Manhattan Hotels Undergo Guest, Group Refurbishments
<B>Manhattan Hotels Undergo Guest, Group Refurbishments</B>
By Robert Selwitz
Leading this month's New York City hotel news is the name change of the former Loews New York into the Metropolitan Hotel. Located at Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, it's a move that, according to director of sales Michael Lyman, is "much more fitting for what we offer. We are a metropolitan experience in one of the world's greatest metropolitan areas.
"We've started phase one of a $17 million upgrade that, to date, has included all public spaces, and the creation of our business class lounge and our penthouse meeting room," Lyman added. The Metropolitan offers 722 rooms, including 250 pegged as business class. These come complete with access to the business lounge, where complimentary breakfast and evening wine and appetizers are served.
Lyman said his property is a solid three-star choice with nightly rates in the low $200 range. That fills a vital gap inasmuch as "New York has plenty of four- and five-star properties," he said. "But today, many corporations are scaling back their T&E allowances, and even more are strongly imposing their preferred hotel requirements. Therefore, while top managers and executives still will be able to book the city's most luxurious choices, more and more mid-level business travelers are in need of a top quality, well-located, three-star hotel.
"With our blend of fine service and amenities, and a location within short walking distance of the United Nations, numerous Fortune 500 headquarters, and Fifth and Madison avenues shopping, the Metropolitan will become an even more popular choice in the months ahead," Lyman added.
In other lodging tidings, the 646-room Marriott East Side, at 525 Lexington Avenue, has completed a $25 million renovation. In addition to complete room re-dos, the property now features a rooftop Concierge Lounge and a new 1,320-sq.-ft. meeting room that has brought total function space volume to 15,000 square feet. More space should be added in the near future.
The Waldorf-Astoria has undertaken a $15 million renovation of its 18th floor, a project aimed at creating vast new upscale meeting space. When finished, the area will feature an Executive Meeting Center with 13 contiguous rooms offering city and river views. The legendary Starlight Roof also will be redone to showcase its original Art-Deco splendor.
The Waldorf also recently opened a new 1,150-sq.-ft. business center. It is fully digital and networked, and is geared to handle tasks ranging from basic photocopying to four-color electronic publishing, fax production and on-property distribution, plus the production of oversize posters.
The Peninsula now offers new complimentary stretch limousine service to transport guests from its Fifth Avenue and 55th Street location to the Broadway theatres. The service will operate on Friday and Saturday evenings only. The property also has added high-speed Internet access at no additional charge. Guests now can link to their piece of cyberspace via T1 lines. Rooms also come with adjacent dataports for laptops equipped with an Ethernet card and those that use a modem.
Additionally, The Millennium Hilton, which is located across from the World Trade Center complex, now offers high-speed Internet access in all of its 561 guest rooms and meeting rooms. Daily usage charges, for one or numerous log-ons, is $9.95.