While in New York I had a great time at the Ace Hotel. It was fascinating to stay there since we’d enjoyed ourselves so much at the Ace in Palm Springs and I was intrigued to see how their aesthetic would translate to a New York setting.
And what they’ve done is very clever. The free-wheeling hippie chick of Palm Springs has smartened herself up for New York and become a little more glam and a little more polished, while still being a bit rough and ready around the edges and retaining her creative rocker vibe.
The refurbishment of the 1904 midtown Hotel Breslin is not exactly to my taste, but it’s hugely clever and hugely comfortable, and, as you would expect, full of thoughtful and quirky touches which add greatly to the pleasure of the stay.
Our room featured tattoo art (and super comfortable beds) a guitar (of course, every hotel room should have a guitar) and a full-sized fridge, a working record-player and water bottles in the shape of gin bottles (I loved those).
Downstairs in the lobby everything was dark and a little seedy, with glamorous filmstar lights, polished vintage woods and antique ceiling lights, while the funky graffiti wallpaper echoed the tattoo art in the bedroom.
Using vintage artifacts and furniture everywhere, while retaining the worn mosaic floors and chipped plaster ceilings made everything seem a little louche and decadent, while being respectful of the building and its history.
And someone had had huge fun with the graphic design (and having the address written so prominently on the keycard was super useful when grabbing a cab late at night).
The food was good, the coffee was great, the bar was jumping and staff couldn’t have been more pleasant, helpful and friendly.
All in all a fun, comfortable and reasonably-priced place to stay in New York. I will be back.
I loved the vibe and service as well. I wish I had gotten a photo of the cabinet of taxidermied animals at the front desk and an opportunity to eat at the restaurant… but I guess I can just pop in next time I’m in the city. I was also thrilled they were pet friendly and there was no exorbitant additional charge for Chewie to spend the night with us.
Love the location – I prefer to stay near the theatre district when in NYC as I see so much theatre that I’d rather avoid having to find cabs at 7:30pm. I have stayed at the AKA on 44th and 6th a LOT but they just switched to one week minimums so that’s the end of that…
BTW, I think the tweeking of your site design is great!
@Michele Haha! The taxidermied animals freaked. me. out 🙂
I tried to get a picture though, but it was one of many that was blurry (the public rooms were SO dark). It’s great that they’re so pet friendly. It was one of the things I most noticed about the Palm Springs location.
@sandra. The location isn’t that amazing. There’s nothing much going on round there beyond the Empire State Building and Macy’s (as I found out when I lived round the corner on 33rd and 3rd). Having said which, it’s easy to get to almost anywhere you want to be and I think the lack of super trendy location is factored into the price, which is very reasonabe.
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