For the first time in over three decades, the Academy Awards won’t have a host when ABC broadcasts the show this Sunday, February 24 at 8 p.m. Sounds like anything can happen. What better time to drink in the annual display of theatrics, tears and dresses with cocktails and a crowd?
These New York hotel bars are serving up drinks, big screens, a party atmosphere, even prizes. Popcorn, too, if you’re lucky.
April 22 is still Earth Day, even in a pandemic. And with 50 years under its eco-conscious belt, Earth Day 2020 is momentous even if it’s somewhat under the radar for obvious reasons.
Looking ahead to a time when it’s safe to travel and New York City hotels once again throw open their doors, here’s a look at the city’s greenest hotels. We’ve updated this post for 2020 to include hotels with at least one of these criteria — LEED Certification, membership in the New York Carbon Challenge, Ecotel Certification and active demonstration of efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. Read more
This year’s Academy Awards offer an added element of suspense: will they announce the correct Best Picture winner on the first try?
If you want to be with a crowd when that happens — and for all the tears, theatrics, dresses and quips from Jimmy Kimmel unfolding beforehand — these New York City hotels are serving up drinks, big screens and a party atmosphere for Hollywood’s March 4 celebration airing at 8 p.m. Popcorn, too, if you’re lucky. Read more
Oscar Sunday unfurls this weekend. If you like being surrounded by a crowd when you see if Leonardo breaks his streak or what Cate, Rooney and Jen Law (or their stylists) like for the Red Carpet this time around, these two New York City hotels stand at the ready with big screens and big plans. Read more
Can’t make it to today’s matches at the U.S. Open?
The Crosby Street Hotel offers a tall, cool alternative. The Grey Goose Honey Deuce Cocktail is available as long as the Open is in town – through September 8, in other words.
It’s a last liquid gasp of summer – vodka, raspberry liqueur, lemonade and chilled honey dew melon balls on a stick. Sounds like an ace. Read more
With a nod to Earth Day, we offer our (second) annual roll call of green New York City hotels.
The greenest of the green are those with LEED certification – third party proof of adherence to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards set by the U.S Green Building Council. Read more
Hard as it may be to picture – especially if you’re gazing at the Empire State Building – Manhattan was once blanketed by farmland. John Rowland, the 19th-century surveyor who mapped Manhattan’s street grid, knew all about it. In his spare time he fashioned nearly 100 maps of the island’s farms.
But enough history. Manhattan farming is back, albeit on a very small scale (think planter boxes). Still, finding a Manhattan hotel that grows its own food – or at least some of it – is a lot easier than it was as recently as a year or two ago. Read more
We love watching old movies in hotel screening rooms, the ultimate anti-multiplex (the chairs! the sound system! the champagne!).
Last month W New York Downtown initiated “New York in Film,” a smart if brief summer series of old movies curated by savvy New Yorkers. And just like that W joined the (too) small society of New York hotels, including the Crosby Street Hotel and Tribeca Grand, that screen movies to anyone who purchases a ticket, not just red carpeters and opening nighers. Read more
And a most unwelcome guest she is.
Flooding concerns in low-lying areas of Manhattan prompted several hotels at the island’s southern tip to close this weekend for city-mandated evacuation, including the Ritz Carlton New York Battery Park, the Andaz Wall Street, the New York Marriott Downtown and the tiny Wall Street Inn. And just like that, more than 1,000 hotel rooms dropped off the city’s radar. Read more
High tea and texting don’t mix. That, at least, is how I felt on a recent weekday afternoon as I sipped Lapsang Souchong and nibbled miniature sandwiches in the Gotham Lounge at The Peninsula hotel.
Afternoon tea at a hotel is something of an anachronism, a last link to a “What is the weekend?” world. It’s the anti-fast food, offering a civilized setting for a business meeting, a cozy chat or a vacation from the 21st-century for an hour or two.
Its charms depend on getting the mix of old and new just right, a balancing act that’s oddly tricky. Too much tradition and high tea feels fusty. Not enough and it’s not High Tea. Read more
