Recent New York Trip

I was living in midtown Manhattan for nearly 2 years and left in January to avoid the New York winter. Unfortunately I found myself back in Manhattan January 15th due to a project I was contracted to work on.

During my most recent stay I was living at various times in the Financial District, DUMBO, Cobble Hill and midtown Manhattan. I will briefly comment on each location.

My trip began with a stay at the Millenium hotel across from what was once the World Trade Center. It should be noted that nearly 10 years after the September 11th attacks the WTC is still not completed, in fact new construction has not even started. This is an embarassment. Regardless, my stay at the Hilton was uneventful except to say that such basics as internet access are not included. If I wanted to pay $15 a day with a $75 hold on my credit card I could have internet, but for my short stay I opted out. It just rubs me the wrong way that a Motel 8 or Quality Inn that charges less than $100 a night can provide free wireless inernet but a $250-$300 a night Hilton wants to charge me for what in this day and age should be considered a basic service. Needless to say, if it were my money paying for a hotel, the Hilton would not be on my short list.

After 3 nights at the Hilton I moved into a corporate apartment in DUMBO (which stands for down under the Manhattan bridge overpass) which was very nice. DUMBO is a great area and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great place that is literally minutes to Manhattan. There is an excellent French bakery in DUMBO which makes the best baquettes I have had the pleasure of consuming and I will be back.

From DUMBO I moved into a small unclean studio in Cobble Hill (note both DUMBO and Cobble Hill are in Brooklyn) which is also a cute place (though the apartment left a lot to be desired including internet access and TV, neither of which were turned on during my recent stay). Cobble Hill is also minutes away from Manhattan and Court street is a neat place. There is a small taco shop which is great (I belive its called Frees) and there is a more expensive Mexican restaurant several doors down (I believe its called Cantina or Mexicali) and I will say that the cheaper restaurant has much better food.

Finally, I moved to the Ace hotel in midtown Manhattan (29th and Broadway) which was the high point of my recent trip. The Ace hotel is one of three or four belonging to the same owner, based in Seattle I believe, though I think I read the owner is originally from Oregon. I would highly recommend the Ace. It is an eclectic hotel with guitars and turntables in each room, an excellent night club (open until 4am) in the lobby and a decent restaurant (I believe its called the Breslin) though I did not eat there because the food was a bit pricey. Across the street from the Ace is an awesome Pakistani restaurant called LaSani. If you like spicey food this place is a must see. The food is excellent and cheap. I will eat there again. BTW, the Ace hotel is around $150 a night and provides free inernet as opposed to the Hilton which is nearly double the rate and charges for internet. I will stay at the Ace again.

Anyway, that is it. I am returning home to South Florida in the morning so hopefully I will have time to blog a bit again. It has been a while since my last post.