By the time you read this, the last guest will have checked out of the Main Building of the Hotel Okura, and one of Tokyo’s most distinctive (and beloved) mid-century buildings will be shuttered. In the coming weeks, workers will dismantle the 53-year-old structure, prepping it for the wrecker’s ball so a pair of sky-scraping […]
America’s 29th president, more infamous than illustrious, made news unexpectedly last week with the freshly unearthed (but hardly surprising) revelations that a) he fathered a child with his long-time mistress and b) he was not the country’s first black president (thank you, ancestry.com). As it happened, I was in San Francisco, so I stopped by […]
The Gregory, the Garment District’s newest hotel, boasts a book-lined lobby with sky-high ceilings, an inviting bar that does daytime duty as a coffee bar and 132 black and white guest rooms.But its most winning asset is the glamorous history embedded in its freshly painted bones.
Hotels are embedded in our lives, and not just when we travel. They’re welcoming places, standing at the ready with a bar where you can meet friends, a lobby offering shelter on an inclement day and a restaurant that’s often one the best in town. We attend weddings and conferences at hotels. Some of us […]
What does summer taste like? Ice cream is my favorite two word answer, especially when it’s in a cone. It seems Michael Mignano, Executive Pastry Chef at The Pierre New York, agrees. In the spirit of long days, soaring temperatures and lazy afternoons (or memories of them), he’s concocted the summer’s cleverest pop-up dessert: four […]
If it’s late July it must be NYC Summer Restaurant Week — the lip-smacking week in name only that stretches just short of a month and serves up three-course prix-fixe deals designed to stave off summer doldrums (and keep restaurants humming during the slow season). This summer’s magic numbers are $25 (lunch) and $38 (dinner). […]
Feeling French? But of course. It’s perfect storm time — the Tour de France (July 4-26), Bastille Day (July 14) and French Restaurant Week (July 13-19) rolled into one big week, with a few bits extending beyond. Here’s where to go if you’re in a Blue, White and Red mood in Midtown. […]
Outdoor movie screenings enjoy a long, illustrious history (think drive-ins). But a hotel rooftop can do the trick, too. Here’s where to catch a flick (and drink something other than Diet Coke) during the long, hot New York summer.
Did Herman Melville dream up the first themed boutique hotel? Never mind that this was never his intent. But I’m rereading Moby-Dick, and it’s hard to ignore what we know about modern-day hotel design when Ishmael, roaming around New Bedford, Massachusetts looking for a bed for the night in Chapter 2, spots The Spouter Inn, […]
It’s almost birthday time for one big country, and who needs candles when you’ve got fireworks? This year’s July 4th sparklers, courtesy of Macy’s, explode over the East River, shot from barges floating between East 23rd Street and East 34th Street. You can see them from anywhere in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, provided there’s no […]