As the big hotel chains compete to woo an ever-discerning customer with themed rooms and zealous concierges, clued-up travellers are seeking out New York’s best-kept secret: authentic, urban-chic pads that are high on the cool quota and easy on the wallet. Hotel 17 (from £50 a night,
hotel17ny.com) in Manhattan is a case in point. Furnished in kitsch, shabby-chic décor (think mismatched floral wallpaper and 1970s wooden furniture), it has a film-noir allure with low-lit, narrow hallways and an old-fashioned, polished-wood lobby. Once called the Warhol factory in the 1990s, Woody Allen filmed Manhattan Murder Mystery here due to its throwback feel, and a pre-fame Madonna lived in the building.
Then there’s the slick, ultra-modern Pod hotel (from £45 a night, thepodhotel.com) in Midtown. Here, petite rooms have iPod docks, free WiFi and LCD-screen TVs all squeezed into the slick, streamlined space. Designer Vanessa Guilford drew inspiration from the space-saving solutions on board planes, trains and boats, to create an innovative approach to fuss-free functionality for this futuristic hotel.
Elsewhere, for louche glamour and a touch of faded rock-star appeal, nothing beats staying at the cult Chelsea Hotel (hotelchelsea.com). In the heart of Bohemian Chelsea, it has played host to Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Sid Vicious. With a reputation that owes as much to the bad behaviour of its former residents as it does to their creative outputs, each of the rooms at the Chelsea has a belle époque, hedonistic air. Plus, it’s a steal with rooms from £80 a night.
