If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
January 7, 2007
Check In, Check Out
New York City: Hotel 17
By CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON
THE BASICS
There are not many hotels in Manhattan with reasonably priced rooms, and perhaps fewer still with an interesting back story. The 120-room Hotel 17 has both. Woody Allen used the different-as-snowflakes rooms, with their throwback feel, as the setting for his film €œManhattan Murder Mystery.€ A pre-fame Madonna lived in this building, as did the singer Jon Secada. Today the reigning diva is Amanda Lepore, a blond knockout of somewhat hazy gender who is a staple of the downtown New York club scene. It's a cozy hotel, even a little cramped, with slender hallways and a shoebox of a lobby that urges visitors out into the city.
THE LOCATION
The hotel is centrally positioned to get to the East Village (three blocks away), Union Square (three blocks) and Gramercy Park (four blocks). It's also just a few blocks from the major Union Square-14th Street subway station, where multiple lines stop.
THE ROOMS
It's easy to see why the rooms of Hotel 17 have been popular photo shoot locations for magazines like Vogue. My corner room on the eighth floor had adjacent walls with different wallpapers, neither of which quite matched the bedspread. Red blinds. Blue carpet. The dark furniture had the heavy look of an older era, and the molding was lacquered so heavily it seemed encased in amber. Everything combined to give a pleasantly noir-ish feel. Despite a renovation completed in 2005 that tried to update the look while keeping the place's flavor €” carpeting in the hallways, modern phones in the rooms €” some shabbiness here can't pass for shabby-chic: wallpaper was peeling in one spot; the carpet had a ripple. And yet I've stayed in rooms that cost twice as much that weren't so clean. Moreover, the comfortable, unpretentious mattress did its job and delivered the sleep I'd hoped for.
THE BATHROOMS
The hotel is predominantly shared-bath €” anywhere from two to four rooms a floor share a toilet/shower/tub. This potentially unpleasant arrangement is rescued by two happy facts: the tiled bathrooms were all completely renovated in bright tiles by late 2005, and they're kept immaculate by a crew around the clock. (Now if only those bath towels were more generous, in case you forget the hotel-supplied Breck shampoo across the hall.) Most rooms have also have their own sink and hair dryer.
THE CROWD
About 30 full-time tenants like Ms. Lepore live at Hotel 17, which is also partly an apartment building. €œMost of them are nice,€ the general manager said. I never encountered any celebrity tenants in the small lobby during my stay, but I did see a parade of Europeans, and some British tourists in their late 20s who marched to their rooms or headed out to experience Gotham. Why so many? Simply the good rates, and perhaps also a cultural ease with the notion of sharing a W.C. with strangers.
AMENITIES
This is an old-school, tourist-class hotel. No business center. No fitness center. No day spa. But as the manager said helpfully, €œWe have an ice machine on the first floor.€
ROOM SERVICE
No restaurant or room service.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The motto over the door could be: €œYou don't come to New York City to stay in your hotel room.€ A clean, safe, offbeat place to crash for a night or two without wiping out your I.R.A. €” but not the place for a snuggly anniversary weekend with your sweetie. Doubles starting at $99 low season (January to mid-March) with shared bath, up to $200 in high season (June into October); 225 East 17th Street, (212) 475-2845; www.hotel17ny.com.
(jb8 @ Jan. 10 2009,07:56) right in the middle of Times Square.
What I like about Hotel 17 is that it's not in the middle of Times Square or another tourist or convention area. So you're avoiding overpriced bars and restaurants and living like the locals.
But while I know lots about Manhattan neighborhoods, as a former resident I know little about hotel quality.
(olekunde @ Jan. 10 2009,18:58) anyone know if there exists liveable rooms available in the $100-200 range on manhattan?
any recommendations, hotels or internet pages?
Stayed in The Roosevelt Hotel in Madison at 45th ave.
very nice and clean, and easy to shop around..
well..
"Most guys live their lives in the shade of the fear of what their macho friends will think about them" -- Mr. DJW
(jb8 @ Jan. 10 2009,16:56) Check the Hotel Edison, clean comfortable rooms, right in the middle of Times Square. I've stayed there a couple of times and liked it.
I always stay here too - like the food in the deli
This hotel has featured in a number of TV shows and movies including Seinfeld (when the lady tied up George and robbed him) and the French Connection
Art Deco style and good value for money if you're visiting th Big Apple (not sure about staying there long-term though)
Comment