Updated 21/01/2012 NEW
YORK PALACE (*****L): More than a century ago in
1882, Henry
Villard, one of America’s most prominent financiers, commissioned
McKim,
Mead, & White, the outstanding architectural firm, to create an
exquisite
private residence. The Villard Mansion, located on Madison In 1980, the hotel opened as The Helmsley Palace joining the Villard Mansion to a modern 55-story tower. The dark bronze, reflective glass tower integrates with its environment as it mirrors the surrounding cityscape. The Villard Mansion today stands proud as the grand entranceway to The New York Palace, a member of The Dorchester Collection. The New York Palace feels like a genuine palace. The impeccable service coupled with plush interiors exudes luxury without being snobbish. We found the service and overall experience at The New York Palace very similar to our recent stays at Le Bristol (Paris) and The Oriental (Bangkok), representing extraordinary examples of authentic palace hotels. With 813 guest rooms and 86 rooms, it is remarkable The New York Palace is so consistent with its exquisite service. Our beautiful Junior Suite was located in The Towers section of the hotel. For guests seeking the ultimate luxury, privacy and service, The Towers section on the top 14 floors of the hotel has a separate reception lobby and dedicated concierge, private high-speed elevators, Acqua di Parma bath amenities and Maitre d’Etage Service. Our large suite had sweeping views of the famed 5th Avenue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The inspired Art Deco décor was lovely with plush fabrics and elegant yet comfortable furniture. The New York Palaces’ four signature penthouse Triplex Suites are guaranteed to impress even the most seasoned travelers, with a vertical design that captures the essence of the city with a chic Manhattan vibe. With 5,000 sq-ft stretching through three levels, there are soaring panoramic skyline views from every angle, and on the top floor, a true rarity for New York City, a 1,500 sq. ft. private rooftop terrace and a wood-burning fireplace. This ultimate New York luxury has a price: USD $15,000 per night. In contrast to the modern Triplex Suites, The New York Palace offers the opulent, classically decorated Royal Suite. Spanning over 3,000 sq. ft. of the 45th floor, the suite resembles the private quarters of an exquisite chateau. Created by French interior designer Pierre Court, the suite is truly one of a kind and sells for USD $20,000 per night. The New York Palace offers approachable luxury as well! With expansive views of the city skyline and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Executive Lounge offers a 3,789-square-foot retreat 39 floors above the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan. In addition to offering two food presentations daily, the Lounge also features three state-of-the-art meeting rooms available for private rental for groups of up to eight people. We had fabulous food and enjoyed the wine and beer bar on a nightly basis. The lounge is offered to guests staying in Executive Level suites from floors 30-39. GILT Restaurant and Bar is a dining experience that can’t be missed. Located inside the Villard Mansion, the hotel’s Two Michelin Star fine dining restaurant has an amazing Modern American cuisine. At just twenty-eight years old, Executive Chef Justin Bogle is the youngest chef in New York City to be awarded Two Michelin Stars. The dining room is rather formal with attentive and dedicated service and features a prix-fixe menu. It hosts, with Daniel, the most elegant, sough after dinner in New York. If you do not have time to sit in the dining room, eat at GILT Bar which has a fabulous menu of approachable favorites like the GILT Burger and Truffle Potato Fries. The New York Palace recently opened for the summer months Palace Gate, a bar inside the courtyard featuring creative cocktails and a menu filled with delicious summer favorites. The New York Palace is a wonderful and unique property which exudes the elegance that has become synonymous with The Dorchester Collection. We highly recommend it. NEW
YORK PALACE: 455 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022
We didn't inspect The Plaza until it reopened in 2008. Nostalgic guests miss the «old Plaza»; since the hotel has been partly converted into a 152 apartments condo, with «only» 282 hotel rooms and suites remaining. In May 2007, a new apartment was sold for a USD 50 million... just to show how prestigious the place remains! We stepped into the lobby, and recognized the already familiar, gilt caravanserai seen in «North by Northwest», «Crocodile Dundee», «Home Alone 2» or «Sex and The City». Glad to see that this Beaux Arts masterpiece had been refitted in its original opulence. Right or wrong, we have crossed many tourists visiting the lobby, taking plenty of pictures. This might look somehow a curb on the guests' privacy; though we could perfectly understand that the lobby was well worth a shot. More particularly the legendary Oak Room and Oak Bar, renovated with the original painted murals, wood-paneled walls and barrel-vaulted ceiling, with a view of Central Park that is incomparable. Thus this fine dining place has not been rated yet by the Michelin Red Guide, Chef Eric Hara is actively challenging for one star or two in a near future. The rooms are classy; though some of them lack the character one might be expecting in a palace hotel. A wireless flat-panel display provides an array of concierge services, as well as the capability to control the interior ambience. The bathrooms are ritzy. Just make sure you book a room or suite with a Central Park view: it is worth the stay. We will
review the hotel in further details within a few months, just to see
how
come the service and dinning, once this luxurious vessel had reached
its
cruising speed.
THE
PLAZA: Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
The small, dark lower lobby doesn't reflect a luxury hotel: this is just the basic place to check-in and drop the luggage. But once in the first floor, we felt like so much in New York. A classy, innovative, multicultural atmosphere exudes from everywhere. This is the heart of the hotel. The place where the action is, attracting a brilliant clientele from the Upper East Side and Madison Avenue chic areas. A perfect complement to New York City's East 57th Street & Lexington Avenue's prestigious galleries and fashionable shops, the hotel is mainly targeting a young, active and rather wealthy clientele. The public areas are quite concentrated. and animated in the evening with DJ lounge music, which we enjoyed very much. However, the more mature travelers over 50 years old will certainly prefer a more classic brand from the Marriott group of hotels. The guest-rooms are smart, comfortable, featuring a European design with warm birch wood paneling, big flat-panel televisions, and spacious marble bathrooms with Aveda bath products. We have been lucky enough to stay in a Deluxe Room with a large terrace overlooking Midtown Manhattan: thes best location, with Central Park, Carnegie Hall, and some of New York's finest dining and museums at the doorstep. We
liked very much the genuinely
friendly and most efficient staff, the complimentary access to high
speed
WiFi in the public areas, the «à la carte» fine breakfast
in the Opia restaurant, owned by two French business partners, and
attractive
money
saving packages making this hidden gem of a hotel accessible
to a larger
category of travelers wishing to be part of Manhattan's vibes.
RENAISSANCE
57 NYC: 130 East 57th St. New York City, New York 10022 USA
RENAISSANCE
NEW YORK HOTEL TIMES SQUARE (****L): This
newly redesigned hotel stands in Midtown
Manhattan's world-class
entertainment district.
Safer and more attractive than ever, the gentrified Times Square and
Broadway
now offer a pleasant environment for This 26-floor, 310 rooms and suites modern building has been wisely transformed by designer Jordan Mozer into a cool boutique hotel. Very American, indeed: with extremely spacious public areas and rooms, six concierge levels, impressive though quite impersonal impersonal restaurants and lounges surrounded by windows displaying breathtaking panoramic views of Times Square, its bright neon beckons, with heavy crowds and frenzied traffic jams. In contrast, the warm, intimate guest-rooms, featuring tasteful hardwood furniture, signature Revive bedding, 37" flat panel HD televisions with cable TV, luxurious bathrooms and state-of-the-art in-room technology. Soundproof windows silence the buzz of Times Square below, ensuring a restful night's sleep. There is free WiFi in the public areas. Rates
go from USD 300 till approximately USD 600, with interesting packages
available.
RENAISSANCE
NEW YORK HOTEL TIMES SQUARE: Two Times Square, 714 Seventh
Avenue at
W. 48th Street
The rooms
are classic, comfortable, though not so impressive for a five star
hotel.
The bathrooms are among the most lovely we have seen in New York, and
the
St Regis is worth a good mark for this. Now, should we pay a high rate
to stay there. You reply is in the question...
ST
REGIS: Two East 55th Street, at Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
10022
GRAND
HYATT NEW YORK (****): We dreamed to experience one of
those grand,
oversized hotels, characterizing New York. With 1,311 rooms “only”, the
Grand Hyatt comes on the 5th position: after the Hilton NY (almost
2,000
rooms!), Marriott Marquiz, Sheraton & Towers,
and If the cyclopean marble lobby weren't so luxurious, with refreshing fountains, sitting areas, and a long rank of reception desks, it would look like the annex of the Grand Central Terminal railway station located next door... The eclectic clientele, featuring a large number of businessmen, queuing for check-in, contributes to our first impression. But the quality and efficiency of the service actually reflect a first class hotel: it took us five minutes to have our magnetic card handled with a smile by the reception clerk, and one minute to check out by introducing it into an ATM-like machine... The large number of lifts will please the impatient guest: we never waited more than 30 seconds to reach the top floors! Many rooms have a stunning views of the bustling city streets and skyscrapers; ours was located at the rear of the hotel, and amazingly quiet. With 250-square-feet (24 Sq M), it displayed much volume and comfort. We felt like the Ocean away from the “boxes” with a basic “design”, characterizing the European railway-stations hotels. It was not as impersonal as we were logically expecting; the carpet and fabrics displayed warm colours, and the furniture was actually smart. There were cable / sat channels and VOD on the large flat-screen TV, comfortable armchair and ottoman, and an ergonomic work chair at the spacious work desk. Wireless Internet access (provided at a fee by T-Mobile), IDD dual line telephones with voicemail / data port, and even a iHome Stereo with iPod dock are part of the high-tech equipment. We enjoyed the “Grand Bed”, with European-style bedding, ultra-plush pillows, and thick down blankets piled atop irresistible pillow-top mattresses: one of the most comfortable king-size beds experienced during our visits to New York, indeed. The bathroom was quite small, but conveniently elegant: with granite vanities, imported stone flooring, marble shower stalls and deluxe Portico bath amenities. There was a laptop-sized safe, and air conditioning. We are in the “City that never sleeps” and, of course, there is a 24-hour room service, business center and "Stay Fit" gym. The Commodore Grill & Lounge, and the Grand Coffee Bar provide fine cuisine, and there are plenty of fast-food, pubs and gourmet restaurants all around. For fresh fruits or quick, yummy snacks, the Central Market (featuring bio-food) is located right beneath the lobby. The meeting rooms and ballrooms are impressive: rivalling in size and style the Waldorf Astoria. Many guests choose the hotel for its comfort and efficiency, but also for its prime Midtown location on the fashionable East Side: adjacent to Grand Central, putting the city's top attractions – including Times Square, Broadway theaters, Central Park and Fifth Avenue's world-class shopping - and major businesses a few steps away. Another positive aspect of the Grand Hyatt is the fact that, being so large, it is usually possible to find a nice room, quite often with a deal, when the other, much smaller first class hotels in Manhattan show no vacancy. Try it out just like us, in Autumn, or during Christmas holidays, for instance, when Manhattan is overbooked. This
fine Hyatt hotel is a winner
of the 2007 and 2008 Corporate and Incentive Travel magazine "Award of
Excellence"
GRAND
HYATT NEW YORK: 109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central
Terminal,
REVIEWS
OF THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN NEW YORK
  |
Avenue,
surrounds a large open courtyard and was conceived in the neo-Italian
Renaissance
tradition, after the Palazzo della Cancellaria in Rome.
with
the qualities and defaults involved by hotels living on a legend.
This
is now a very attractive boutique hotel, totally redesigned by Jordan
Mozer,
who has crafted a central hearth made of blown glass. An inlaid apple
blossom
in the floor and on surfaces throughout the public spaces leads guests
up the glass-enclosed spiral staircase to the lounge and 
families:
this a a cheap shopping alternative to the nearby 5th Avenue. Central
Park,
Madison Square Garden and the Empire State Building are just a few
blocks
away.
been
disappointed by some "details" which would kill a reputation. The lobby
looked somehow shabby, poorly maintained: the carpet right in front of
the entrance door wasn't fixed, and we could see two guests
stumbling...
without any reaction from part of the doorman! Fifty meters from the
hotel
stands a cheap, smelly hot dog and "kebabs" stand. Which would never
happen
in the Ritz Paris or Imperial Vienna neighboring. We know that the
hotel
is not responsible for exterior troubles; but those spending hundreds
(even
thousands) dollars for a room or suite won't like it at all, for sure.
the
Pennsylvania. A legendary concurrent -and close neighbour-, the world
famous,
Indian railway-station like Waldorf Astoria, comes right
after the
Hyatt with 1,245 rooms. Stepping inside that kind of caravanserai is
like
visiting a landmark, and should be included in any tour of the “Big
Apple”.