Overnight New York is the independent guide to New York City hotels with honest, unbiased reporting and no ties to the hotels we write about. We visit each hotel anonymously and always pay when we eat and stay. Think of Overnight New York as a best friend who susses out where you want to spend the night — and where you don’t — and tells you what’s new, what’s trending and where to meet for drinks after work, indulge in a romantic dinner or put up the in-laws.
The Merriest New York City Hotel Decorations of 2020 — Holiday Cheer in a Challenging Year
/in Hotel design, Hotels and Holidays/by Terry TruccoBy Terry Trucco
It’s the holiday season, albeit a weird one.
Hotels, we’re happy to say, have kept up their end of the holiday bargain, adorning their lobbies, festooning their walls and lighting up their buildings inside and out. Unfortunately, there are fewer hotel halls — and walls and bannisters and lobbies — to deck this season. Among the super-decorators missing-in-action for Holidays 2020 are The Plaza, Four Seasons New York, St. Regis New York, Loews Regency and Dream Downtown, all closed temporarily due to Covid-19. Read more
The Famous Waldorf Astoria Lobby Clock, Now Marking Time At The New-York Historical Society
/in Hotel History, Hotel Renovations, Hotels and the Arts/by Terry TruccoOn March 1, 2017, the Waldorf Astoria — the fabled “Host to the World” where room service, Eggs Benedict and Waldorf Salad were invented and where every president from Hoover to Obama spent the night — shut its massive doors for a gut renovation that was supposed to take two to three years.
We’re still awaiting the hotel’s reopening — and not holding our breath, because who wants to unveil a billion dollar renovation during a pandemic?
But for Waldorf aficionados starved for a glimpse of Park Avenue’s Art Deco beauty, the New-York Historical Society offers a tantalizing teaser. Standing just past the check-in desk in an arched alcove is the Waldorf Astoria Lobby Clock, the 19th-century tour-de-force feast of walnut, mahogany, marble and copper that greeted hotel guests for over 85 years and was renowned as a popular interior landmark as in “Meet me by the clock.” Read more
The Met Museum Returns With New Shows, A Fresh Look And A Friendly Attitude
/in Hotel Food and Drink, Hotels and the Arts/by Terry TruccoI missed the Metropolitan Museum of Art a lot during the nearly six months it was shuttered due to Covid 19. Turns out the Met missed me right back, along with the 7.36 million guests who visit annually.
As I reached the entrance for a preview last week, fresh from my temperature check, I was greeted by Met Director Max Hollein, who was handing out wrapped Water Lilies masks to visitors. The love continued as I entered the Great Hall. “Welcome back!” exclaimed staffers everywhere I looked. “Enjoy your visit!” I heard as I was clicked through. It took every ounce of restraint not to yell Yippee! Read more
Closed Permanently — Covid Kills Off Three High Profile New York Hotel Restaurants
/in Hotel Food and Drink, Hotel Openings and Closings/by Terry TruccoIt’s not just hotels. Covid 19 has shuttered dozens of restaurants and bars situated in hotels. We don’t know which ones will reopen, but here are three, all notable, that will not. They won’t be the last. Read more
What Is the Top New York City Hotel in 2020 According to Tripadvisor Reviewers?
/in Hotels in the News/by Terry TruccoNew York hotels haven’t had much luck scoring a spot on Tripadvisor’s best in the world list, and this year was no exception. As for best in the U.S., just one New Yorker made the grade — Hotel Giraffe, an airy, NoMad boutique hotel that was 16th on the list. (It was 12th last year, but hey, still good.) Read more
Good-bye, Omni Berkshire Place NYC — The Hotel Where Rodgers & Hammerstein Hatched “Oklahoma!”
/in Hotel History, Hotel Openings and Closings, News/by Terry TruccoFor a brief stretch, it was possible to score a ticket for the darkly sassy 2019 revival of Oklahoma! on Broadway and spend the night in the Rodgers & Hammerstein Suite at the Omni Berkshire Place Hotel, so named because the show’s creators agreed to collaborate on their game-changing musical over lunch at the hotel in 1942. Read more
Covid-19 Closing: So Long to the Maxwell — and the Very First W Hotel
/in Hotel History, Hotel Openings and Closings, News/by Terry TruccoThe Maxwell has the distinction of being one of the first major New York City hotels to close permanently during the Coronavirus outbreak.
But to be fair, the hotel was teetering before the pandemic arrived. Read more
NYC Hotels Stepping Up To House Medical Personnel and Non-Critical Patients During Covid-19 Outbreak
/in Hotel Openings and Closings, Hotels in the News/by Terry TruccoIf anyone deserves a comfy bed and a welcoming room after a grueling day at work, it’s the doctors, nurses and other medical personnel caring for Covid-19 patients at New York City hospitals. The deadly virus has also created a need for facilities for non-critical patients and personnel.
Enter the hospitality industry, newly awash in temporary closings prompted by the disease. This week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo cited several prominent New York City hotels in his list of companies, individuals and foundations donating goods and services to fight the Covid-19 outbreak. Read more
A Starring Role For Brooklyn’s William Vale Hotel in Ailey II’s Spirited New Dance Video
/in Hotels and the Arts, Notable Check-ins/by Terry TruccoTouring is a big part of the job for members of Ailey II, the ebullient company of next generation modern dancers affiliated with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Tuskegee, Alabama; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Bonn, Germany are just a few of the 13 international cities the 12-person troupe has visited already this year.
So we think it’s inspired that the company chose a hotel — the Brooklyn-cool William Vale, no less — as a backdrop for the new video promoting their upcoming New York season at Ailey Citicorp Theater, which was to open on March 25 but may be rescheduled for later in the spring. Read more
A First Look at NoMad’s Stylish Luxe Life Hotel
/in Hotel Openings and Closings, Hotel Renovations/by Terry TruccoI knew the Luxe Life Hotel looked familiar the moment I saw the gilded cupid perched beneath the word LIFE (also gilded) over the front door. I reviewed the property for The New York Times in 1991 when it was the Herald Square Hotel, a two-star budget hotel housed inexplicably in the Beaux Arts brick-and-limestone building once occupied by Life magazine. For $65 a night, you got a clean room, easy access to Macy’s and not much else. Read more