New Yorker Hotel: Good Rates, Bad Timing
AP, USA TODAY, 2/23/2009
The New Yorker Hotel was built in 1929 as the stock market crashed. It opened its doors Jan. 2, 1930 as the Great Depression got underway.
Now the Art Deco-style hotel has completed a massive 18-month-long $70 million renovation — just in time for another major economic downturn.
Regardless of the lousy timing, the hotel has a couple things going for it: Rates, views and location.
Starting rates are just $149 per room (some online booking sites have even lower rates). Recent reviews on TripAdvisor note that many rooms are very small, but typically so for non-luxury Manhattan hotels. (Larger suites are available at higher rates.) Wi-Fi service is free.
Situated at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, the hotel's location can't be beat. It was built as a "railroad" hotel, and remains convenient for travelers using Amtrak. The A, C and E subway station is also right downstairs, offering an easy train link to Kennedy Airport and fast access to the rest of the city.
Times Square is a 15-minute walk, Macy's is down the street, the Jacob Javits Convention Center is a few blocks west, and the Empire State Building is just to the east. Views of the skyscraper, the East River and other Manhattan landmarks are part of the experience of staying in the hotel. All of its 912 rooms are located on the building's top 21 floors. (The first 18 floors house meeting space and commercial tenants.)
Renovations included restoration of the lobby's marble floor. The building's brightly lit red "NEW YORKER" sign, with letters that are six stories tall and illuminated with LED lighting, remains affixed to the top four floors of the building, where it can be seen from many vantage points around the city and as far away as New Jersey.