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6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 12 accomm 6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 13 odations1 Your spirit of adventure may be urging you to come to New York, wander through the streets with your 6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 14 14 luggage in tow, and decide where to stay when someplace calls to you. If so, your spirit of adventure doesn’t quite grasp the situation. New York has more than 60,000 hotel rooms— enough to house the entire population of Laredo, Texas—with more coming into service every week, and still the joint is bulging at the seams. On ordinary days the occupancy rate pushes 90 percent, and at peak times, such as school vacations and the Thanksgiving to Christmas madness, it is probably more like 105 percent. So unless you want to spend your vaca- tion in a motel off the turnpike in New Jersey, do your home- work before you come: Research the city, pick a neighborhood that suits your frame of mind, and then choose lodgings as close to it as possible—in your price range, if possible. Which isn’t as impossible as it sounds. Right around the corner from New York’s luxury monoliths you’ll find some perfectly charming and less expensive “boutique” hotels, where you’re closer to the city’s fascinating street life and yet often enjoy nicer furnishings and more attentive service. Or you might consider the bed-and-breakfast route, where accommodations range from penthouse apartments to walk-ups. We’ve listed one of the best B&B agencies below. Those who decide to stay in a INTRODUCTION mid-priced or luxury hotel should bear in mind that a hotel concierge can become more valuable in New York than your best friend. These miracle workers sit patiently behind their desks in the hotel lobby, ever-eager to locate last-minute theater tickets or recommend a little French restaurant that’s perfect for popping the question (whatever that question may be). Winning the Reservations Game The standard recommendation in New York is to make reserva- ACCOMMODATIONS tions a month ahead—even longer if you plan to be here between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t accept the first room price offered, especially from the higher-priced hotels. There are nearly always discount packages to be had, from “summer holi- days” to “Christmas getaways” to “romantic weekends.” These packages are advertised in the free Big Apple Visitors Guide pub- lished by the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel 800/NYC-VISIT,or pick it up in person at 810 7th Avenue). In an attempt to draw people back into the city post–September 11th, more than 100 hotels are (at the time of printing) offering special rates. Go to www.nycvisit.com and click on the “Paint the Town Red White & Blue” logo for more information. Keep in mind that at some hotels, children under 12 stay free with their parents. And be sure to ask for corporate rates, even if you aren’t part of a corporation. Desk clerks rarely check your 6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 15 15 credentials—they just want to fill the room. If you’re stuck, the Hotel Hotline (tel 800/846-7666, fax 800/511-5317) is usually able to track down a room. As a very last resort, start calling hotels just after 6pm on the day you need the room. Most places cancel non-guaranteed reservations—what the industry calls “timers”— at 6pm, so something just may turn up. Hotel tax in Manhattan is a stiff 13.25%, plus $2 per room per night. Taxes are not New York’s included in the price listings celluloid alter-ego below. If you want to prepare yourself for a visit to the Big Apple, rent a flick. The classics are: Mir- Is There a Right acle on 34th Street (1947) for Address? sweetness and light at Christ- There is a New York neigh- mastime; Breakfast at Tiffany’s borhood for every personal (1961) for bittersweetness à la Truman Capote and Audrey philosophy and lifestyle, but Hepburn in Givenchy gowns; traditionally the “right” resi- The Sweet Smell of Success dential address has been the (1957) with Tony Curtis and East Sixties, Seventies, and Burt Lancaster as two rats Eighties—the white-glove chasing celebrity and power; and Woody Allen's Annie Hall Upper East Side. Here one (1977), all about Upper East finds the city’s most elegant Side chic in the days before INTRODUCTION and snooty shops, town Woody and Mia’s split revealed houses, hotels, and nearly all its seamy side. For a gritty the members of New York’s taste of the city, try Serpico (1974) with Al Pacino, Green- upper crust. Come summer, wich Village, and corrupt fac- the East Side’s a ghost town tions in the NYPD; The as the wealthy flee the heat Godfather (1971) and The for the Hamptons. Head Godfather Part II (1974) for the other side of the badge. If across Central Park for the you want a love story, grab ACCOMMODATIONS Upper West Side, a funkier, Cher’s Moonstruck (1987) more family-oriented scene about a nice Brooklyn-Italian of century-old town houses girl who wants something more and rambling vintage apart- from life than pasta. Midnight Cowboy (1969), perfectly per- ment buildings. Bounded on verse, sad, yet lovable, fea- the north by Columbia tures Dustin Hoffman and Jon University,by Lincoln Center Voight as two New York losers. on the south, and bracketed by Central Park and Hudson-hugging Riverside Park, this area’s museums, theaters, affordable restaurants and hotels, and boutique shopping make it a pleasant place to hang. Midtown, running from Central Park South to the Thirties, is Man- hattan’s central business district and the chief hotel zone, con- venient for tony Fifth Avenue shopping, the theater district, and expense-account restaurants galore. The best and costliest 6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 16 16 hotels are on Central Park South; room rates generally descend as you work your way south. Head south on Fifth Avenue and you’ll bump into the triangular Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, which has lent its name to the very hot Flatiron District, where models and trendoids haunt a score of high- profile bars and restaurants. There are few hotels around the Flatiron, but you can enjoy the pulse of this happening area by staying in peaceful Gramercy Park, a few blocks to the east, or trendy Chelsea to the west, gentrified by an ambitious gay community. Downtown starts at 14th Street, the northern border of Greenwich Village. The home of New York Uni- versity and vibrant Washington Square Park, this neighbor- hood of neat 19th-century brownstones is where generations of bohemians have made their mark. Jazz clubs, coffee shops, romantic restaurants, and proximity to Little Italy, Soho, the East Village (home of cutting-edge clubs and punky new bohemians), and the West Village (capital of gay America— with Chelsea coming in now as a close and younger-populated runner–up) should make this area ripe for hotels. Oddly enough, though, good hotels are hard to find here—unless you’re willing to put up with tiny rooms, tenement housing, or a THE LOWDOWN bed-and-breakfast room, you may have to commute to this playground. The southern tip of Manhattan—occupied by the South Street Seaport area to the east, the loft spaces of urban-hip Tribeca to the northwest, Battery Park City to the west, and Wall Street at the very bottom—are still soldiering on after the WTC attacks, with many hotels still up and run- ning and wanting your business. ACCOMMODATIONS The Lowdown Old faithfuls… Always the first to come to mind is the venerable Plaza, a French-Renaissance pile docked at the southeast corner of Central Park. Frank Lloyd Wright once claimed this was one of the few build- ings he liked that he hadn’t designed himself. The flags flying over the front entrance tell you which heads of state you’ll be sharing the facilities with. The Waldorf-Astoria presides over Park Avenue, its Art Deco lobbies returned to their past splendor, though its guest roster is no longer as grand. Happily, the Algonquin functions much as it did in the days of Dorothy Parker and the Round Table—in the wood- paneled lobby, at least, where graying authors of both 6566-4 Ch05.F 2/19/02 10:27 AM Page 17 17 sexes, ensconced in armchairs, ogle young women in leopardskin coats. For travelers with old money… The Pierre’s romanti- cally frescoed downstairs rooms teem with European film directors, as well as American heiresses; even Hollywood types turn up frequently,now that Barney’s has set up shop next door. Miraculously, the staff is alert and deferential, no matter who you are—unlike the help at the Plaza- Athénée, where you get the feeling you should show proof of a high income before walking through the door. Over on Park Avenue, the Regency continues to shelter movers and shakers. If you dislike feeling forced to dress for dinner, you may prefer the gracious Stanhope, where the high tea is perfectly English, and you can people-watch like a Parisian on the Terrace, sipping an aperitif and over- looking the tourist frenzy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art across the street. For travelers with new money… If your reason for being in New York is to spend cash, then the Plaza, at the top of the Fifth Avenue shopping district, in view of Bergdorf THE LOWDOWN Goodman and FAO Schwarz, is the place to stay.