfare.

And what does Queen B see when she visualizes the music — and the story surrounding it — late at night? A room at The Standard Hotel, High Line branch.

Beyonce

Beyonce at the Standard

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And They Smell Great, Too – Le Parker Meridien’s Ultimate Gingerbread Houses

"NYC Street Scene: the Holiday Bustle" by Butterfly Bakery.

“NYC Street Scene: the Holiday Bustle” by Butterfly Bakery.

The Gingerbread Extravaganza – the annual line-up of holiday sweet shacks at Le Parker Meridien – is among my favorite New York hotel traditions.

For the last five years, the hotel has invited local bakeries, restaurants and caterers to cook up the ultimate gingerbread creation built around a theme for display in the hotel’s mirror-lined 56th Street atrium. You can’t touch (or nibble) – the edible masterpieces are encased in Plexiglas boxes – but you can look at a line-up of clever constructions worthy of a nod from Cake Boss – or Gretel. Read more

The Quin – Short for Quintessential — Makes a Glamorous Manhattan Debut

On a recent visit to The Quin hotel I came across something I’d never seen. A button on the bedside phone – remember those? – connects you instantly with a personal shopper at Bergdorf-Goodman. Should you need a new nail color or a last-minute Alaia, they can send one over (the store is steps away). If you’re not sure what you want, you can check out the Bergdorf’s vitrine in the lobby, laden with eye-catching handbags, fragrances and shoes that look like sculpture. Read more