The Barclay is taking a breather.

After the last September guest checked out, the InterContinental New York Barclay, to use its full name, closed for renovations. The storied midtown hotel will reopen in about a year, in time to celebrate its 90th birthday before 2015 checks out.

The move is a smart one for a hotel that housed Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King and society hostess Perle Mesta in its heyday but was looking too classic for its own good. Read more