Well, this was my first trip to New York , and to say i was excited was an understatement.
i was booking this trip for my boyfriends birthday. I was recommended two hotels by my travel agent, and researched them on the web, and this seemed the more expensive but the better try.
It is located very close to Central park, and a short stroll from Times Square - so after staying there - a great location for exploring the upper section of NY, but not for downtown, howver get on the subway, cheap and an experience.
The entrance is minimilistic - well our cab drive almost missed it. in true NY style, you have to go up one floor to get to reception.
The entrance is very quirky and trendy, with neon lights, and well the reception is stunning. The reception was right by the two main bars. So you can feel the atmosphere and see the scarey doormen from the start. Lets make one thing clear, people stay here for the bars - it is the place to be seen, one of the reasons i booked it i think.
The rooms:
Compact -yet all you need. Rooms in NY are known for being small, but I think this was very tiny. the bedroom just about fitted the bed, but there was space in the corridoor for all of our stuff. the room had great stuff though, TV with cable, CD player, lights, great view over the rooftop bar. The rooms are very designer - but after the initail shock of how small it was I realised, well what else do I need?
Bathroom - Very trendy, if i could have taken the sink i would have, I loved it. the only wierd thing was...
We arrived, went up to the room, I needed to relieve myself, went into the bathroom sat onthe loo, turned my head and saw there was a glass wall lookingout over the bedroom and my alarmed boyriend! now its not that bad, i found a curtain you can pull across, but what kind of design is that??
The first night we decided to chill out and go to the bar, this was pricy and I livein London. It cost almost $10 for a glass of red wine and a lager. However this bar (Hudson Bar) was amazing with the lighting under the floor and plastic chairs, i really liked the look.
We then went to the outside bar, and this was the same price, but really nice and chilled with out all of the neon lights. Most nights we were there, there was a queue for the bar, and there is a dress code, but residents do not have to conform, so it felt great to be in trainers!
there were a few "stars" when we were there but I have no idea who they were, but I felt part of the !in corwd". there were times when I felt a bit uncomfortable with the trendy crowd, but you can easily escape to a sports bar around the corner!
We did not eat here, we did plan to, but there was so much choicein NY, and we were out all the time. the menu looked really nice, and at quite high prices, but the restaurant was always busy.
The room was room only, and i think i got it for $120 a night, on a special offer through the agents, i think this was cheap for what the prices normally are. there was a great breakfast diner around the corner, so don't worry about breakfast. And if you get peckish there are vending machines at the lifts, and ice machines as well in true american style.
Service - was a little snooty, but to be honest added to the atmosphere, they were not rude just a bit stand offish, and when I asked how best to get to the airport when we checked out. the girl was very polite and wrote instructions for the trains. Check in and out queues were not long, i think we were second in the queue each time.
i think after staying there, if you want a trendy break, doing it Sex in the City style, then this is the place for you. If you want a family break then this is not the place, and you can get cheaper hoels, closer to downtown and the "regular shops". This hotel was very close to 5th avenue - cool to window shop!
I can't think of anything else to say, if I have missed something out that you wanted to know write a comment!
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