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Alternative Stays in New York
A new breed of accommodation offers the best of hotels and apartments
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| Room in Soho Loft |
| Courtesy of Albert Delamour |
My flight is booked, I’ve researched the current “it” places to brunch, and the Barney’s floor plan has been committed to memory. All that’s left to take care of is where exactly I should lay my hat. With New York’s range including boutique Village digs and all-star Midtown pads, the problem certainly isn’t a lack of options. Yet even though room service is a delicious indulgence, it is possible to tire of hotels—and tire of them I have. For my umpteenth Big Apple sojourn, I’m after something special. It’s gotta have charm, it’s gotta have character and, if Mr. Amex and I are to have anywhere near as much fun as we deserve, it’s gotta be on the right side of $175 per night.
I fix on the idea of an apartment—not something with a gym in the basement or daily maid service, but a genuine New York abode. Having heard a few Craigslist horror stories, I seek the aid of Affordable New York City, an agency whose 120 properties have all been thoroughly vetted by founder Susan Freschel. Finding mine is easy: I provide my budget, my preferred area and a few other particulars, and soon I’m scrolling through the list of appealing dwellings that has leapt into my inbox. With each one carefully described and accompanied by pictures, I quickly nominate the place that, for eight days and nights, I’ll be calling home.
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1871 House |
Courtesy of Lia Raum
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Two months later, my “landlady” is leading me along a corridor lined with eclectic works by the artists who live behind its doors. At its end is her wood-floored, whitewashed, 600ft2 studio, complete with a 22ft-high ceiling and enormous skylight. The apartment’s five windows artistically frame scenes of zigzagging fire escapes and city lights, the kitchen is typically Lilliputian, and the ancient radiator noisily clunks to life at 5am. This is city living, New York style.
According to Freschel, the subletting option attracts three types of New York visitors: those who simply don’t like hotels; those who, like me, want to feel like they’re “living” in the city; and those whose budget doesn’t stretch to a decent alternative. One thing that binds all three types: they want to be masters of their own ship. Independence is key.
Communal breakfasts and polite chit-chat with homeowners make the term “bed and breakfast” seem like the antithesis of autonomy. But northeast from my apartment, at 1871 House on East 62nd Street, autonomy is exactly what I find. Named for the year in which it was built, this elegant brownstone sits in the Upper East Side’s Historic District and has been lovingly restored and decorated with bags of New England charm by its owners Lia and Warren Raum.
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| Apartment Sublet |
| Courtesy of Adrian Johnson |
Strictly speaking, it’s hard to classify what’s on offer here. With just seven rooms, it could be called a small hotel. Yet a hotel wouldn’t give out keys to the front door, equip each room with a small kitchen and working fireplace, or leave a stack of paperbacks on the nightstand. Similarly, to call it a guesthouse is misleading, since the owners and managers remain largely unseen (though not unreachable).
And as breakfast isn’t included, the term “bed and breakfast” doesn’t quite cut it here either.
But, calling itself an “urban country inn,” 1871 House does in fact loosely adopt the term B&B, while also distancing itself from the conventions of the category with the prefix “New York City-style.” This is firstly because, as
a common characteristic of B&Bs, the innkeepers live onsite (in this case in the two-story house in the garden). Secondly, it’s because breakfast is available to guests—only it’s in the manner that New Yorkers like to take it: eat-in or to-go at a whole host of friendly neighborhood places.
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Away from the leafy sidewalks of the Upper East Side and down in the cobbled streets of Soho is “Room in Soho Loft,” another such B&B. When Albert, a French photographer, and his Canadian art dealer partner, Michele, moved to New York in 1999, they used their 2,500ft2, fifth-floor loft as both a residence and an exhibition space. Their experiments with the notion of “living with art” proved so successful that they later acquired the seventh floor to use solely as a gallery. Putting their research to the ultimate test, the couple eventually decided to share their own lives with paying guests in their fifth-floor apartment—before building a further two bedrooms into the upstairs space.
With new pieces being hung on the walls every week, it’s the mutability of the spaces that makes them special. Albert says they tend to attract like-minded guests: “We recently welcomed a museum curator from the Netherlands and the director of a Belgian theater festival. We feel our place is unique because our guests momentarily become insiders in our lives.” If the couple seems proud of being able to offer all this to the city’s visitors, they have every right to be. After all, isn’t experiencing a Soho loft everyone’s Big Apple dream?
As much as I loved my bohemian sanctuary, now that the possibilities of an Upper East Side brownstone or Soho loft have presented themselves, I imagine my next visit will involve several anxious hours of sifting through the many new options I have for a place to call home. Because, for a city that supposedly never sleeps, there certainly are a lot of places in which to do so.
JAL (www.jal.co.jp/en) and Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com) are just two of the airlines that fly from Tokyo Narita to
New York’s JFK Airport. Taxis from the airport to any location on Manhattan cost a flat $45 (¥5,300), excluding bridge and tunnel tolls. For sublets, contact Affordable New York City (www.affordablenewyorkcity.com). Rates for a studio are $150-$175 (¥17,600-¥20,550) per night and the minimum stay is four nights. 1871 House (130 East 62nd St, www.1871house.com, tel: 212-756-8823) has five studios and two full-floor suites, and a minimum four-night stay is usually required. Rates range from $139-$385 (¥16,300-¥45,200) per night. Room in Soho Loft (153 Lafayette St, www.bedandbreakfast.com/new-york-manhattan-roominsoholoft.html, tel: 646-613-1143) costs $150-$220 (¥17,600-¥25,800) per night. Be aware, especially if booking the 7th floor, that there is no elevator in the building. For transport, a $24 (¥2,800), seven-day Metrocard provides unlimited subway and bus journeys. For all things New York, visit www.nycvisit.com.
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HIS Experience Japan is offering tourists and residents of Japan a chance to experience “real Japanese culture,” in addition to the usual tourist spots. The company has nearly a dozen programs that allow participants to learn directly from professionals. Activities include sushi-making, yuzen silk-dying, calligraphy, karate and ninja lessons, taiko drumming and lantern-making, among others. Guides who speak English, Chinese, Korean and Spanish are available, and reservations can be made online at www.j-experience.com. Further info is available in English by calling 03-5328-4030 or emailing info-en@j-experience.com.
From August 26 through September 13 (excluding September 7-9), Tokyo Dome Hotel is offering a late summer accommodation promotion, in which rooms will be discounted by up to 45 percent. During the period, the rate is ¥14,000 for a single room, ¥18,500 for a twin or double and ¥21,000 for a triple. Fifty rooms will be available per day. A variety of events are being held at Tokyo Dome City during this period, including the 78th Intercity Baseball Tournament (August 24-September 4) and the popular children’s program The Jukensentai Geki Ranger Show will be performing on stage at Sky Theater until September 2. For reservations, call 03-5805-2222 or visit www.tokyodome-hotels.co.jp. CB
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