Anyone who has seen the movie Taxi Driver knows that Times Square wasn’t always a desirable location for a hotel. But that was a long time ago. Now even hotels that aren’t all that close to Times Square are adding the spot-where-the-New-Year’s-Eve-ball-drops to their name. Read more
We love trade shows. For hotel buffs the annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show at New York’s Javits Center is the Great Kahuna, a self-described hospitality show of shows unleashing a cornucopia of new, well, stuff.
Tucked deep within the rows of big-ticket items – towering refrigerators, 12-inch-thick mattress, even a couple of food trucks – we found five nifty gadgets their backers want to put in hotels. Remember, you (probably) saw them here first.
Living large.
In the immortal words of Jo March in Little Women, “Christopher Columbus!”
There he was in all his statuesque glory, standing a dizzying 13 feet tall in the bird’s eye living room conceived, constructed (and decorated) by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi in the center of Columbus Circle. Read more
Storm weather.
A hotel on high ground with power, water, room service and a big bathtub can be a great place to ride out a hurricane – if you’re a guest.
But what about the people who work there? “It’s definitely a lot more fun to stay in a hotel during a hurricane than work in one,” says Daniel Jones, a former employee at a luxury hotel in Orlando, Florida who writes the popular travel blog The World of Deej. Read more
It’s been a tough week for New York, the city’s hotels and guests staying – or trying to stay – here. What was it like when the lobby flooded? How did guests react? How bad was the damage? And what can we expect next? Read more
The Knave cafe — closed again until further notice.
Earlier this year Le Parker Meridien was forced to close its stylish Knave café for a month. A freak accident at a construction site next door broke a wall and soaked the floor with liquid concrete, startling early morning guests sipping espressos and nibbling croissants.
Yesterday the hotel was once again a casualty of a construction mishap at another building. (Hurricane Sandy had a hand in this one.) Read more
Not tonight: the Ritz Carlton closed temporarily by Hurricane Sandy.
A hotel with room service, 24-hour movies, a big soaking tub and a comfy lobby lounge doesn’t strike us as a bad place to be in a storm. “I’ll watch the hurricane through my hotel room hot tub window,” writes a guest at The Out/NYC on the Hotelchatter website.
Still, Scary Sandy, or #sandynyc if you’re following Twitter, is doing what hurricanes do Read more
As advertised: they really do have palms at The Plaza’s Palm Court. We spotted this one today, peeking out between closed French doors. It reminded us of a certain scene in Sixteen Candles. But it could just as easily be a palm’s version of a high-five.
The grand staircase.
It’s publicity. And it’s free. But do hotels really want to be splashed on newspaper front pages? The famous guest grabbing the attention is rarely raving about the service. Consider Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Sofitel New York. And today Lindsay Lohan and the W Union Square.
Read more
The Warwick’s security blocks.
The Queen’s flag – or absence of it – announces whether or not she is in residence at Buckingham Palace. At large hotels flags flown above the entry perform a similar task, hinting that notables are in the house, whether a visiting government or a football team.
The only flags flying in front of the Warwick Hotel this week were the stars and stripes and the red Warwick banner. Read more