Library Hotel, New York City

...and I stayed in the Library Hotel in late August of 2004 for two nights. After spending a few nights in one of its sister hotels the Casablanca we had to change accommodation due to room availability.

The Library Hotel is presumably named for its location, right across from the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. It is also themed after libraries down to the finest detail, with rooms being numbered by the Dewey Decimal system, ...
...of the New York Public Library from its wall to wall window overlooking Madison Avenue.

Well what more could I ask for? A rooftop garden terrace perhaps, with an attached bar? No, surely that would be over the top! Well I have saved perhaps the best for last, as this hotel does indeed have a delightful rooftop garden (I believe they call it the "Poetry Garden", although I personally did not experience any poetry there!), ... more

I lived in New York City for a few years, but had little experience of its hotels until after I'd moved away. My husband and I stayed in the Library Hotel in late August of 2004 for two nights. After spending a few nights in one of its sister hotels the Casablanca we had to change accommodation due to room availability.

The Library Hotel is presumably named for its location, right across from the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. It is also themed after libraries down to the finest detail, with rooms being numbered by the Dewey Decimal system, and each floor having a different subject or theme, such as The Arts or History, with each guest room being a subcategory. Each room has a bookshelf of books and artwork/decor that corresponds to its theme. If you like you can request certain specially themed rooms, for instance if you are intent on a romantic weekend you might request the "Love" or even better "Erotica" rooms, with the writings of Casanova inside to boot, while the Love room has its own terrace. We didn't realise they had so much choice, and were in General Knowledge, encyclopedias etc., a bit dull but we weren't complaining as had been upgraded from a standard to a deluxe room! (tip: August in NYC is a great time to go for bargains, if you can take the heat you can expect to pay about half the peak rate). We were visiting for a relative's wedding in Mass. but had a jaunt to NY and were delighted to find how (relatively) cheap the hotels were.

The sidewalk outside of the hotel has famous literary quotes etched in the pavement, and the building itself is a listed turn of the century brownstone which stands out nicely from the surrounding glass and steel. First impressions of the lobby were slightly underwhelming. It has a modern, aseptic finish and is a bit small. There is nothing wrong with it per se, it is just not a very good indicator of how nice the rest of the hotel is. The staff were very accommodating, however and stored our luggage for us early as our room was not yet ready. When we returned a few hours later (the hotel is in strolling distance to Central Park), we were escorted to our room by a porter. We were not really given a choice in this matter and I did find it a wee bit much for a three star hotel to enforce tipping staff in this manner. When he learned my husband was Scottish, he proclaimed (in full New Yawk accent) "Wow, that's so cool because I am Irish!" (yes times like these I am mortified to be American!).

The halls have plaques with the Dewey Decimal numbered rooms inscribed on them, which I imagine could be confusing were one sozzled on NY strength cocktails, not that I would know anything about that! The finish of the hotel is really quite plush, you do feel you are entering a haven of sorts as it is very quiet and thickly carpeted. We were escorted to our room via the decent sized elevator, as mentioned, by the lovely "Irish" porter. The room, I have to say, was gorgeous, and probably the only time I have ever been to a hotel where it lived up to the photos on its website. Our 10th floor view was over 41st street, which was fairly uninspiring but better than the view of an alley we'd had in the previous hotel.

The deluxe room was spacious by New York standards, with a large bed (in America would be a queen, U.K. maybe a king though), with a ginormously thick mattress, making the bed quite a height off the ground, numerous layers of bedding with a plush throw on top, and lots of BIG, fluffy pillows. I was in heaven really, nothing depresses me more than flat, saggy pillows! The bed had a large leather headboard, and all of the furnishings were quality dark wood pieces. The colours were neutral tones but the room still felt warm and cozy. There were nightstands, and a large wardrobe and desk with a huge mirror that made the room appear larger of course! There was a television and VCR, at that point the hotel still lent out complimentary videos to its guests, it is now DVDs of course. I really did feel like pinching myself the room was that nice.

The bathroom was very spacious as well, modern and elegantly finished, with plentiful quality toiletries. We had a bathtub as well, always a luxury in a city hotel. They even had little sewing and shoe polish kits, as well as bathroom kits with mini toothbrushes and eye pillows. Should you ever lose your luggage you could happily hole up in this hotel with all the amenities you'd need. The towels were fluffy, and there were also lovely white robes and slippers provided.

We had our own little book collection, for me fairly uninspiring reference texts but if nothing else you'll always have some sort of bedside reading here. There was also a book of useful tourist information, restaurants etc. The hotel does not have its own restaurant but there is a brasserie type place directly downstairs which looked decent (though pricey). That would be the main drawback of this hotel if I had to think of one: it is located in a business district, and so the immediate area is completely dead at night.

Times Square is only a (languorous)10 minute walk away however (westwards), so you've not far to go to find a plethora of dining options. The Grand Central Station area (which is a few blocks east) is also well worth a visit, the station itself is beautifully renovated and has a famous oyster bar (not my cuppa!). Again, I would say it is a business district and is more lively in the daylight than at night. If you're in need of a sports bar this is the area for you.

Have a wander towards Times Square along 42nd Street, ooh and ahh at the garish neon lights, take in a Broadway show. But by all means do not waste your money eating there if you can help it. It is full of mainly overpriced chain restaurants, for more choice head to either Restaurant Row, on 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, which caters prix fixe menus aimed at Broadway goer's, or a block further west there are numerous restaurants of all shapes and sizes along Ninth Avenue (I used to live on 44th and 9th in Hell's Kitchen, which is now sometimes more quaintly referred to as Clinton!). At any rate, you'll find everything from Mexican to seafood, Indian to Vietnamese, cuisine from 44th street northwards up along Ninth Avenue.

If you're feeling like walking off some of your no doubt calorific American meal after dinner, keep heading north along Ninth Avenue up towards the Columbus Circle/Lincoln Center area for about fifteen minutes. I often walked it in the evening with my roommate, it is an easy distance. This area is particularly vibrant in the summer months, with the squares outside Lincoln Center hosting various dancing, from salsa to ballroom. It seems fairly casual and usually attracts small crowds of onlookers so don't be shy, have a gawp!

Otherwise Lincoln Center is the home of the NYC Ballet, Opera and various other theatrical delights throughout the year if you fancy something different from Broadway. The Lincoln Center buildings themselves are lit up beautifully at night, and you are free to take a tour around the stunning lobbies with endless high ceilings and chandeliers (I think there is an official tour during the day…).

Oh and also worth a mention, during the summer Bryant Park (just across the road from the hotel) hosts free (usually "classic") films in the evenings which would be a lovely way to spend a night in New York as well.

Upon returning to the hotel, we always found it to be quiet and peaceful at night, in fact I don't think we ever heard so much as a peep from another guest. The street noise was also pretty nonexistent due to the neighborhood being so quiet at night. In the morning, after dragging myself out of the sumptuous bed, we wandered upstairs to the top floor breakfast room. Well here is yet another unique perk of this hotel: complimentary breakfast! It is "only" a continental breakfast, which to some Brits might seem inadequate, but there is plenty of coffee, tea, cereals, bagels, boiled eggs, fresh fruit, etc. Trust me, free food in a hotel is rare for NY, midtown restaurants are all expensive for breakfast so it really is good value. Also, they have complimentary wine and cheese in the evenings, which is another nice touch. The breakfast room itself (I think it's called the "Reading Room" actually) is rather uninspiring decor-wise, more conference room efficient than city chic, however it is very spacious and has a fantastic view of the New York Public Library from its wall to wall window overlooking Madison Avenue.

Well what more could I ask for? A rooftop garden terrace perhaps, with an attached bar? No, surely that would be over the top! Well I have saved perhaps the best for last, as this hotel does indeed have a delightful rooftop garden (I believe they call it the "Poetry Garden", although I personally did not experience any poetry there!), with decent if not vast views, but a very tranquil and lovely spot nonetheless. There was also a bar inside which we never bothered with as let's be honest there was free wine downstairs! Also, it was quite deserted while we were there so perhaps we were less inclined to loiter than we might have been at a busier time.

Needless to say I would highly recommend this hotel. While it might not have the service of a four star, i.e. room service, restaurant, etc., it is a truly peaceful and decadent haven from the hustle of New York. The only thing I would say is that if I were travelling alone, as a woman I might think twice only for this reason about booking this hotel. Unfortunately from living there I find quiet areas spooky at night; this could easily be resolved by taking a taxi but I am a cheapskate who takes the subway! Seriously, though, it might be a consideration for some. I don't want to put anyone off but I would not recommend walking back to this hotel alone late at night, for safety's sake deserted areas are a no go in New York. Take a taxi, it's worth it in this instance. In daylight the area is heaving with office workers so it's not an issue at all. It is very near to the subway stop at Bryant Park, and is five minutes walk from Grand Central Station which is also quite handy.

Oh boy I just had a look at prices, looks like they have gone up as do all things in New York! It is not cheap at around $400 (climbing to $500 for a suite) a night in the high season, but if you go in low season expect to pay less (I see the hotel's website highlights the cheapest dates under "Hot Dates" of the year which is quite handy, with Fourth of July as low as $229 that is really quite good). As mentioned, we also got a good deal in August (although not as good as that July rate, will have to look into that!), and upgrading of rooms in the low season seems common as that also happened in the previous hotel we stayed in. I genuinely shudder at spending lots of money on hotels so for me to still recommend this place is high praise. You never know, you might find a deal with a bit of hunting online, and the hotel does do specials and packages itself as well.

Whew well that's about it, I hope! Aside from being dead at night (which is a godsend for a quiet night's sleep, unlike Times Square!), the neighborhood of this hotel is ideally situated, in easy walking distance to Central Park, Broadway, shops, etc. If you fancy something a bit different, with genuine charm and ambience in the rooms in particular, this hotel is a really unique experience. It is a "boutique" hotel and consistently gets good writeups in various travel magazines. Luckily, unlike some other boutique hotels it does not think it's too cool for school. Well let's face it, with a library theme that would be kind of impossible - it is always going to be grounded in a sort of geek chic!

http://www.libraryhotel.com

A few features I forgot to mention:

-free use of the New York Sports Club gym
-free wi-fi
-reading room open for use anytime with books/complimentary newspapers
-central heat/air conditioning with individual room controls
-t.v. w/cable, DVD library of the AFI top 100 films of all time (we went for Midnight Cowboy, I had no idea it was so sad!)
-mini bar
-in room safe

 

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