70Park NY, NY Back on Track
October 6, 2010
After my unsatisfying stay at Eventi, I decided it was back to 70Park on my most recent trip to NY. 70Park has a checkered past with me…sometimes just fine and other times not so much.
My trip up this time was wild. It was a rainy day, and there were ATC delays into NY. I got on my already late plane (at least I was upgraded) and was joined in first class by a very huge guy who sat across the aisle from me. Turns out he was a Washington Redskin named Jamal Brown (traded from the Saints). Did I mention that Jamal was huge?
We sat on the tarmac with a ground hold. During that time (maybe 15 minutes), one of the passengers who was also a Washington Redskin…first round draft pick Sean Taylor declared to the crew he had a “family emergency” and had to get off the plane. He seemed amused by the entire thing and was smirking when the pilot announced that we were returning to the gate so a passenger could disembark. The pilot informed the rest of us that we would have a major delay since we lost our slot. Up to three hours. Much groaning ensued.
Sean Taylor left the plane and was met by the police, airport executives, and airline operations types. Hope he wasn’t just yanking everyone’s chain because he thought he could!
Then the weird thing happened. Because the crew had observed Sean and Jamal talking, they asked Jamal to leave the plan as well. He calmly questioned why and was told he had to leave the plane or the police would come and remove him. Now this huge man (did I mention that Jamal is huge?), very calmly and rationally explained that he was talking to his teammate only because they were both Redskins. He pointed out that like the rest of us he was inconvenienced. The police did come (a tiny guy with a badge and a gun) and Jamal stepped off the plane. Ten minutes later, he was back on.
I salute Jamal on his calmness. As for Sean Taylor…it seems he needs to grow up.
Anyway, back to the hotel. We got in to NY 4 hours late and I checked into 70Park where I was greeted with a personal note and a very nice room (915). Here is a shot of the bathroom.
Probably the strangest part of the bathroom was the tub/shower combo. The tub was a huge whirpool thing. Even with an oversized shower head there was enough room for lots of people in the shower. I do like interesting bathrooms, and this one is by far the most interesting one in 70Park that I have found so far.
The 70Park glass-tile design was a standard feature in this bathroom. No plastic.
I felt so good about my visit that I will promote 70Park back up to a five showerheads rating.
Now for another tasty drink morsel. I went down to the Flatiron district with a work friend and we visited theFlatiron Lounge for some world class mixology. Though they had no Amer Picon, they did have a tasty selection of beverages for us to sample. We slipped next door to a Tapas place for dinner and then came back for a nightcap. We called for Seelbach’s and they made us some with no delay.
Seelbach Cocktail
In the bottom of a champagne flute mix
1 oz bourbon (woodford reserve or something cask strength)
0.5 oz Cointreau
7 dashes (!) Peychauds
7 dashes (!) Angustora
mix with a silver spoon and top with Veuve Cliquot
After a Seelbach we were sidetracked on our way back uptown with a quick trip to the equally delightful Raines Law Room for a Lion’s Tail. Real mixology in the city. Life is good.
Eventi NY, NY = non-event
September 15, 2010
The Kimpton chain has a new hotel in New York City called Eventi. The hotel is not quite finished being built—no bar yet, a half-constructed restaurant, and a severely undertrained staff. But somehow they have generated a bit of buzz?! Kimpton’s marketing machine is outstripping their actual operational performance. That’s a bad sign for a growing chain.
I decided to try Eventi to see if I could avoid the Marriottization of 70Park. Nope.
My “executive suite” is over-named and under-sized. Here’s a shot of the non-bed room of the suite (which must me less than ten feet wide). Calling this room a suite is pushing it even by NY standards.
I was not pleased with the room, and the staff didn’t really care. In fact, it’s not clear that they are even paying attention to their Kimpton in-touch data at all. None of my preferences were acknowledged, for example…not even a morning paper.
There is good news about the Eventi on the shower front. My all marble bathroom was of higher quality than the “suite” and is sizable for NY. There’s a little cubicle for the toilet. It’s a mystery why a marble toilet cubicle gets a plastic toilet seat, but it does, and it’s a common enough phenomenon out there in hotel land.
The shower itself is very nice with two showerheads in its design (one a ceiling soaker), but not quite enough water pressure to work properly. Nevertheless, it’s a nice shower with a little bench and an open feeling.
As always it is difficult to capture the bathroom in bits with a camera.
In final analysis, the Eventi will not make my list of top hotels in its current state even if it is around the corner from the corporate apartment. Three showerheads and a non-event for this place.
70Park NY, NY is slipping
August 6, 2010
I think I may have been spoiled by “no fly July” this year. After a relaxing month with no airplanes or airports, August arrived. Trip number one was a quick flit up to NY city. The airport was chock full of boy scouts returning home from the National Jamboree—thousands of them. Even security in the top secret “Dulles Diamond” checkin by baggage claim 7 took 20 minutes. Welcome back to air travel!
The flight was uneventful as was the ride into town. Unfortunately, I arrived in the city way early. 70Park, which for a time was my default NY hotel was busy. I think the tourists have discovered it. I was not able to check in any earlier than 1:30. I did take advantage of the Kimpton Intouch free wifi deal to refactor my plans for the day in the lobby.
When I returned to the hotel and got my bags out of hock, I was assigned a tiny little room on the 9th floor. 70Park is looking a little weather beaten to me these days. The rooms are nicely appointed, but they do differ radically.
As always, small bathrooms are tough to capture in bits. Here is a “mirror” picture of the shower. I admit this was staged. I opened the shower curtain so you can see the shower head. The best part of this shower from the perspective of this blog is that it is built to look plastic—but it isn’t. The small glass tiles set like bricks are actually small glass tiles. Amusing.
Here is a more direct picture of the shower. The shower head is very nice as are the controls.
Anyway, from a pure shower perspective, 70Park is doing OK. Yet I am unsatisfied enough with my generic experience this trip to go back to the Morgans next time I am due in the city (either that or stay at the company apartment). Maybe it was all the tourists that are throwing me off my game? Or maybe the rock in the middle of my river where official “no fly July” meetings happen has me spoiled.
70Park slips to three showerheads from four. A nice little boutique for sure, but beginning to feel more and more like a Marriott than it should.
70 Park Hotel, NY, NY
April 28, 2010
Uh oh, seems like I have been sucked in by yet another loyalty program. First it was United, and now it’s the Kimpton chain! I am a big fan of Kimptons, it’s true, but when in NY I have stayed for years at the Morgan’s Hotel. Then came the Kimpton invasion. Now my default hotel appears to be 70 Park.
I discovered last night that my camera battery is dead (one of the hazards of storing it in my computer bag where it sometimes gets jiggled and turns on), so no pictures of the funky bathroom in this room. Like in other Kimpton’s my mileage has varied at 70 Park, especially when the UN is in session. Seems that foreign dignitaries like this hotel too.
This time I have a crazily shaped room with a long L-shaped bathroom that has a miniature non-plastic shower. It’s a one night trip to NY this go ’round, so it’ll do.
70 Park earns an abbreviated review and 4 showerheads of 5.
No fly December?!
December 17, 2009
OK. I’m not supposed to fly in December, but I did do a day trip to NY today. That means no showers, but here is a picture taken from our 53rd floor office in midtown.
On the air travel front, ancient CRJ’s suck. I would much prefer to fly Embrear regional jets. Those Brazilains make a mean new jet.
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