Hotels Across The Hudson Heat Up Big Apple Competition

<B>Hotels Across The Hudson Heat Up Big Apple Competition</B>

By Robert Selwitz

Business travelers looking for a well-sited hotel room when Manhattan's inns are completely filled now can look westward for an expanding list of lodging options. Just across the Hudson River, along New Jersey's waterfront--particularly in Jersey City, Weehawken and soon in Hoboken--rooms are coming online in hotels located just steps from the Port Authority Trans Hudson trains (PATH) and/or ferries to midtown Manhattan.

Currently, Jersey City has the most lodging to offer business travelers. A 199-suite Doubletree with midweek rates starting at $179 ($149 on weekends) offers a health and fitness center and 3,500 square feet of meeting space. Furthermore, the less-than-two-year-old property is a block from the Exchange Place PATH station where, for a dollar, you can board trains that zip under the Hudson to Two World Trade Center in less than five minutes. Also within walking distance, there's the New York Waterway, on which a $2 ticket ferries passengers across the river and docks at the Javits Center. Once back on land, there are free bus connections that link the Javits with destinations throughout midtown. New York Waterway also runs vessels connecting Jersey City with New York's financial district.

And there's more to come, according to Daniel H. Frohwrith, director of real estate for the Jersey City Economic Development Corp.: A new Courtyard by Marriott will make its debut in Jersey City in May; a new Candlewood Suites is scheduled to open in September and work has commenced on a new Hyatt that is set to open in three years.

Also on the drawing board are Jersey City stops on a new light rail system (see story, page 32) connecting Newark Airport, Newark and Hoboken. Frohwrith urged business travelers to "forget you're in another state. The fact is that from Jersey City, you're a much shorter ride from Manhattan's financial district or midtown than anywhere in Westchester, Long Island or often, even New York's East Side," he said. "Also, room rates tend to be somewhat lower, and you usually end up with better accommodations for your lodging dollars than in Manhattan."

Asked what's driving these developments, Gil Medina, secretary of commerce for the state of New Jersey, said, "The Hudson waterfront is very much integrated into the economy and transportation system of Manhattan. Yet, rates for businesspersons in New Jersey are much less than in Manhattan. And if you get a riverside room, you've got a view that beats anything across the river!"

Medina said the hotel developments are not targeting visitors to New York. Rather, its catering to present and future occupants of office towers arising in Jersey City. Currently, he said, there are 8 million square feet of office space in Jersey City, with another million square feet coming online within the next five years. "Increasingly, inbound business travelers have appointments on both sides of the Hudson," he noted. "That's particularly the case in the pharmaceutical area, and New Jersey is home to 20 of the world's largest firms, which have either their global or North American research or production facilities here. The fact is, the economies of northern New Jersey and Manhattan have become increasingly integrated. I'm confident these linkages between businesses on both sides of the river will only continue to grow."

Other viable lodging sites on the Jersey waterfront include a 347-unit Sheraton Suites in Weehawken and a 300-room, yet-to-be-flagged Hoboken property that's now arising.

Of course, there are those who question the longevity of these developments. For example, Tom Dougherty, vice president of HVS International, wonders what will happen to the New Jersey hotels when the spate of new Big Apple properties open their doors. According to HVS, some 8,000 new New York City hotel rooms are expected to open within the next four years. And among Manhattan's most important recent lodging news was the debut of the 144-room Regent Wall Street.

<B>Regent Upscaling The Wall</B>

Instantly joining the elite corps of luxury, top-drawer hotels, the Regent is scaled for fiscal movers and shakers with serious money deals on their minds. Steps from the New York Stock Exchange, the domed and columned property takes full advantage of its landmark setting. Rising above a 12,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, the spacious and high-ceilinged accommodations feature a vast array of upscale amenities, including marble bathrooms with a separate shower and soaking tub for two, in-room safe, cable television with video on command and a DVD and CD player. Also on hand are a personal fax machine/copier and a two-line speaker telephone with voicemail. Also debuting shortly will be a Regent Spa, plus a 1,600-ft. health club.

Dating to 1842, the 55 Wall Street structure housing the Regent has served as the New York Merchant's Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, New York Customs House and the headquarters for First National City Bank, now Citicorps. Through March 31, introductory per-night rates of $425 per room and $525 per suite are available. Subsequently, rates start at $540, climbing to $1,600 for a grand deluxe loft suite.

March also marks the opening of the TriBeCa Grand, featuring 210 rooms at 32 White Street at the foot of Sixth Avenue. This eight-story hotel, a sister property to the SoHo Grand Hotel, is being touted as this trendy sector's first major property. With strong appeal to art and entertainment decision makers, it will feature a business and fitness center, and a 98-seat hall for film screenings as well as meetings and lectures. Rates range from $399 to $549. Amenities include high-speed Internet access, Bose Wave radio/CD player, a video and CD library, multi-function fax/printer/copier and complimentary local faxes and phone calls. The rooms feature rounded oblong bathrooms, with built-in television, telephone and an anti-fog mirror.

Another new lodging entry is the 12-story, 73-room Hotel Giraffe at Park Avenue South and 26th Street. This boutique property features 10-ft.-high ceilings, red geranium-bedecked balconies, brushed steel light fixtures, remote electronically controlled blackout shades and complimentary continental breakfast. The Giraffe also encourages "corporate sharing" inasmuch as each room also features two separate eight-ft. granite desktop surfaces.