"Eccentric boutique hotel that does cheap-chic with style in midtown Manhattan, complete with a lobby pool and platform beds."
Entering the Hotel Grace in New York for the first time, you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a sweet shop. That’s because the front desk of this budget boutique hotel is dressed in the guise of - and actually doubles as - a kiosk, selling magazines, cigarettes and sodas. Opened in 2005 by Andre Balazs - whose portfolio includes Chateau Marmont and the Standard hotels in Los Angeles - Hotel Grace is not your typical Times Square bolthole by any measure.
The facilities
Falling somewhere in between an upscale hostel and a waggish, few-frills boutique hotel property, Hotel Grace boasts some of the most inexpensive rooms in midtown Manhattan. Yet its rates belie its stylish signature.
Sure, there’s no restaurant (take-away menus are provided), no room service and no business centre. Instead, you are treated to a Scandinavian-style lobby bar with a chic indoor pool as its centrepiece in this budget boutique hotel. With reduced rates offered to under-25s, a buzzing bar scene and a crossroads-of-the-world location, this is hardly the place to come and get away.
The rooms
Unlike far too many boutique hotels, Hotel Grace doesn’t short-change on the private spaces. Each of the 140 guest rooms - remodelled from a former office block - has its own size and shape. The standards are 200-240 square feet, though some of the deluxe rooms at this boutique hotel are 270 square feet and tend to feel more like junior suites. The three junior suites themselves are simply more of the same on a slightly bigger scale.
Instead of endless toiletries, turndown service and bath robes, Hotel Grace showcases modern-day comforts like plasma-screen TVs, secured WiFi access (you pick up your free password at check-in), and iHome radio-alarm clocks (bring your own iPod). Bathroom design is based on open flowing spaces at this budget boutique hotel, with toilet, wash and shower areas bleeding into one another. But the real spark of imagination is the leather platform beds and the well-soundproofed rooms.
Star rating:
Address: 125 West 45th Street, 10036 New York City, USA
Rooms | suites: 140
View rooms
Address: 125 West 45th Street, 10036 New York City, USA
Rooms | suites: 140
Booking info
Arrival:
Mon 8 Sep 2008
Departure: Tue 9 Sep 2008
No. adults: 2
Departure: Tue 9 Sep 2008
No. adults: 2
Check Availability
Who stays here
This hotel attracts a fabulous, young and chic clientele.
Come for
- The lobby with pool, bar and DJ
- Manhattan value-for-money - a rare thing indeed
- A young, buzzing bar scene
- Location, location, location
Not suitable for
- Conventional, all-round hotel services
- Poolside traditionalists
Children
There are large rooms available that can accommodate families but the hotel is ideal for older children as the beds are standard and platform type and no cots are offered. The hotel is happy to offer baby-sitting if the request is made in advance.
Eating in
There is no restaurant or room service, but there are plenty of places to order in what you need.
