Hotel Indigo's cheery rooms are comfortable and well-equipped, perfect for fans who drag their significant other along.
In just a few short weeks, the sixteen college basketball teams that make up the Big East conference will converge in New York City to duke it out for the title of champion. From March 9 through 13, Madison Square Garden will swell with fans, which means some 20,000 people are about to need hotel rooms — and here comes Oyster with some late-game heroics! Whether you’re a fan of Villanova or Syracuse, Notre Dame or Georgetown, the hotels below — all close to Madison Square Garden — are all solid choices. But each has its own special appeal, which we’ve detailed for you.
Read More »
The Las Vegas Hilton, home of the largest sports book in the world.
Now that Valentine’s Day is finally over, it’s time we get back to the important things. Like basketball. College basketball, to be more specific. March Madness, to be even more specific. Yes, you — and by “you,” I mean everyone who considers, as I do, the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament the most wonderful four days of every year — have exactly one month to book your (possibly annual) pilgrimage to Las Vegas to experience, first-hand, the only thing crazier than the brackets themselves: a Vegas sports book on the opening weekend of March Madness.
Those four days in mid-March now rival Super Bowl weekend as the busiest days of the year in Vegas; it’s a safe bet (the only safe bet, to be sure) that it’ll be nuts no matter where you watch the games. But just as all hotels are not created equal, so each casino — each sports book, in particular — offers its own advantages and drawbacks. Yet again, we are at your service.
Read More »
President’s Day is a week away, and this year, we’d like to take a moment to tip our hats to one of our favorite presidents: Woodrow Wilson, the rumored creator of the “Presidential Suite.” Apparently Wilson was a bit of a finicky traveler (we can relate), and on his trips away from Washington he required his hotel rooms to meet certain specifications: They had to have en-suite bathrooms (not a common treat back in 1913), walk-in closets, and south-facing orientations. Today’s VIP travelers have gotten, if anything, even more demanding, and so long as they’re willing to pay the price of a new Toyota each night for a suite that has everything, the top hotels will continue to deliver. Which begs the question – what exactly does one get for that kind of cash? To find out exactly how much bling you get for your buck, we’ve found five of the most drool-worthy presidential suites in the country, the cheapest of which starts at about $4,559 per night.
- Price: $4,559 – 10,000/night
- Square feet: 2,500 sq. ft.
- Notable features: Central park views, a 24-hour butler, a security room with video surveillance, a specially curated art collection
- Celebrity sightings at hotel: Angelina Jolie, Sheryl Crowe, Reggie Jackson
The Jumeirah Essex House Presidential Suite overlooks Central Park.
Read More »
Imagine puffing on a stogie in a tub like this...
Smokers, New York City is against you. A recent tax hike now puts a pack at about $11. It’s illegal to smoke in most bars and restaurants (and, if Mayor Bloomberg gets his way, beaches and public parks too.) About every 15 minutes or so, a profoundly disgusting TV ad airs, telling you why to quit in gory detail. If you’re looking to quit, a Big Apple visit might be the kick in the pants you need. But far be it from me to judge. If you’re just looking for a clean smoking room without the stale nicotine funk or the chemical sting of lemon freshener, we’ve got you covered.
Where to stay if you smoke…
- Clove cigarettes: Hotel Chelsea, Chelsea: art house cool for lawless smokers (congress recently outlawed the sale of these crackling babies)
- Lucky Strikes: The Franklin, Upper East Side: value-minded, with hints of Art Deco to help complete the WWII-era time-warp
Read More »
Area 31 at the Epic Hotel
As foodies flock to South Beach on February 25 for Food Network’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival, they’ll be excited to find a burgeoning restaurant scene awaiting them. As Frank Bruni recently wrote in the The New York Times, chefs are the new stars in Miami.
So while we’ve already told you where to stay in Miami for the festival, now it’s time to think about dinner reservations. Sure, not every must-try restaurant is in a hotel (our area of expertise), but you may be surprised to find how many of the city’s top eateries are. Two of the five spots Bruni recommended in detail were in popular (and hip!) hotels – Hakkasan in Fontainebleau and Area 31 in the Epic Hotel – and below we’ll expand on his list.
Here are the hotel restaurants that foodies shouldn’t miss while visiting Miami:
Read More »
The pool won't be open on Valentine's Day, but the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino knows how to throw a good party in any season.
Valentine’s Day is a day for candlelight dinners, heart-shaped chocolates, and bubble baths for two …for some people.
This year, we want to inspire single folks everywhere to forget about roses and reclaim February 14th as their own. After all, if couples get a weekend to celebrate love, then singles should get a weekend to celebrate the fun and freedom that is being single.
We propose — no pun intended — that you gather up your favorite single friends and get out of town for the weekend — no lovers allowed.
Whether you’re looking for a beach or a party, we’ve got a perfect singles getaway hotel for you. Below you’ll find our favorite picks for Miami, L.A., Las Vegas, and New York City, all of which still have availability for Valentine’s Day weekend.
Read More »
Free wine receptions are becoming increasingly popular; above, the lounge at Hotel Rex, a Joie de Vivre property in San Francisco.
It’s no secret that we at Oyster hate overpriced package deals, so-called resort fees, high Internet costs, and the myriad other ways hotels nickel-and-dime their guests. But now and then, instead of surprising us with extra costs, a hotel will surprise us in the best possible way – by giving us something free. These small touches can make your stay special, elevating a budget property to a true value, or a luxury property to one of the best of the best.
Check out this list of 11 great freebies and the hotels that give them away.
Read More »
by Sara on January 26, 2010
Interactive touch-screen at The Eliot Suite Hotel in Boston
MSNBC just ran a nice round-up of 10 tech-savvy hotels that go far beyond — yawn — flat-screen TVs and iPod docks. How about those nail polish dryers in the rooms at the Peninsula Tokyo? Cool. And New York’s Pod Hotel made the cut thanks to its free Wi-Fi and “Pod Blog,” a guests-only message board. Fair enough.
But we’ve come across a few cool hotel gadgets that didn’t make the list. Check ‘em out after the jump.
Read More »
The Shore Club has eclipsed the Mondrian as the better deal for a swanky South Beach party hotel this Super Bowl weekend.
It’s official: the Colts and Saints will face off in the Superbowl. And enthusiastic fans who held out to buy tickets — and book their hotel rooms — until they knew their team would make the big game are jumping to action. Today. There’s a good chance hotel rates are going to start to skyrocket, so if you’ve been dreaming of watching your team win, it’s decision time. Fortunately, almost all of our favorite Miami Super Bowl hotels still have availability; keep reading for their updated prices.
Read More »
Dixe Dam's Country Bar at the Hooters Casino Hotel, a cheap spring break destination in Las Vegas.
Earlier this week, we shared our insider tips on how to book a mind-blowing spring break trip on as little money as possible. But we know students are busy — with so much studying (ahem, pong playing) to do, who has time to research hotels? So we decided to do your homework for you, and rounded up our favorite spring destinations, from all-inclusive Caribbean party resorts to South Beach crash pads. Just don’t expect us to help with your term paper.
A quick note on prices: Those listed below are an average room rate for a stay on any of the next 30 days. But we selected these value hotels after spot-checking room rates in March.
Read More »
