Spotted: Sweet Deals at NYC’s Hotel Giraffe

March 11, 2011
The suite view on Park Avenue

A great location and luxurious amenities are the hallmarks of one of Manhattan’s boutique hotels that may not be on your radar. Staying at the Hotel Giraffe puts you front and center for much less than you might expect to pay in the Park Avenue South neighborhood, just north of Gramercy Park between midtown and downtown.

The sophisticated setting fits in with the Eastside area’s Art Moderne style of architecture from the 1920s and 30s, and is very close to the 6-train and convenient to other subway lines. For business or leisure travelers, it’s an ideal situation.

Hotel Giraffe features lovely rooms and suites, many with balconies overlooking Park Avenue and you’ll find everything you need to make you feel right at home, including bathrooms with large marble countertops and stocked with all the necessities. Suites feature several closets, a bar, and even bestsellers on the bookshelves. And of course, Wi-Fi and high-speed DSL.

In the lobby, you’ll find a complimentary buffet breakfast every morning, and during happy hour from 5-8 p.m. wine and hors d’ouevres are served at no charge.

Every guest also receives passes to the nearby New York Sports Club, and bottled water and newspapers are included in the room fee.  There is not a restaurant on site, but room service is available from nearby restaurants, including Dos Caminos.

Hotel Giraffe is featuring several package deals, including the “Do Not Disturb,” perfect for a couples’ getaway. It includes a bottle of chilled Prosecco upon arrival, strawberries and whipped cream and in the morning, breakfast served in your room. You’ll also find the accoutrements for relaxation as part of the deal: massage oil, bubble bath, kissable body shimmer and a pink caviar body scrub.

After that, you’re ready for action, whether you decide to stay in or hit the town.

Rates for the pre-paid package start at $219 plus tax with a two-night minimum.

Hotel Giraffe is part of the HKHotel Group, which also runs three other boutique hotels in Manhattan: The Library Hotel, Hotel Elysee and the Casablanca Hotel Times Square. Check out www.hkhotels.com –and you will hardly be able to wait to check in.

Hotel Giraffe, 365 Park Avenue South at 26th St., New York City, (212) 685-7700, www.hotelgiraffe.com

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There Is Some Consideration for Guests Here

February 8, 2010

Patrons of the Writers Bar and Jaan restaurant at Raffles L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills get free valet parking and customers of the spa at the InterContinental in Century City also park gratis via valet, which TAR awards the best chill-while waiting-for-your-car spot at a hotel in LA, complete with couches, coffee tables, heat lamps and ashtrays. But don’t get too comfortable: they always seem to deliver the cars pronto. Jiminy!

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Martini Madness On Rodeo

February 4, 2010

With the price of a few rounds of “designer” martinis requiring a C-note these days, it’s hard to imagine five for less than $20. But that’s exactly the deal at the Luxe Hotel’s Bar 360 Monday-Friday, 5:30-7:30 pm: $3.60 drink specials include a fresh watermelon martini, or, shades of Sex and the City, a cool Cosmopolitan, both giving deeper meaning to “happy hour.” Small plates like fried green tomatoes and fresh burrata, lobster rolls and lamb lollipops add a little more joy to an after-work respite.
Luxe Hotel Bar 360, 360 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, 310.273-0300

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The Continental Touch

January 25, 2010

So, you’re looking for some quiet luxury, a bit off the beaten path, but still close in and a tad undiscovered. It’s no further than a stone’s throw from the heart of Century City. Not many people realize that InterContinental has taken over what was formerly the Park Hyatt and for those with really long memories, the JW Marriott property on the edge of the Fox lot. Now that the St. Regis has gone condo, this is the hideaway hotel in the ‘hood, close to CAA, ICM and the best shopping mall in LA. New executive chef Vincent Cachot is wowing diners with his Cal-French seasonal organic menus. We carnivorously recommend the Wagyu ribeye and the Black Angus tenderloin. And unlike many places, you can actually enjoy a conversation along with the fabulous food. The spa features completely private cabana treatment rooms, each equipped with a shower, Jacuzzi, locker, bathroom and treatment table for massages and facials. Tight on time? Try the Little of Everything, an express facial, massage and manicure (90 minutes, $175.)
InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, 2151 Avenue of the Stars, Century City 310.284-6500

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Topping Toppers: The Penthouse

January 12, 2010

Remember that kitschy Mexican dive Toppers, that place you took out-of-towners for a couple of cheap beers, marginal Margaritas and free nachos for happy hour? Those bad/sad memories will be forever altered as soon as you step into the gauzy, elegant yet beachy Penthouse atop the Huntley Hotel (designed by Thomas Schoos, of Koi and NY Tao renown.)  Open just over a month, the Penthouse is packing them in for happy hour, dinner and partying late into the evening with its white wood and black leather interior and killer skyscraper view of the entire Santa Monica Bay. Dinner reservations are a bit scarce on the weekends, so if you have to settle for simply appetizers, the ahi tuna, cheese plate and shrimp cocktail suffice quite nicely.
The Penthouse, 1111 2nd St., Santa Monica 310.393-8080

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Bon Relaxation

November 6, 2009

Remember when the Sofitel across from the BevCen was Ma Maison and stodgy/French, as opposed to its current hip/modern French? With last summer’s opening of Simon LA and Rande Gerber’s Stone Rose, those images were banished forever from the corner of La Cienega and Beverly.

Now it’s the spa’s turn for a complete makeover, and it’s gorge. Officially named LeSpa at Sofitel, it JUST opened its doors. Pampering aestheticians love using the Decléor  and Carita products for face and body, both lines from Paris. Book Julia Palmer for a mean mani/pedi that will last twice as long as you’re used to. She’s recovered from the days when she used to paint J. Lo’s digits on music video shoots at all hours, but if you’re lucky, she might tell you some war stories.

Spa Director Maureen Schumacher runs a sleek ship. The relaxation lounge is luxuriously tranquil, a place to kick back, have a heated-rock foot soak and drink some soothing tea before indulging in an intense hydrating facial or an aromatherapy massage. And why no other spa has ever thought of comfy black robes, I’ll never know.
LeSpa at Sofitel Los Angeles, 8555  Beverly Bl., LA, 310.228-6777, 8a—9p daily.

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Montage Beverly Hills: New Place For Old Money

January 15, 2009

Once TAR’s favorite open-air parking lot, the space between Canon and Beverly Drives has finally been transformed—after years of political wrangling between the neighbors, including hotel neighbors who didn’t want the competition and the city—into one of Beverly Hills’ premier places to stay. Managing director Ali Kasikci, formerly of the Pen, is making sure this new 8-story, 201-room luxury hotel becomes an icon of style and refinement, with its elegant furnishings and palette of colors evoking Southern California glamour of the 1920s and 30s. Already, Parq and Muse restaurants and the Lobby Lounge (which features traditional afternoon tea) are buzzing, after opening just in time for the holidays. The spa, with its co-ed mineral pool, is already becoming known as one of the best in town. Rack rates start at $495 and go up to $7,500 for one of the two 2,000 square-foot presidential suites. Barack and Michelle, your room is ready.

Montage Beverly Hills, 225 N. Canon Drive, BH (310) 860-7800

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