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Hotel Review: 6 Columbus (New York, NY)

22 Saturday Aug 2009

Posted by route53 in Route 53 - Life is A Highway, Travels: The Route 53

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6 Columbus, central park, Columbus Circle, Hotel, Manhattan, midtown, New York, nyc, reviews, Thompson Hotels, Times Square

6 Columbus, a Thompson Hotel

6 Columbus Circle,  New York City, NY 10019 

 Reservations 877 6Columbus  |  T 212 204 3000  |  F 212 204 3030

http://www.sixcolumbus.com/index.php?page=6columbus
6 Columbus

6 Columbus

Cost: $$ ($150-$200)

Hotel Decor: 87 Hip Luxury with a chic Ikea 60’s  feel although not always the most functional of decor. Furniture is not of high quality.
Hotel Amenities: 83 There is a Rooftop members Lounge and the Blue Ribbon Bar and Sushi Grill is located in the lobby.  Blue Ribbon Restaurant is considered a top 100 restaurant in NYC.  Concierge is 24 Hours as it is necessary in NYC where you are always in need of something.  The City never sleeps!
Neighborhood Scene: 90 The streets are teeming with traffic all night long around Central Park, Columbus Circle and the Time Warner Center.  If the scene isn’t good in the hotel, head on over to the Hudson Hotel or walk a few blocks down to Times Square.
Miscellaneous: There is a Starbucks next door and another 24 Hour Starbucks two blocks away on 60th. Best Buy is on 60th as well for any electronic needs.  Need some clothing, the Time Warner Center across the street has all you need.
Overall Wow Factor: 85 the hotel is small and after a night or two the coolness factor wears off.  Hey, you aren’t here in NYC to hang out in your room.
The Black Bathroom

The Black Bathroom

6 Columbus, a Thompson Hotel, is located in midtown Manhattan just off of Columbus Circle.  It really is on 58th St. (between 8th and 9th, so don’t get confused.  It is conveniently located across from the Time Warner Center and is just across the street from the 59th and Columbus Circle Subway station and Central Park.  Other “within walking” destinations (5 blocks) include Carnegie Hall, Times Square, MOMA, Rockefeller Plaza, and the Lincoln Center.  The hotel has 88 rooms and suites with only 3 rooms per floor facing the street and three rooms facing the back.  My room #607, faced out the back looking into people’s apartments.

The Lobby

The Lobby

The Thompson Hotel chain specializes in boutique hotels with chic interior designs and 6 Columbus is no exception.  I took advantage of a special rate of $179/nt for a King Deluxe room after an upgrade through Quikbook.com.

The hotel has a small sushi restaurant (Blue Ribbon) in the lobby which also has a small seating area.  Check in was quick and very helpful.  The walls are a covered with a black fabric that resembles cowhide. In fact all the public walls are that way.  Along with a dark blue paint job, the public areas are fairly dark and during my 4-day stay I constantly had to search for the elevator buttons due to the dim lighting.  Additionally, the wireless internet ($10/nt) was a little slow as it was not able to download YouTube videos.

My room was fairly small.  They advertise pod rooms for a really cheap price, but I was told they were VERY small.  The room has a unique look to it with the centerpiece being a wall photo of a woman that I could not identify.  I tried to work at the desk and the issue was that all the plugs were covered so I had to unplug the lamp in order to plug in my laptop.  Traditional items missing from the room were an iron, an ironing board and a hair dryer.  All of these items were available from the front desk as needed though.  I was told that the hotel chain prefers to keep non-aesthetically pleasing items as well as hazards such as hot irons out of the room.  Once again using the iron in my small room was difficult even trying to find a Additionally, the room does not have a closet but rather a small modern armoire-like cabinet that would not fit a large suit bag or suitcase.

King Deluxe Room

King Deluxe Room

The bathroom was made of black tile and a glowing circular lit mirror and equipped with soaps and hair products from Kiehls (favorites of mine).  Like most boutique hotels the room also had an iHome which is useful for docking my iPod nano.  The only problem here was the my iHome was broken and my iPod did not play on this one.

The bed was extremely comfortable and I had no problem sleeping at night.  The room was aesthetically pleasing but overall a little uncomfortable and small for my own taste. My room did have a nice feel to it though although I wouldn’t recommend it for a long stay or for luxurious travel.

Trademark Thompson dark hallways

Trademark Thompson dark hallways

As I mentioned, the hotel is central to the Time Warner Shopping Center complex and the subway is only a 20 minute ride to Yankee Stadium.  Just a walk down the street will take you to the very sceney crowd at the Hudson Hotel where you can get your groove on to DJ music with a very good looking crowd aged 20-50, although I would venture to guess most of the 50 year old guys were with 20 year old women. For baseball purists I’d avoid the ESPN Zone in Times Square and head over to 59th St. (Central Park South) and check out Mickey Mantle’s Sports Bar where you can see more games at one time.  You can also head across to the famed FAO Schwartz toy store.

Small desk and closet

Small desk and closet

A special note: Going forward in my Travel Reviews you might notice a little fella.  His name is Woody.  Woody the penguin will be making guest appearances with me on my  travel adventures, both pleasure and business.  Much like the TV show Seinfeld where there was always a Superman figure, you will find Woody in a photo.  Sometimes he will be easy to find.  Sometimes he won’t.  Can you find him?  Woody is a product of Jen Goode, a Colorado based graphic artist.  Jen’s work can be found at JGoodeDesigns.com

The Chamberlain – Hollywood, CA

22 Sunday Feb 2009

Posted by route53 in Route 53 - Life is A Highway, Travels: The Route 53

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Tags

celebrities, hollywood, hotels, Los Angeles, pools, reviews, sunset strip, West hollywood

CHAMBERLAIN WEST HOLLYWOOD  
1000 Westmount Drive
West Hollywood, California 90069
Reservations 800 201 9652  |  T 310 657 7400  |  F 310 854 6744
www.chamberlainwesthollywood.com
Cost: $ /$$
Hotel Decor: 89 Very Hollywood chic, but not tacky.  Remodeled apartment building.
Hotel Amenities: 85 All rooms are studios with sunken living areas. There is a small bar/restaurant and beuatiful roof pool with sweeping views of Los Angeles
Neighborhood Scene: 90  Located between West Sunset and Santa Monica Blvds. If you are looking for nightlife and are into the club scene, this is a great neighborhood
Miscellaneous: Also convenient to the Beverly Center Mall (15 minute walk), theatres and plenty of restaurants 
Overall Wow Factor: 85 For me I just like the scene.  The hotel room is spacious and comfortable and the roof top pool at sunset on a warm night is a great urban setting.
 
The Chamberlain Hotel

The Chamberlain Hotel

 
The Chamberlain is a unique hotel in West Hollywood a few blocks down from trendy Sunset Strip. It is a converted apartment building and caters mostly to male travelers.  On several occasions I’ve met screenwriters and other entertainment executives looking for a quiet and economical hotel options. Be warned that prices can increase significantly during the holiday season.

 

Since my Southern California office is near this location it tends to be my home away from home.  I do enjoy the friendly service from Angel (yes, she is a struggling actress) who runs the morning breakfast area to the wonderful poolside service at night where I like to rest in one of the cabanas.  it makes me think of starlettes in their white 50s bikinis with big sunglasses and palms trees sipping tropical drinks. 
As this used to be an apartment building, each room is a studio apartment with a balcony and a gas fireplace.  The bathrooms are fairly tight (a couple I know that stayed there complained about the lack of room for two people), but overall there is ample room.  Interesting to note is that there is a beauty bar full of products but most of them are geared toward men which might speak more to the West Hollywood neighborhood .
 
Chamberlain King Bed

Chamberlain King Bed

The king bed option is luxurious and the bed sits in the upper half of the studio and you walk down a few steps down to the living area.  A flat screen television sits between the two levels.  the room also comes equipped with the standard iHome clock radio which I’m starting to see in every hotel so be sure to bring you Ipod nano along.  I personally do not like to put my Nano in the iHome as I don’t want to forget it when rushing out in the morning.
Roof Top At Dawn

Roof Top At Dawn

The studio is comfortable for me and makes me feel like it is a place that I could see myself living in if I were still a bachelor.  This is important to me as it helps me to get to sleep at night.  The brown and blue colors as well as the fabric covered walls bring a nice homey feel to each room which makes it feel less like a hotel.
 
Close by I recommend getting a little lunch at one of the outdoor cafes and do some people watching on Sunset.  If you aren’t from the area, it’ll just make you smile and shake your head.  It is just a good way of checking out Hollywood and being part of the scene.  You’ll know if there are famous people if you see lots of people with cameras snapping away.  Some good places to eat are Caffe Primo at 8538 W. Sunset, Le Petit Four at 8654 W. Sunset and Le Clafoutis at 8630 W. Sunset.

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