The Smyth

Gild Hall, Hotel on Rivington,

Jew-

H O T E L N E I G H B O R H O O D S 5 3

already be made up. At worst, you can leave your bags in a locked room and return later. If you ask politely for a late checkout on your last day, you can often get it. But 2 p.m. checkout is usually the latest hotels are willing to give.

•If you have a great view, open the curtains all the way! The greater your sense of place here in New York, the more you get for your money.

HOTEL NEIGHBORHOODS

U N L E S S B U S I N E S S O R F R I E N D S A N D FA M I LY take you to one of the

outer boroughs, the place to stay is Manhattan. Within the narrow island are hundreds of choices—from the finest in the world to faded but acceptable. Most are clustered in the Midtown area, from 42nd Street to 59th. However, fine new and refurbished hotels are turning up from the 90s down to the Battery, from SoHo and the Meatpacking District and Chelsea to Chinatown, the Village, and the West Side. Generally, Downtown is trendy, Uptown is tony, and Midtown is bustling.

D O W N T O W N A N D L O W E R M A N H A T T A N

( B E L O W C A N A L S T R E E T , I N C L U D I N G T R I B E C A )

P E T E R M I N U I T M AY H AV E B O U G H T Manhattan for $25, but that

hardly covers a minibar snack today. Among the concrete canyons of the megamillionaire hedge-funders and traders of Wall Street and the sightseers at a rising (noisy) Ground Zero are several modern hotels, geared to the business and leisure traveler. Because many visitors are on work assignments, most hotels in this area are large and pricey and offer complete business services. But visitors also flock to the walking paths of Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the

ish Heritage Museum, South Street Seaport, Chinatown, and Little Italy.

Many developers are converting existing buildings into hotels in the next five years to add to the room inventory. Downtown remains quiet at night, with fewer nightspots than the rest of the island. Although subways are convenient, bus service is erratic, and cab fares to Midtown are expensive. New hotels such as

and the Blue Moon (a kosher hotel built from an old tenement) reflect the area’s historic character. The Tribeca Grand has become a hip landmark downtown, and has just opened in TriBeCa.

S O H O , G R E E N W I C H V I L L A G E ,

M E A T P A C K I N G D I S T R I C T

T H I S I S T H E H O T T E S T, H I P P E S T A R E A I N T H E C I T Y. Restaurants,

galleries, shops, boutiques, and small theaters abound on winding streets. Students and creative types and a convenient subway system make the East and West Village magnets for both tourists and the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. But surprisingly, relatively few hotels rise

Fitzpatrick Grand Central.

Waldorf-Astoria

efeller Center

Rock-

Murray Hill,

Hotel Metro.

High Line elevated park.

The Bowery Hotel, Washington Square Hotel, The Mercer,

5 4 P A R T 3 A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

here, and aside from bed-and-breakfasts and conversions of small properties, the hotel scene has lagged behind the street scene. Hotels include the

and the Soho Grand. Clarion Collection The Solita Soho Hotel and

60 Thompson are stylish favorites. In the Meatpacking area, trendy hotels include The Maritime, the Gansevoort, and the Standard, which straddles the beginning of the

1 4 T H T O 3 0 T H S T R E E T S : C H E L S E A , T H E H I G H L I N E , G R A M E R C Y

C H E L S E A I S A RT S Y . Galleries, boutiques, and restaurants abound. The 30-acre Chelsea Piers sports complex on the Hudson River offers everything from bowling to volleyball to indoor golf. Artists are converting old buildings into studios and galleries, and with the High Line park along the former elevated rail line, hundreds more will be following. Right now, though, good hotels are few and far between. Visitors to Chelsea Market and the Joyce, the city’s modern-dance theater, will like the Chelsea Savoy Hotel on the West Side. The East Side seems more residential—the Inn at Irving Place is a tiny, choice place near leafy and quiet Gramercy Park. The rediscovered star is the Gramercy Park Hotel, a faded beauty now again draped in luxury by hotel icon Ian Schrager.

3 1 S T T O 4 1 S T S T R E E T S , M U R R A Y H I L L

O N T H E W E S T S I D E , this bustling area of offices, sports complexes, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and transportation terminals is no-nonsense, and large. Midrange hotels reflect the group clientele and convention needs. Visitors to Madison Square Garden, by a possi- bly-to-be-redeveloped Penn Station, can stay at the small

On the East Side, with still-limited subway service, quiet

with many historic town houses, is home to the expanded Morgan Library and Museum and nearby small hotels, such as the still-stylish

Morgans, The Avalon, the spiffy Roger Williams, and the Japaneseinfluenced Kitano. The new Hotel 373 Fifth Avenue is across from the Empire State Building.

4 2 N D T O 5 9 T H S T R E E T S : T H E E A S T S I D E

M I D TOW N D R AW S C O M M U T E R S , delegates and visitors to the United Nations, Fifth Avenue shoppers, sidewalk TV-studio gawkers,

ice skaters, business travelers at corporate headquarters, and diners at pricey restaurants. This is the center of the city’s energy and power (though things quiet down around 9 p.m.). Some of the best hotels in the world offer great views of the East River and landmark buildings. Grand Central Terminal provides easy access by rail to the northern suburbs and Connecticut. Among the dozens of fine skyscraper hotels clustered here are the classic Art Deco

and the

Hampton Inn & Suites Staten Island

Guest House,

Harlem Landmark

C A N Y O U E V E N G E T I N ? 5 5

4 2 N D T O 5 9 T H S T R E E T S : T H E W E S T S I D E

Times Square, Broadway, Carnegie Hall, theme restaurants, TV studios, and the office buildings along Columbus Circle and Avenue of the Americas all draw throngs. Lodgings from moderately priced chains, such as Holiday Inn, Marriott, Howard Johnson, and Days Inn, and older hotels abound, catering to tour groups and individual tourists. But the great hotels rimming the southern end of sprawling Central Park, including the Jumeirah Essex House, are among the best in the city. Noteworthy: The London NYC hotel (formerly the RIGHA Royal) was designed by David Collins and features a restaurant by star chef Gordon Ramsay. The midpriced Portland Hotel at Times Square on West 47th Street is being transformed into the more luxurious Sanctuary Hotel New York.

6 0 T H S T R E E T A N D A B O V E

U P TOW N — R E F I N E D, FA S H I O N A B L E , E XC L U S I V E , cultured, quiet. Cen-

tral Park is the oasis of this area, but Uptown also offers world-famous museums along Museum Mile and top hospitals. Two-storied Madison Avenue is one of the most fascinating shopping areas of the world, and Lincoln Center is a renowned cultural focal point on the West Side Great views abound. Not surprisingly, some of the fanciest older hotels stand here, including The Carlyle and the newly refurbished Pierre.

W A Y U P T O W N A N D O T H E R B O R O U G H S

A N E W H A R L E M R E N A I S S A N C E I S U N D E R WAY , with clubs, dining,

and new residential areas. In Harlem, check out a restored town house.

If you don’t mind not being in “the city” (and don’t mind saving some big bucks), commute into Manhattan by subway, bus, or ferry, or splurge on a taxi, and check out the wonders of the outer boroughs and the following hotels: in Brooklyn, the Best Western Gregory and

New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge; in Queens, Comfort Inn Long Island City and Holiday Inn Express Queens Midtown; in Staten Island, Hilton Garden Inn New York/Staten Island and Harbor House

Bed & Breakfast.

New or coming soon in the boroughs are Hotel Le Jolie, aloft Brooklyn/Downtown, The Smith Hotel, and Sheraton Brooklyn in Brooklyn, and in Staten Island.

CAN YOU EVEN GET IN?

E V E N W I T H I N C R E A S I N G N U M B E R S O F H O T E L RO O M S in New York

City, with apologies to songwriters Kander and Ebb, if you can make a reservation (t)here, you can make one anywhere. It’s up to you—and your resourcefulness—to get a room in New York, New York

5 6 P A R T 3 A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

•Try NYC & Company’s online reservation system (www.nycvisit.com) to check out almost 200 New York hotels. It’s powered by Orbitz.

•Check out the Peak Season Hotel Hotline. It provides access to rooms at more than 80 hotels in all price categories from September 1 to December 31. As a last resort, on nights when travel agents and consumers believe the city is “sold out,” the hotline can find rooms. Call

# 800-846-7666. And note the other reservations services listed later in the chapter.

•Book as far in advance as possible. Holidays and special events such as Fashion Week are always busy, but even when occupancy is down in many parts of the country, hotels often are fully booked here,

as huge conferences reserve blocks of rooms years in advance, frequently at odd times. Traditionally, the easiest time to get a room is during January and February. Sunday is the slowest day of the week.

•Call just after 6 p.m. on the day you want to stay. That is when most properties cancel reservations not guaranteed with a credit card on the day of arrival. (In the industry, these nonguaranteed reservations are called “timers.”)

•Try the Web. Sites are always expanding and new ones popping up, so use a search engine such as Yahoo! or Google to find a selection.

•Use travel and tour agencies that do lots of NYC convention business. They often have the clout to find a room, even when you’re on your own. Usually the major agencies will do the most convention business; otherwise, ask those who have traveled on business to New York, or ask around locally. As for tour operators, some who frequently handle New York City are ATI (American Tours International), AlliedTPro, and City Tours. Your travel agent will help you reserve through tour operators.

•Be flexible. The more rigid your requests, the harder it may be to fill them. Ask what’s available. Management may not have many standard rooms but can sometimes offer luxury suites or relatively unappealing rooms—poor view, low floor, not yet refurbished. If you’re willing, you can often negotiate a deal for these white elephants.

•Think small. Hotels with few rooms are least likely to host huge groups, and, surprisingly, you can often find a room at small places even at busy times.

•Think independent. When rooms are scarce, nonchain hotels often have availability, as they are less well known and have smaller advertising and marketing budgets than chains.

Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx have some chain

hotels, and around Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports you will find many midlevel choices (see our hotel listings). But nearby Westchester County, southern Connecticut, and Long Island have a varied selection of luxury hotels, inns, resorts, and bed-and-breakfasts, with more recreational space at generally lower cost than comparable accommodations in the city. You may miss out on urban excitement, but you’re more likely to get a room.

S L I C E T H E P R I C E O F R O O M S I N T H E A P P L E 5 7

The following notable accommodations are in the suburbs within an hour or so of the city. All are near subway or train lines (taxis usually meet trains), are in safe neighborhoods, and offer free parking, outstanding settings and decor, and excellent on-site or nearby restaurants.

Westchester County, New York

CASTLE ON THE HUDSON 400 Benedict Avenue, Tarrytown; # 800- 616-4487, 914-631-1980; fax # [phone]; www.castleonthe hudsonhotel.com

CRABTREE’S KITTLE HOUSE 11 Kittle Road, Chappaqua; # 914-666- 8044; fax # [phone]; www.kittlehouse.com

DORAL ARROWWOOD 975 Anderson Hill Road, Rye Brook; # 866-428- 9739, 914-939-5500; fax # [phone]; www.doralarrowwood.com

Long Island, New York

GARDEN CITY HOTEL 45 Seventh Street, Garden City; # 877-549-0400, 516-747-3000; fax # [phone]; www.gardencityhotel.com

INN AT GREAT NECK 30 Cutter Mill Road, Great Neck; # 516-773- 2000; fax # [phone]; www.innatgreatneck.com

Southern Connecticut

HOMESTEAD INN 420 Field Point Road, Greenwich; # 203-869-7500; fax # [phone]; www.homesteadinn.com

HYATT REGENCY GREENWICH 1800 East Putnam, Old Greenwich;

# 203-637-1234; fax # [phone]; greenwich.hyatt.com

THE INN AT NATIONAL HALL 2 Post Road West, Westport; # 800-628- 4255, 203-221-1351; fax # [phone]; www.innatnationalhall.com

SLICE the PRICE of

ROOMS in the APPLE

T H E B A D N E W S : Tourists from around the world, it seems, will pay any price to visit New York and stay “in the city.”

The good news: compared to many other great international cities, New York is a relative bargain. Remember that as you plunk down your plastic, signing off on what seems like the GNP of Honduras. Here are some helpful ideas for lowering costs:

•Check out the Internet. Last-minute bargains are now available online at sites such as www.hotels.com, www.priceline.com, www

.expedia.com, www.orbitz.com, and www.travelocity.com. You can judge comparative value for money by seeing a listing of hotels—what they offer, where they are located, and what they charge.

5 8 P A R T 3 A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

•Choose a less-than-fashionable neighborhood. New York is made up of many distinct enclaves, and this emphasis on address influences pricing. Unless you need to be there for convenience, it may not be worth it to stay on the Upper East Side when the same-quality room on the Lower West Side may be half the cost. The East Side is priciest;

Midtown and up to 96th Street is the fanciest area. The good deals are on the Upper West Side. You will occasionally find a budget hotel in pricey areas, such as The Pod, in the 50s on the East Side.

•Leave your car at home. Garaging a car overnight in New York can cost as much as a motel room off the highway (with doughnuts and coffee).

•For longer stays, try an apartment hotel. These typically offer daily maid service and kitchen and laundry facilities. Club Quarters is one example. Several upscale hotels offer an apartment option, including The Waldorf-Astoria. These hybrids combine hotel services with a kitchen and a residential feel and are wonderful for entertaining, or as an alternative to getting an apartment.

•Seek a suite, which offers the potential of whole families in one room. And if there’s a kitchenette, even better. Several hotels, such as Trump International Hotel & Tower, offer kitchenettes even in standard rooms.

•Stay at the least expensive room at a good hotel rather than the most expensive at a lesser one. The cost differential can be considerable, although the rest of the hotel services, amenities, and public rooms remain available for your pleasure. You’re getting the biggest bang for your buck when you ask for the low-priced, smallest room with the worst view on the lowest floor at an otherwise-good hotel.

•Avoid room service and minibars. Bring food up from delis, takeout groceries (which usually have salad bars), or sidewalk vendors, which purvey fresh fruits as well as hot dogs, falafel, and other ethnic delights. Or, if possible, make like a resident and have a restaurant deliver (frowned on by some hotels—check first). Neighborhood restaurants, especially the old-fashioned coffee shops and “ethnics,” are good and surprisingly reasonable.

•Accept shared baths. Some hotels, such as The Pod, are set up with some shared facilities, at around $100 a night. If price means more than privacy, you’ll enjoy the savings.

•Go really basic. YMCAs and youth hostels are available in the city. Bare-bones, but cheap. There are Ys on the East Side (# 212- 912-2500), on the West Side (# 212-875-4100), and in Harlem

(# 212-281-4100, ext. 210); see www.ymcanyc.org. Hostelling International offers a hostel on the Upper West Side (# 800-909-4776

or 212-932-2300; www.hinewyork.org). For dormitory accommodations, check with universities in the city, including New York University. Judith Glynn’s Manhattan Getaways (# 212-956-2010; www

.manhattangetaways.com) is a great source for home-style getaways, such as reconverted apartments and guesthouses.

•Find a discounted rate. Check out deals through ads, agents, special events, and openings. These include weekend and convention deals,

S L I C E T H E P R I C E O F R O O M S I N T H E A P P L E 5 9

frequent-mileage clubs, automobile or other travel clubs, senior rates (some specify ages as young as 50), military or government discounts, corporate or shareholder rates, packages, long-stay rates (usually at least five nights), and travel-industry rates. Some hotels might even give lower rates if you are visiting because of bereavement or medical care.

Special Weekend Rates

Most hotels that cater to business, government, and convention travelers offer special weekend discount rates ranging 15% to 40% below normal weekday rates. Find out about weekend specials by calling individual hotels or by consulting your travel agent.

Corporate Rates

Many hotels offer discounted corporate rates (5% to 20% off rack rate). Usually you don’t need to work for a large company or have a special relationship with the hotel—simply ask for this discount. But some others may make the rate conditional on your providing some sort of bona fides—for instance, a fax on your company’s letterhead requesting the rate or a company credit card or business card on checkin. Generally, the screening is not rigorous.

Half-price Programs

Larger discounts on rooms (35% to 60%), in New York or anywhere else, are available through half-price hotel programs, often called travel clubs. Program operators contract with an individual hotel to provide rooms at deep discounts, usually 50% off rack rate, on a “space available” basis. You can usually reserve a discounted room whenever the hotel expects less than 80% occupancy. A little calendar sleuthing to avoid citywide conventions and special events increases your chance of finding this kind of discount.

Most half-price programs will charge an annual membership fee or directory-subscription charge of $25 to $125. You’ll get a membership card and a directory that lists participating hotels. But note the restrictions and exceptions. Some hotels “black out” certain dates or times of year. Others may offer the discount only certain days of the week or require you to stay a certain number of nights. Still others may offer a much smaller discount than 50% off rack rate.

Programs specialize in domestic travel, international travel, or both. More-established operators offer members thousands of hotels to choose from in the United States. All of the following programs have a heavy concentration of hotels in California and Florida, and most have a limited selection in New York City.

Encore # 800-444-9800 www.virtual-encore.com

Entertainment Publications # 888-231-7283 www.entertainment.com ITC50 # 800-513-7000 www.itc50online.com

Quest # 800-742-3543 www.questprograms.com

6 0 P A R T 3 A C C O M M O D A T I O N S

unofficial T I P One caveat: If something seems too good

	As a rule, if you travel	to be true, it usually is, and some hotels fig-
		ure the discount on an exaggerated rack rate.
	several times a year, your
		A few may deduct the discount from a sup-
	room-rate savings will
		posed “superior” or “upgraded” room rate,
	easily compensate for
		even though the room you get is standard.
	membership fees in half-
		But the majority of participating proper-
	price programs.
		ties base discounts on the published rate in
	the Hotel and Travel Index (a reference work used by travel agents) and

work within the spirit of their agreement with the program operator. Deeply discounted rooms through half-price programs are not

commissionable to travel agents, so you’ll probably have to make your own calls and reservations. But if you travel frequently, your agent will probably do your legwork anyway.

Preferred Rates

This discount helps travel agents stimulate booking activity or attract a certain class of traveler. Most preferred rates are promoted through travel-industry publications, and they are often accessible

unofficial T I P	only through an agent. Sound out your travel
	agent about possible deals, but note that the
Hotel reps respond	rates shown on travel agents’ computerized
positively to travel agents	reservations systems are not always the low-
because agents represent	est rates obtainable. Zero in on a couple of
a source of additional	hotels that fill your needs in terms of loca-
business. There are certain	tion and quality of accommodations, then
specials that hotel reps	have your agent call the hotels for the latest
will disclose only to travel	rates and specials. A personal appeal from
agents.	your agent to the hotel’s director of sales and
	marketing will often get you a room.

Consolidators, Wholesalers, and Reservation Services

The discount available (if any) from a reservation service depends on whether the service functions as a consolidator or as a wholesaler. Consolidators are strictly sales agents who do not own or control the room inventory they are trying to sell. Discounts offered by consolidators are determined by the hotels with rooms to fill. Consolidator discounts vary enormously depending on how desperate the hotel is to unload the rooms. When you deal with a room-reservation service that operates as a consolidator, you pay for your room as usual when you check out of the hotel.

Wholesalers have long-standing contracts with hotels to buy rooms at an established deep discount. Some wholesalers hold purchase options on blocks of rooms, whereas others actually pay for rooms and own the inventory, so they can offer whatever discount is consistent with current demand. Most discounts fall in the 10%-to-40% range, and