Carlton’s star turn.

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.

Over the course of its short season, the actors were shown sipping drinks at the Bryant Park Hotel‘s Cellar Bar, clicking cocktails at the Royalton, downing drinks at W Times Square and ambling past the pink neon marquee of Times Square’s infamous Hotel Carter (you’ll notice they didn’t go inside that one). (more…)

We don’t know whether to be befuddled or embarrassed. We’re pretty partial to New York City hotels, but not a single one – not one! – landed on Trip Advisor’s annual Travel’s Choice list of the 25 Best Hotels in the World list published yesterday.

New York did better last year, when the city offered fewer rooms but apparently played to more enthusiastic Trip Advisor users.  Though none made the cut for the top 25 international hotels in 2011, the plucky Casablanca in Times Square rolled in at number eight for best in the US. Alas, it – and every place else here in town – was shut out of that list this time. (more…)

The Vieux Carre.

We’re in the early stages of summer roof bar season, but no one would call most of New York’s recent nights balmy or sweet. So this week we offer a weather haven, a hotel bar where you can order a drink with a dash of glam and forget the gloom swirling around outdoors.

The above requirements mean dim lighting, no windows, dark woods and a muted palette, preferably blue to match the weather-inflicted mood. Since that describes the Royalton to a T, we headed to West 44^th Street. Our advice: if you want to be able to hear your companion, arrive early. By 8 pm the place assumes its nighttime guise as a hotel lobby doubling as a nightclub. But at 6:30 on a rainy holiday Monday evening, we had our pick of the cushy leather club chairs (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…)

Like a glass of ice water on a sweltering day – or a hot fudge sundae any day – a hotel restroom can be a welcome sight. And if said restroom is super-clean, easy to find and flaunts some style, so much the better.  We found five hotel restrooms in Times Square that fit the bill as well as two honorable mentions. Keep these in mind when you’re in the area; you’ll thank us. (more…)