Louise Eaststays at the Ace Hotel in New York
HUNTING FOR a cheap hotel in New York is a dispiriting business. Even with the drop in room rates it’s hard to find anything for less than $250 (€175) a night in downtown Manhattan.
I was beginning to believe that if, as Frank Sinatra would have me believe, New York is the city that never sleeps, it’s only because it can’t afford a room when I chanced on two websites, hotelchatter.com and newyorkology.com.
Both contain lots of industry gossip about as-yet-unopened hotels offering deals to kick-start business, which led me to the Ace Hotel, on 29th Street and Broadway.
In many ways the Ace is similar to other quirky design hotels: a huge lobby full of oversized wing chairs and a cabinet full of taxidermy, a reception staff who look like the cast of Mad Menand bathroom fittings you want to disconnect from the mains and pop in your suitcase.
What sets the Ace apart is that it offers rooms across the spectrum, from a 65sq m loft with Smeg fridge to a simple bunk room with en-suite bath. This cost an unbelievable $99 (€70) when I booked, and although it has since gone up to $149 (€105), that’s still quite a deal for a double room with bath in lower Manhattan.
Still and all: bunk beds? The last time I spent any length of time in one was at Irish college, when, I seem to remember, it was considered vital to score the top bunk.
Tactics commenced as soon as my friend Catherine and I were shown to the room. Cunningly, I offered her the top bunk. She countered by insisting I have it. I parried. She deflected. Finally, by sneakily introducing Catherine’s vertigo, I won the battle, only to lie awake later, jet-lagged, with no bedside light or easily accessible water glass, wondering whether I’d lost the war.
There’s something of the college dorm to the Ace, albeit a dorm occupied by the cool guy who plays bass in an indie band and has a very wealthy grandfather. Walls, carpet and doors are all black, and the blankets on the bed are a grey-on-grey plaid. It’s not quite as gloomy as it sounds, but it is a bat cave rather than an eyrie.
Continuing the chic-dorm- room theme, there are instant noodles in the fridge (which is in a roadie’s flight case), a hooded bathrobe of cosy grey jersey in the bathroom and even little notes, like the ones your flatmate used to leave you, only nicer. “You look nice in that,” proclaim the wooden clothes hangers. “Everything is going to be alright,” insists the key card.
We needed that bit of wisdom when we returned to our room after a night out in the East Village to find that the faulty air-con unit we’d reported to the front desk several hours earlier was still blasting out cold air. “Oh dear,” said Graeme, the nice man on reception. “We’re only open three weeks. Things are still . . . settling.”
Shortly afterwards he arrived up with an armful of towels that he proposed to drape over the unit. Wordlessly, Catherine and I adopted good-cop and bad-cop roles. “Grand,” said Catherine, who was dying to get into bed. “Towels, Graeme?” I growled over the furious howl. “Towels?”
In the end Graeme needed no persuading. The first towel shot off the unit as if propelled by a hair-metal band’s wind machine. “Woah, did you see that?” shouted Graeme.
Shortly thereafter we were transferred to a new room, with a minimum of fuss, and slept well.
Neither the Stumptown cafe nor the Breslin restaurant (from the owners of the chic Spotted Pig gastropub) was yet open, so the Ace was offering a complimentary breakfast of coffee, OJ and croissants.
The Ace is a definite contender when it comes to Manhattan accommodation. It’s four blocks from the Empire State Building; Chelsea and Greenwich Village are walking distance; and should you wish to buy wholesale quantities of gold mirror-finish leather there’s a suitable shop in the Garment District, just next door.
I’ve always said New York is a city to enjoy with friends rather than a lover, so while prices are still low, grab the best source of gossip you know, check he or she doesn’t mind hiking up a ladder to bed and get thee to the Ace.
WhereAce Hotel. 20 West 29th Street, New York, 00-1-212-6792222, acehotel.com/newyork.
WhatFunky boutique hotel with rooms at non-boutique prices.
Rooms258.
Best ratesBunk room with bath from $149 (€105).
Restaurants and barsThe Breslin lobby bar is already a Manhattan hot spot. Restaurant and cafe opening soon; until then, room service from local restaurants and delis.
Child-friendlinessBunk rooms could be perfect for kids; parents can opt for a double next door; chalkboard walls in rooms; board games and Wii console available on request.
AccessSome rooms wheelchair-accessible; good lift access.
AmenitiesFree Wi-Fi; kettle in room; turntables and decks in all super deluxe rooms; replacement guitar strings available on request.