Old Alhambra — after a sip

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 lounge and bar 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. (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.

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New York in springtime – it’s lots better than New York in January, and hotel rates reflect this. What better time to unveil a new online booking site promising low prices?

Tingo purports to offer that elusive but delectable commodity – the sure thing.

You book your room at the price listed on Tingo’s jazzy red, white and blue site. But hotel prices rise and fall like ocean waves or elevators and can change repeatedly during a week (or day). If the price drops before you check in, the site automatically rebooks the same room at the lower price. And if the price goes up, you’re locked in at the rate you booked originally. (more…)

60 Centre Street.

Many are called – and last week we were among them, taking a seat in the gigantic two-room juror’s bullpen at 60 Centre Street.

Jury duty isn’t as onerous as it once was. The officers explaining the rules deliver good patter. The free WiFi is strong. Even the $1.50 coffee at the courthouse cart has improved. Better still, once you’ve served, you won’t be called back for six years.

But New York’s courthouses are still big, brute, soul-deadening places (the wait to get through security was 25 minutes on a Monday morning). Come lunchtime, we wanted out.

Two hotels with inviting restaurants are within walking distance, provided you score an elongated lunch break (think twice you’re if assigned the standard 1-to-2-p.m. window). (more…)

What the Titanic survivors saw.

On Sunday the Titanic Memorial Cruise left Southampton, England for New York City tracing the path of the doomed luxury liner that sank on April 14, 1912.  The 1,309 passengers, ranging from relatives of survivors to Titanic groupies, paid from $4,445 to $9,320 for the 12-might cruise.

It’s a lot cheaper to check into The Jane hotel where rooms start at $99 a night. And the Titanic connection runs deep.

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A good egg.

Whenever a holiday rolls around, we head to Jumeriah Essex House in the hope of seeing a grand-scale edible work of art. Last Christmas a 10-foot-tall tree constructed from 500 lbs. of white chocolate commanded a corner of the lobby. The year before, a minutely detailed rendering of the hotel in gingerbread doubled as a mouth-watering photo op.

And with Easter nearly upon us? The lobby and adjoining South Gate restaurant are showcasing Faberge eggs rendered in chocolate. Two of the eggs are three feet tall and weigh 35 lbs. All are gorgeous. And yes, they’re edible, but really, it’s much more fun to look at them. (And the signs say Do Not Touch.)

We asked Deden Putra, executive pastry chef at the hotel, all about eggs, crafting art out of chocolate and whether those creations ever get eaten. (more…)

“Loopy Doopy” lobby.

Walking into the new Conrad New York hotel gave us weird déjà vu.

Greeting us at the top of a wide marble staircase was Sol LeWitt’s towering Loopy Doopy, a feast of purple swirls plotted on a blue grid. But what was it doing on that wall?

We’d seen the space before, of course. The Conrad occupies the 16-story brick structure built in 2000 to house an outskirts-of-the-Financial District outpost of Embassy Suites. We spent a night and wrote about it shortly after it opened. Then as now, Loopy Doopy, 100 feet tall and 80 feet wide, was entrancing and imposing (it gobbled up 100 gallons of paint). But the lobby looked so altered, with  futuristic furniture lighted from beneath and bursts of orange punctuating the cool gray and white surroundings, the mural’s location seemed different, too. (more…)

She scored big in movie theaters, won an Academy Award nomination for Rooney Mara and even picked up a gold statue at the Big Show.  (Hey, no one said soundmixing wasn’t important.) So small surprise The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo cleaned up last month as the most-watched Hollywood movie in hotel rooms in New York and across the nation. (more…)