Hi!

my husband and i are planning on spending our anniversary weekend in october in NYC. we live in the suburbs of NY, and he works there, so we're familiar with the city, but not specific hotels.

We are interested in staying downtown, doing some historic stuff in the Village. We are open to either any kind of hotel, and would just like some suggestions/first hand experiences. We're not into a trendy scene, if that's any help.

we can get a corporate rate at the Soho Grand, any input on that hotel would be great.

thanks in advance

I would stay at the SoHo Grand in a heartbeat.

Not quite downtown but I'm also jonesing to stay at the Maratime.

The SoHo House comes with admission to the members only club on the roof.

Isn't SoHo Grand the epitome of trendy? I guess it depends on how we are defining the term. If you are considering SoHo Grand, you could consider Tribeca Grand or W Union Square.

mike, it very well could be! i literally just started planning this morning and my husband sent me the only hotel that his company gets a corporate rate for, so i threw it out there. it's still pricey ($230 a night) but i have no idea what it normally would be.

has anyone ever heard of/stayed in the Library Hotel?

overall, we want charm, luxury, service, to be able to relax! maybe that narrows it down to types of places?

That's a pretty good price for that hotel. The neighborhood you are targetting doesn't have a lot of the types of hotels you are looking for, since they tend to be more boutiquey and "downtown" then luxurious.

You could consider something like the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park although that may be too pricey.

ediegirl, do you know about tripadvisor.com? It's a great place to get general hotel reviews. The Library I believe gets good reviews but I think rooms are small there and I'm sure you know it's not downtown but more midtown.

Many of the downtown hotels are quite trendy. Quikbook.com is one of the websites people like for getting good prices. You might check what the rates are for the Soho Grand there to see how good a deal your corporate rate is. Hotels.com is also a good place to check.

A number of new hotels have opened downtown (ie the Gansevoort) but they're even more trendy than the Soho Grand. I agree with Mike that the Ritz Carlton at Battery Park might fit the bill,especially on a weekend for a good rate. (I think I'd personally prefer the location of the Soho Grand but for your needs, the RC may be better.)

The Four Points Manhattan Chelsea Sheraton is a relatively new place that someone posted having gotte on Priceline. Reviews on tripadvisor looked pretty good but don't know if it's luxurious enough for an anniversay trip. There's a Club Quarters Downtown that might be worth checking out.

You might want to check the parksouthhotel.com. It's in the 20's and often has good weekend promotions that may include theater tickets, meals etc.

Thanks MikeT and Mclaurie. I appreciate the help!

The Gramercy Park Hotel is on its way to trying to be trendy, but basically not a trendy place. Great location. Very variable experiences had by people there - but it is right on Gramercy Park, with old-fashioned rooms that are not too small.

Ian Schrager or somebody has bought it recently and plans to jazz it up but I don't know if that's happened yet. There was a period of bargain rates after he bought it. I would think their best room would be good, if you're able budget-wise to go beyond the standard.

I would not chance an anniversary celebration at the Grammercy Park unless I had a guarantee the room had been renovated. I had one of the most depressing rooms in the world there.

I know McLaurie is right, it's risky. I was thinking that if someone went for the best, rather than looking for a deal which is what I am always doing, they might get one of the good rooms, renovated or unrenovated. (Have they renovated any? I'd be happy with a big unrenovated park-facing room.)

There is also that hotel on Thompson Street you might really like - sort of trendy, which cannot be avoided downtown, but so nicely located & with nice lobby, bar, etc.

i've been focusing on two places, Inn on 23rd, in Chelsea and the Abington Guest House. The folks at Abingdon seem to take themselves and their policies a bit seriously, but i can ignore that! however, they are booked completely on our anniv weekend and the only room they have for any surrounding weekend has the bath in the hall. so i am waiting to show mr. ediegirl the Inn on 23rd. my only hesitancy on this is that it's not in the village, and i'd really fallen for that aspect of Abingdon (am i spelling that right?!)

once i get that settled, it's on to dinner!!!

thanks!

Ediegirl I wish I had a whistle I could blow loud enough to get your attention, your last post gave me an idea:

if you have a generous budget, have you thought of the Inn at Irving Place? I think it is exactly what you want. It's near Gramercy Park, at 18th St; it's a couple of turn of the century beautiful houses, rooms furnished beautifully . Discreet, quiet, elegant, not trendy though I bet famous people sneak in and out of there.

And - if you want it and it's all booked - keep calling them & asking, very very nicely, about cancellations. I almost always get what I want this way.

ediegirl:

We stayed at The Inn on 23rd Street in May and we loved it. A very nice breakfast is served and very gracious and helpful owners.

If you decide on The Abingdon would you please report back. This is a very interesting looking place and their booking calendar seems to be booked quite far in advance which seems to indicate it is quite popular.

Sandy

Check out Washington Square Hotel. Location, location, location. It's a great place. Very down to earth but snazzy.

hmm, the board ate my reply...

Elizabeth, i did check out irving place inn, but two nights in a standard queen room would be $740. that's too rich for my blood!

it looks like a dream hotel though, would love to stay there in the future.

I stayed at 60 Thompson about a month ago and really enjoyed it. It is in Soho. It has the luxury you are looking for (not quite at the Four Seasons or Ritz level, but definitely good) Is it small, has a very friendly and good staff, a great Thai restaurant and an open roof top bar with sofas and great views (open only to hotel guests and club members). We got a weekend rate of something like $250 a night, that seems to be in your range. There are lots of fun shops and restaurants in the neighbourhood, and it is an easy walk to places like the Tenement Museum (definitely worth a visit), China town, what's left of Little Italy, etc.

Take a look at http://www.60thompson.com/menu.html

60 Thompson St
New York City, NY 10012
Phone: 212-431-0400

I have stayed in the Washington Square Hotel.
As Tandoori Girl states, the location is great. However, the rooms are literally 10'x10'. Being a bit claustrophobic, I was not at all happy with the accommodations. The trifold dresser mirror had to be folded to open the room door!

cicerone, thanks for that recommendation. i'll check them out if we hear back from abingdon that there is no vacancy.

rbs360, that reminds me of a pensione in Rome which had such a small bathroom that they put a tiny triangular shower stall in the corner. at the time i was probably a size 10 and had to turn sideways to get in the door. if you ahd to shave your legs, you had to open the shower door. it was SMALL!

60 thompson is the epitome of trendy. Soho, Tribeca and Union Sq W are also 'trendy', 'hip' places as are all the new hotels int he meatpacking district. Washington Sq is not trendy at all, more European. There's a Howard Johnson Express Inn in the lower east side that gets good reviews in tripadvisor.

In response to your question about the Library Hotel - it is not downtown but it is absolutely gorgeous and romantic. I'm also biased because that's where I got engaged!