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Alas, poor Hamlet has bit the dust, Mohammed has taken leave of The Wyndham and Mimi Russell has abandoned the Stanhope.
What each of these individuals share (or has shared) is a role in New York's burgeoning hotel industry. And that, not so coincidentally, is the subject of today's essay: Manhattan's small, friendly hotels. Some are very trendy. And some are not trendy at all. Just homey.
I'll return to Hamlet, Mohammed and Mimi, but first our survey of New York's little hotels. In a word, it has been a one-man treadmill test, hoofing it over a course that covered ground from the theater district to the Upper East Side. What with more than 57,000 hotel rooms spread across Manhattan, it goes without saying that one poor, foot-weary wretch, during a week of sleuthing, couldn't possibly peer into each and every bedroom, bathroom or bar. Or even a fraction thereof.
As a result, what we've come up with is a selection of hotels that, to repeat, represent both the fashionable and the traditional. Some are affordable, others are in the $200-and-up range that seem more suited to the expense-account crowd. In other words, guests with plastic to spare. Taxes are extra-and they're hefty: a 13.25% New York state tax, a 5% New York City tax and (who dreamed up this one?) a $2 occupancy tax.
Among hoteliers is Ian Schrager, the one-time operator of Manhattan's Studio 54 disco who now holds forth at Morgans, the chic little mid-Manhattan hotel that attracts pop stars, rockersand other trendy types with rooms (small though they be) that feature window seats for snugglers, loads of black and white tile and stainless-steel sinks like those found on a 747 jumbo jet. The fact is, Morgans took off like a jet shortly after its opening, and it has been flying high ever since.
Schrager insists that Morgans is "the American version of a small European hotel." Possibly, but I have a difficult time comparing it with the little St. Louis in Paris or the Scalinata di Spagna in Rome. The lobby is somber, as are the halls. But the combination works. What with 24-hour room service, valets, a concierge, a cassette and video library, telephones in the baths, refrigerators and...