noplasticshowers

As you know if you read this blog religiously (you do, right?!), back in the old days NPS favored the Kimpton hotel chain.  Once IHG bought Kimpton, the vibe transformed itself over a number of years from design-forward, hipster-esque to corporate hamsters from Kansas.  So we’re done with Kimpton.

That puts a small damper on problems like where to stay in NYC.  The prosthetic memory is no longer valid in a bunch of towns.  So what do we do?  We strike out on our own again and try new things.  1Hotel is one of these new things.

What’s the verdict?  Well, 1Hotel is certainly trying hard to be cool.  Kind of like that kid in high school who would sneakily tag along, hoping to be invited to the keg party.

For one night it will do.  And it’s in an interesting place (just south of the Park, near the Moma, and for our purposes this time, very close to the CORE Club.

We’re spoiled.  Yeah, we admit it.  So when we uber in from EWR to check in at 11, we kind of expect a room to be ready.  Like, the hotel has a computer, right?  But no.  No personal note.  Just friendly staff who will text you during your business lunch meeting to inform you that, yes, 90 minutes later your room is ready.  Whatever, dude.

So you can wait here in the lobby with the Spaniards.  Or you can get an espresso in the restaurant.  But freshen up in your room and unpack your set of stuff?  Nope.

We were eventually in room 904 (a Park view King on the corner of the building, but nowhere near high enough.  Ask explicitly for a high floor.

After lunch at Hatsuhana (great sushi) and some excellent street coffee, we did finally check in around 2:30.  There was time for a quick visit to the MoMA.

A corner room is nice, but this one is too low to really see the park.

The actual view.

This window box is a nice, if not a bit chilly, place to delete email.

Interesting but very small bathroom with a glass shower.  The shower is NPS approved.

The event, at CORE Club was very nice.  This is a great location for a private event.  We comfortably hosted about 60 people, though only 40 of them were served dinner.  The food was pretty not bad and the cocktail bar downstairs was quite good.

Real plants.

All in all the 1Hotel seems a bit overpriced for what it offers.  but it is NY and the room had enough space to actually exist once we got into it.

Four showerheads for 1Hotel by Central Park.