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When we had the chance to check out The Surrey Hotels $60-million re-creation, we were impressed by the sheer prettiness of the new guest rooms. But not everyone shares our take. Over at the UK site, Globalista Travel Journal, this week The Surrey copped a dressing down for what the nameless reviewer called a pointless refurbishment. In the nature of being fair and balanced, we decided to compare Globalistas opinion to recent reviews on TripAdvisor.
Lets start with those Gloablista grumbles, shall we? The things that ticked them off included: a huge discrepancy in the size of the lowest category Deluxe Salon rooms (some box-like and others spacious, but the same price); the
Apparently there are not enough event spaces or hip hotel bars in New York City to appease the fashion flock, since the biggest party in town (for the trend-ites, it seems), was held in the under-construction core of the NoMad Hotel. If you remember, we went to the big Interview Magazine party last year in the under-construction core of The Standard Hotel, probably with some of the same attendees who showed at the NoMad.
There is this old saying: "two's a coincidence and three's a trend." Well, we've got two down with these parties; what hotel skeleton will be the next to hold a fashion party, thereby elevating this to a trend? Will songs by "Men
So the New York Yankees won the World Series last night and we're sure The Hotel Indigo Chelsea has popped plenty of bubbly for their Philly guest losers. But the celebrations aren't over yet. The city of New York will throw a traditional ticker tape parade to honor the athletes tomorrow in downtown New York. The official route:
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Broadway at Battery Place and proceed northbound up the fabled Canyon of Heroes to City Hall, at Chambers St.
At City Hall, the Yankees will be presented with Keys to the City at 1 p.m. by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
You don't need a hotel room to watch the parade
That sonic boom you heard emanating from the tri-state area was the sound of millions of Yankees fans, having been cruelly denied a World Series title, finally ending a 9-year drought last night with a 7-3 victory in Game 6. After the game, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and his girlfriend Kate Hudson hit the Meatpacking District, partying at 1Oak with his mom and sister and shortstop Derek Jeter and his girlfriend ("Friday Night Lights"' Minka Kelly).
Even the revelation that Rodriguez has a painting of himself as a centaur in his bedroom failed to slow the Yankees in the rush to their 27th title. Other celebrity Yankees fans include Alec Baldwin, who was spotted in the stands during Game 1, and Jay-Z who performed "Empire State Of Mind" at Yankee Stadium before Game 2. Game 6's celeb ticket holders included Will Forte, Spike Lee and Regis Philbin. (None of them were at 1Oak to the best of our knowledge, though.) On the other hand, it might be appropriate to buy a drink for Will Smith, Tina Fey and Vice President Joe Biden, all Phillies fans.

If youve dreamed of living in a New York penthouse but only ever get as far as flipping through the ads in the Times real estate section, you might now be closer to living your dream thanks to the Buckingham Hotel. Sitting atop the small boutique hotel near Carnegie Hall is The Martinelli Penthouse, which was once home to opera singer Giovanni Martinelli when he was performing at the Met, and also used by musical star Bobby Van as a dance studio.
Now, the two-bedroom duplex with a totally awesome terrace is available for meetings, private parties, and of course as hotel accommodations for cashed-up guests. We know, we know, youre thinking: why are you telling

When we first saw the words "Hoop There It Is," we thought we were in an early 90s time warp and wondered if Miami bass was back on the charts. But no, its just another wacky hotel amenity promotionthis time, courtesy of Kimptons The Muse Hotel in New York City.
Riding the tails of yet another resurgence of hula-hoop fitness (doesnt it seem that this comes around every three years or so?), The Muse is offering a Hoop There It Is amenity basket, with all the goodies you need to get hula-ing: a hoop, a hula-hoop workout video (we think they probably mean DVD) and a small towel. Because, after all, hula-hooping burns between 150-200 calories

Perhaps we spoke too soon about Hotel Graffiti being the new hot hotel trend. Perhaps Hotel Tattoo Artists are the new new hot hotel service instead.
The Marcel at Gramercy Hotel has announced today an ongoing art series called, M.O.A.R.--Marcel Original Art on Rotation. The program will bring "progressive, burgeoning artists" into the hotel to show off their work. But the first artist to come onboard will not be displaying his talent on the walls. No, try your skin instead.
Famous for tattooing celebrities such as Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Eminem, Mena Suvari and Ryan Phillippe Mister Cartoon will set up his very own Ink Suite at Hotel Marcel, where he will see his
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If you want to party like a rock star, the W New York-Times Square offers a VIP package that'll get you into Esquire's seventh annual Signature Space Cocktail Party to get your hands up with the single-ladies queen Beyonce herself and other stars. But this last-minute deal is for one night only, November 5.
You'll party with celebs like Jamie Foxx, Chris Webber, Gavin DeGraw, Ne-Yo, Johnny Rzeznik, Natasha Bedingfield, The Fray, Tamia, 3 Doors Down, Venus Williams, who are all hosting the bash. OneRepublic will perform some acoustic tunes. The Rock Star Package includes two tickets to the partay, two cocktails in The Living Room bar to kick off the night and a "Fantastic Suite"

Yes, once again it's time for our annual list of Best Hotels For Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is our fourth installment and while last year's choices and anything in the vicinity of Times Square still holds true, we decided to do away with the old and bring in some new choices. And it looks like the Macy's Day parade will be trying something new itself on November 26th.
This year the parade will go down 7th Avenue instead of the old Broadway. The start will still kick off at 77th and Central Park West.
Sadly, the cast of Glee will not be performing at the parade, a lame decision

Now that Ink48 is up and running, its time for the seemingly unstoppable folks at Kimpton to start focusing on their next New York property: Hotel Eventi in Chelsea. As with some of its other properties (such as Miamis Epic), the hotel will share space with apartments, in this case rentals. The Eventi will also share its entire-city-block with retail stores and an outdoor plaza with public seating.
Even better, the developers plan to construct a 20-foot wide screen to be used in the plaza for public and private events. The hotels restaurant will also have a long dining terrace overlooking the plaza.
Exterior construction has been progressing above Sixth Avenue in recent months, so
