Adrie Reinders

W Union Square, New York.
201 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Everyone that reads my blogs regularly, knows that I am a fan of the W hotels, albeit always with a critical eye. The W on Union Square in New York is one of the older W hotels I know. The positioning is fantastic, overlooking the square. Union Square is a lively, active place with seamingly endless activities such as a farmer’s market and is located walking distance from SoHo and Greenwich. From here you can hop on the undergrond to almost anywhere in the city.

The lounge at the W has been a popular place since its’ opening, a little on the small side to today’s standards, and (for me at least) too much noise, music and voices vying for attention.

The personnel at the W is always very friendly and helpful, they definitely do make you feel at home. The rooms are on the small side, but nicely done. The size is a problem that you will find through the W chain of hotels. Breakfast was great, expect the regular dishes but served with a twist.

Comfort: 7.5
Service: 8.5
Prize/Quality: 8

Indian Food, Mid Town NY

I was invited for lunch this past week in the Bombay Palace, 30 W 52nd Street, NY. The first impression was very positive, comfortable decor, lots of staff, large and spacious as often in NY. You can choose the a la carte or the lunch buffet, with a wide variety of typical Indian dishes. The disadvantage of a buffet, in my opinion, is always that the specific flavours of a dish get lots over time, similar to that of take-away food. But the food was definitely good and affordable. And I cannot claim to be an expert of Indian cuisine.

I had Chicken Tandoori, poppadums with mango chutney, steamed rice, some lamb massala and for desert, kher.

For anyone looking for a lunch full of flavour without having to wait a long time, this is a good place to know.

Food: 7
Comfort: 7.5
Service: 7
Price/Quality: 7.5

Bombay Palace Restaurant

www.bombay-palace.com
30 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6103
(212) 541-7777

Sushi with a Latin twist

I have been a frequent diner at SushiSamba – the very first time in Miami on Lincoln Avenue. For a long time that was one of my top favourites. Later on I discovered the New York version on 7th Avenue, very busy during summer particularly as they have a great roof terrace.
Yesterday I landed in New York coming straight in from London and just had a craving for good sushi, so I headed to SushiSamba on Park, near Union Square. It was quite quiet, maybe due to the slightly early hour and the record heat that day, 90F, everyone was still enjoying the late afternoon sun.

As a starter I had Miso soup – nicely salted and then the Californian roll and a Spicy Tuna with flakes. I have to say both were delicious.
Services was friendly and informal, decor OK – it was probably modern about 15 years ago.

Food: 7.5
Service: 7.5
Comfort: 7
Price/Quality: 7

SUSHISAMBA park

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(212) 475-9377

245 Park Ave S
New York, NY 10003 40.7381 -73.9878

Hilton Garden Inn
121 W 28th Street
New York, New York, USA 10001-6102
Tel: +1-212-564-2181 Fax: +1-212-564-6581

When I am travelling (which I do often!) I like staying in special, beautiful hotels – which is a bit of a challenge when you are running a start-up company! An even bigger challenge is finding a nice and affordable hotel in New York. Normally speaking the W Hotels are amongst my favourites but it is rare that I am able to negotiate a reasonable rate with the W in NY, even though I am a frequent guest – which is a problem with central reservation desks. Sometimes I just walk into the hotel of my choice and testmy negotiation skills at the front desk – you may find you can get a discount up to 50% of the list price, particularly at weekends where business hotels are concerned.

After my better-than-average experience at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mountainview, CA, I figured that there may even be one in Manhattan. And it turned out to be at least US$100 cheaper a night then the best W rate I could get at the time! I still had to fork out US$269/night, not exactly cheap but reasonable for Manhattan. The hotel is in “Chelsea” – a nice neighbourhood.

Room and bed were wonderful – breakfast standard buffet but good food and that’s it, no frills but all you need.

Comfort: 7.5
Service: 8
Price/Quality: 8.5

A Thai restaurant to remember

Kittichai, 60 Thompson, New York, NY

During my stay at the hotel 60 Thompson, I had lunch in Kittichai twice and dinner once. The restaurant is on the ground level of the hotel, with a beautiful decor of dark wood and yellow/orange silks. The centre of the restaurant is a large pond in which glass candleholders float on the gentle movement of the water, very peaceful and because of its changing movement a signature scene.

At lunch I ordered the Pad Thai, a classic dish which was very well prepared in this case, not too greasy and heavy. In the evening, I had the fishcakes – which were gorgeous and Curry Short Ribs – a new variation on one of my old time favourite dishes. All the dishes were tasty with delicate flavours, not too heavy and of a nice size. The restaurant is done in a comfortable way and the noise level is acceptable, contrary to many American restaurants where you can’t hear yourself think. The only downside here is the service, not quite up to par with the quality of the food, a bit haphazard and clumsy. Not trained professionals like they should be.

For the food and the location definitely worth a visit.

Food: 8.5
Service: 7
Comfort: 8
Price/Quality: 7

Definitely a place to invite your business contacts.

The Personal Touch

60 Thompson Hotel, 60 Thompson, 10012 New York, NY

This hotel was designed by Thomas O’Brien and opened its doors in early 2001. I stayed there a couple of times in its early days when it quickly became the place to be, and was frequented by many models. I thought then that the rooms and particularly the beds were of exceptionally high quality, only the service was a little amateuristic. I have to say, when I returned to 60 Thompson earlier this week, I noted that the service had become of a much higher standard and that the hotel clearly has found its place in the hotel scene in New York. It is a great location to have as a base when you visit New York, located right in the heart of every vibrant SoHo, whilst not so busy you can’t sleep.
I also noticed on this trip, that the prices for Hotels in New York have fallen to their 2003 levels, rather then the unbearably expensive rates hotels such as this maintained only a year ago – if you could even find a room. Lower rates are one of the small benefits in these times!

Comfort: 8
Service: 8.5
Price/Quality: 8.5

Definitely recommended if you want to have some fun in New York, smack bang in the middle of SoHo

W Hotel, The Court, 39th Street,  New York, NY

To me, the W Hotels are almost like a lifestyle hotel. About 6 years ago, I stayed in the W Court Hotel in New York once a month on average, W Hotels were a novelty then still. Each W is presented as a Hotel with a hip and trendy bar, the latter getting busy after 5 pm with people meeting up after work. Later in the evening, these bars become more of a club with loud music and different lighting.
When I was at the Court Hotel 6 years ago, it came across as a new experience, a novelty which appeared refreshing in the staid hotel world. I the meantime, as regular readers of this blog know, I have been to many other, and more modern W’s. So my return to the Court after all these years was a disappointment – the hotel really can do with an upgrade. It has clearly been overused, not to say abused and the rooms no longer what I have come to expect of a W. Small, old-fashioned type bathroom, small room which did not look very fresh – in short, it fell below my expectation. The breakfast room is fine, the service always excellent – even including some staff that had been there 6 years ago who still recognised me.

All-in-all though – I would not recommend the Court for your stay in New York

Comfort: 6
Service:  8
Price/Quality: 7

Comment: The Starwood Hotel group should not just continue to add W hotels at a high rate, but keep updating and refreshing the older hotels in the chain to ensure the overall experience stays at the highest possible level.

I had the pleasure of travelling again this past Saturday – travel is becoming an increasing stress factor in a business man’s life! First I flew from Chicago to New York with Jet blue. A few years ago when I first flew with Jet Blue, it was a new and refreshing experience, now it seems to have become just another low-cost airline. Nothing special but cheap.

Once in New York, I had to get from the Jet Blue terminal, Terminal 5, to Terminal 2 – where Delta would depart for Amsterdam. This was my first experience with the Air Train at JFK – just unbelievable! It has been heralded as a new way of connecting the terminals, and was only launched after many years of delays. The genius who designed this connection was either drunk when he did so, or hadn’t finished his schooling. From the luggage belt at terminal 5, you first have to walk at least 20 minutes to get to the nearest train stop – not much fun with two serious pieces of luggage. The trainstop is not right there in the terminal, like everywhere else in the world but way outside of it. Then you get to Terminal 2, and have to repeat the entire procedure including a walk outside across all sorts of lanes of traffic – great when it is raining cats and dogs! And all this because they seem to have skimped on the number of stops on the line and thus feel they need to drop passengers right BETWEEN terminal 2 and 3, and then have them walk the rest… clever stuff.

These days everything about air travel is grey, disinterested personnel on the ground, not much difference in the cabin, smaller aircraft then usual and a noticeably lower number of passenger. Service on board of our flight was fine – but again – the fun seems to have gone out of travelling. It was almost good to be back at Schiphol, at least an airport that’s bright and modern!!

W Hotel, 541 Lexington Avenue, New York

By now you’ll have probably figured out that I am a fan of W Hotels – I have visited many in the past years, see also my earlier blogs. I like the concept, modern, well kept interiors, vibrant atmosphere and personnel that has been exceptionally well trained. Many boutique hotels have personnel that is young and cool, but just don’t understand customer service and are mostly busy with themselves. This is clearly not the case at the W. After my arrival and during my stay, Liz Pantaleon took great care of me. The only exception to the pleasant service this time was the lady on duty on Sunday morning when I had to check out. She clearly did regard this as “duty” and was not in the mood to even smile.

The rooms at the Lexington Avenue W are a little smaller then I am used to from a W, but kitted out in the same way as at other W’s. The bed was as comfy as always, breakfast just as good and apart from the regular breakfast in the restaurant, this W has a bar where you can get a quick coffee and a bagel.

At night the Whiskey Bar is clearly the draw for people to have a quick drink after work.

All in all, a pleasant hotel at a reasonable rate, certainly by New York standards.

Comfort: 8
Service: 8.5
Price/Quality: 8.5