Roses at Jumeirah Essex House.

“Florals? For spring? Ground breaking.” We hear you, Miranda Priestly. But strolling through a half dozen or so hotel lobbies, we couldn’t resist whipping out a camera and celebrating spring with flowers.

In the early and mid 20^th century a flower shop was a must at large urban hotels. Besides eye-catching blooms for the lobby, weddings and parties on the premises, the shop sent flowers to guest rooms on behalf of friends and associates (guests checked in for longer than a night or two in the years before air travel).  The shop also stocked the boutonnieres and corsages that were the mark of the well dressed.

Such shops are a rarity today, but the custom of dressing the lobby with fresh blooms lives on. (more…)

You read correctly. This blog item is about us. Wandering Educators, the savvy online community where teachers share travel experiences and expertise, interviewed us this week.

If you’ve ever wondered about who we are, how Overnight New York got started or our favorite tip for first time visitors to New York City, click onto the Q & A (and scroll down to the end to learn more about our logo).

And if you’re an educator — or just looking for a blog jam-packed with news, information and tips on global travel — check out Wandering Educators.

We’ll get straight to the point – the room was delectable. Our favorite hotels are ones where you can open the door and slip into a different life. And the life on offer at The NoMad? We felt like we had walked into a fin de siecle Parisian pied-a-terre with contemporary plumbing and a hint of time travel. (more…)

Hotels like to advertise that they offer all the comforts of home, only better. So why is it so hard to find healthy items like cage-free eggs, low-fat milk and grass-fed beef in the restaurants of most large full-service hotels?

Hyatt Hotels aims to change that and lots more. This week the company unveiled Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served, a soup to nuts food philosophy that in essence overhauls the entire food and beverage service for all Hyatt full service brands. (more…)

Why is Smash, the hit NBC series about the creation of a Broadway musical, our favorite television show this season? We can’t recall a TV show or movie with scenes shot at more New York City hotels. (more…)

Hotel guests fall into two categories – those who want to meet and mingle with other guests and those who can’t think of anything worse.

At first glance, LobbyFriend, a new travel app that lets guests connect with others registered at the hotel, seems aimed squarely at the first group. But LobbyFriend is nimble. Even if you’re in the second camp keep reading. This app could be for you, too. (more…)

New Yorkers like to think they’re different from the rest of the country, but does that go for the movies watched in New York City hotel rooms?

Not in April. Last month’s ten top Hollywood movies – we don’t keep track of the other kind – viewed in hotel rooms throughout the nation were identical to the top ten screened in New York City hotel rooms. (more…)

Well read.

Libraries and libations go together like gin and tonic. Or perhaps we should say like Islay scotch, Chambery Blanc vermouth, South India Solera sherry and crème de cacao, the makings of the Old Alhambra cocktail we had in the Library at the new NoMad Hotel.

The NoMad’s is one of the most exquisite hotel libraries we’ve ever seen – and we make a point of seeking out hotel libraries. Polished wood shelves, an oriental rug warming the hardwood floor, a sleek curved library stair leading to the second floor of books, strong WiFi – it’s the prototypical private library reimagined for 21^st-century tastes.

The content is as dazzling as the setting. Sidestepping the prevailing trend of outfitting a hotel library with books from one publisher – or color-coding a random selection of bulk-purchased hardcover books – the NoMad’s wood-paneled room looks like the lair of a voracious bibliophile with wide-ranging tastes. (more…)

Greening the roof.

In observation of Earth Day (and Month), we pause for a quick pulse check on how New York City hotels are doing on the green front.

This month the city’s largest hotel, the 1,981-room New York Hilton, took a big stride towards energy efficiency.  As befits a big hotel, the gesture is grand.  On view is the hotel’s new green roof occupying 16,000 square feet atop a fifth floor setback. The garden, consisting of a vast array of sedum harvested at an upstate farm, isn’t open to guests. But it offers a glimpse of nature for hotel guests on the 53^rd Street side of the building who happen to gaze down from their windows.

More important, the plants are on board to do what roots and foliage do naturally – absorb airborne pollutants, deflect solar radiation and reduce the thermal load.  The predicted result: less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and less energy required to keep the building cool. (more…)

Knave -- as it was.

Talk about a double whammy. First came the news that Le Parker Meridien’s new next-door neighbor will be a new 296-room boutique hotel.  Then yesterday morning the new neighbor invaded Parker Meridien’s turf.

As guests sipped espresso and nibbled croissants at the hotel’s stylish Knave cafe just before noon, liquid concrete from the new building broke through the wall and flooded the room.

The “concrete lava” was up to a foot deep and moved tables and chairs, according to witness reports in The New York Post.  As stunned guests fled, construction workers rushed in with wheelbarrows to remove the invasive material.

(more…)