Welcome to the lobby.

A few weeks ago, while the Algonquin was still closed for renovations, we passed by the hotel. The front door was open, so we walked in.

The lobby was a construction site. But looking beyond the drop cloths and ladders we saw what we’d always seen – dark wood-paneled walls, stoic wood columns and hand-painted sconces straight out of the Edwardian era.  As we scampered out, a workman yelling that we didn’t belong there, we smiled.  It was clear the Algonquin hadn’t gone minimal or modern or been reimagined by Philippe Starck. Maybe they’d even keep the cat.

The hotel reopened in late May – renovations will wrap by June 30 – and this week we returned to see the almost-finished product. (more…)

Algonquin memorabilia.

You’d never know it to look at them, but the Marriott Marquis, a brute, 1980s John Portman behemoth, and the Algonquin, a demure, history-drenched Edwardian, share something besides easy proximity to Times Square.

This week the Algonquin became a Marriott hotel — sort of.

The unlikely bond comes courtesy of the Algonquin’s new affiliation with Marriott’s Autograph Collection, a new subset of Marriott International comprised of one-of-a-kind hotels that prize personality. The Algonquin, in business since 1902, has personality in spades. Long-gone literary lights like Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Alexander Woolcott hung out here. Matilda, the hotel’s prize-winning cat, still does and is often underfoot in the lobby. (more…)