Ah, the crisp, chill days of December. They may not be here yet, but they’re coming. And with them our thoughts turn to salchows, toe loops and flips – or more realistically, trying to not to belly flop on the ice.

Each winter outdoor rinks sprout up throughout Manhattan. (more…)

Yotel's check-in computers.

The massive, inquisition-style check-in desk, once as basic to hotels as beds, pillows and running water, occupies a spot high on the endangered amenity list. But so, in some cases, do check-in staff members.

First came hotels like the Fitzpatrick Manhattan, where guests are seated at a small table opposite a staff member. Call it check-in as tete-a-tete, where conversation ensues and amenities are explained before the guest rises and heads for the room. (more…)

The Royalton iPad.

What’s the next hotel room amenity destined for the slag heap littered with CD players and tube TVs? Our guess: the in-room phone with its push-button call list for the concierge, room service and housekeeping.

At least, that’s how we felt after road testing the Royalton’s iPad, a slender, black-leather-framed amenity that sits on the desk in every room at the hotel, fully loaded and ready to multi-task. (more…)

The lobby’s faux fireplace.

Harlem isn’t known for hotels. In fact, it’s main headliner, the white brick Hotel Theresa – guests included Louis Armstrong, Malcolm X, Little Richard, Josephine Baker and Fidel Castro — closed in 1967.

Aloft Harlem aims to change that. On December 2, this tall, skinny link in Starwood’s fast-growing chain of hip-on-the-cheap hotels – think W on a budget – opens its big glass doors. And just like that, 124 rooms north of Central Park are yours for the asking – and $239 a night through the end of the year.

With 40 outposts from Abu Dhabi to Austin, Alofts pop up all over the world. But Harlem is the first New York foray (look for Aloft Brooklyn sometime next year). (more…)