Marriott buys the W Union Square

Of possible local interest from the EVG inbox yesterday — Marriott International announced that it has purchased the 270-room W New York Union Square on Park Avenue South and 17th Street.

To the news release!

The company paid $206 million for W New York Union Square, with plans for a significant renovation. Marriott International will transform the existing hotel into a cutting-edge W Hotels showcase, advancing the company’s strategy to redefine and reinvigorate the brand in North America.

[T]he 20-story hotel features historic Beaux Arts architecture, panoramic views of Union Square’s namesake pedestrian plaza and lively park, and a “W Union Square” rooftop sign that stands out on the Downtown skyline. The property first opened its doors in 1911 as the headquarters of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, and in 2000 opened as W New York – Union Square.

The renovation seeks to unlock the property’s untapped potential with plans for a signature, socially-charged spa and an expanded restaurant on one of New York City’s most bustling street corners.

No word on what a "socially-charged spa" is at the moment.

The Marriott recently opened an outpost of its Moxy brand over on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

What Lower East Side hotels have special rates for some afternoon delight?

Saw this headline fly by on Twitter yesterday morning: "Afternoon sex, affairs can be part of life on the road." Naturally, I clicked on the link to the USA Today article... about a newish website called Dayuse-hotels.com that lets people book "boutique" hotel rooms in New York City for a few hours of afternoon romance. Or rest. Or Internet. Or whatever you'd need a hotel room for from, say, noon till 4 p.m.

Anyway, I went to the Dayuse site to see if any local hotels were in their database.

There are two – the Blue Moon on Orchard and Off Soho Suites on Rivington... Randomly picked Feb. 19 to see the rates...

It's $275 for three hours at the Blue Moon...

..or $119 for five hours at the Off Soho Suites...

If this is too much, then you could always opt for the Days Inn at JFK — just $79 for six hours.

[Updated] HomeAway mystery host allegedly keeps deposit for E. 13th Street 'stylish alcove studio'

Updated, Noon: The tenant from South Africa wrote in to say, "My husband reported him to Interpol and emailed him, after which he repaid my deposit."

We're used to hearing bad things about 'old futon as DIY hotel' website Airbnb but not so much with its lesser known competition HomeAway.

From the EV Grieve inbox we are getting word from a resident of South Africa that there is possibly an illegal hotel room operating at 528 E. 13th Street ... in which the host may have walked off with the traveler's $200 deposit. Says her email:

"Good morning. I wonder if you could help me in anyway possible. I think I've been scammed, trying to rent an apartment listed on airbnb.com. The address 528 East 13th street, and investigating a bit, I came across your blog that reported on the collapse of part of the building.

I've paid a $200 deposit, and have since not heard from 'Andy Melton.' This is the 2nd time I've been scammed in 14 months trying to book an apartment in NYC, after having rented several different ones over the last 8 years.

The listing on Homeaway, not AirBnb as she mistakenly writes, was placed by someone who says he's a Property Manager at CitiStyle NYC, a relatively new company with offices at 444 Park Avenue. Melton previously emailed her info on the listing:

Thank you very much for your inquiry. This spacious and stylish alcove studio on 528 East 13th in the East Village is available for $150 a night plus a $70 cleaning fee for your desired dates. The total would be $1120. We don’t charge taxes or any other fees.
If interested in booking please let me know and I will forward you the rental agreement with the booking check in details.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
All the best,
Andy Melton
CitiStyle NYC Property Manager

The HomeAway listing titled 'Stylish Alcove Studio in Great East Village Locale.' The interior shots of the apartment look too staged for a real person to be living there.

CitiStyle NYC has three listings — the East 13th Street unit and two in Midtown.

The area code listed for CitiStyle NYC is based in Northern Illinois...

This same number shows up on a Craigslist ad for a Wall Street "luxury rental" that someone named Blake is offering for "for $120 from February 14th to February 15th."

New York law prohibits stays of less than 30 days in all Class A buildings in the five boroughs. (We checked to see if 528 E. 13th St. was a Class A or B building, but there wasn't a Certificate of Occupancy of file with the DOB. See here.)

Anyway, perhaps someone at 528 E. 13th St. knows more about the apartment?

Thanks to new EV Grieve contributor Atomic for helping put together this post...

Updated July 6:
See response from Andy Melton of CitiStyle NYC in the comments...

Last time I stayed in a place where everyone could watch me go to the bathroom, I was in jail

"From the chic boutiques of London and Los Angeles to hot new hotels in more exotic locales like India and China, exposed bathrooms are a growing trend — whether in the form of transparent glass walls and shower stalls or bathtubs set in the middle of the bedroom like free-standing sculptures." (The New York Times)

[Photo of NYC's Standard hotel: Matthew Weinstein for The New York Times]

"Room service!"

The Times has a piece on how hoteliers often turn to movies for design ideas.

For his largest Manhattan property — the Bowery Hotel, in the East Village — Mr. MacPherson turned to an even more surprising source: Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980), a horror film that takes place in the Overlook, a fictional hotel in the Rocky Mountains. At the Bowery, “There’s a bit of the feeling of the Overlook — hopefully without the creepiness,” he said. “The idea is to create something that is old and grand and hopefully slightly bigger and more storied than its guests and owners.”

Mr. MacPherson relied on another Kubrick film, “A Clockwork Orange” (1971), when he chose elements for the Bowery’s bellman uniforms, which evoke the film’s violent hooligans.

Though the literal associations with the film might elude visitors, they will probably know that they are someplace visually distinctive, Mr. MacPherson said. “It’s very much as if you’re building a set and everyone becomes a character in the film you’re making there,” he said.

Hotel Plaza Athénée is closing for six months

Found ourselves at the swanky ol' Hotel Plaza Athénée on 64th Street near Madison Avenue on Christmas Eve. (Looong story while we were there.) Anyway, on the way out of the Bar Seine there, several staff members offered us holiday greetings and casually mentioned the hotel would be closed for the next six months. As if we were regulars there or something. Whaaa?




So one of the dapper gentlemen went on to say the hotel -- with 114 guestrooms and 35 suites (rooms start at $795 a night) -- would be closing as of Jan. 5 for renovations, including things like upgrading the electrical system. I asked him what he'd be doing during that time. Paraphrasing a bit here, but essentially: "I don't know. I guess I'll have to go on unemployment." He also said he recently sold his house. I'll spare you the rest of his rather sad plight. No mention of the closing on the hotel's Web site. (At least as of Dec. 27.)

In September 1984, the property, formerly called the Alrae, was completely renovated. It reopened as the Plaza Athénée.

P.S. Yes, I know.