Fresh Finds Check out these new digs on your next trip to the Big Apple.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Despite a decline in business and leisure travel since 9/11, theManhattan hotel scene remains resilient and continues to grow. Ifyou'd like to put the "new" back into your hotel stayin New York City, try these brand-spanking-new properties at threedifferent price points:
Value: HamptonInn, Chelsea
This 144-room, 20-story high-rise hotel recently opened inManhattan's trendy Chelsea neighborhood on West 24th Street,about halfway between Midtown and Lower Manhattan. It combineshigh-tech design features with the amenities you may have come toenjoy at other Hampton Inns: free continental breakfast, free localcalls, in-room coffee makers and ironing boards, a fitness centerand free high-speed Internet access. In addition, you'll earnHilton HHonors points for your stay. Rates start at $160. (108 W.24th St.; 212-414-1000)
Boutique:Hotel Gansevoort, Meatpacking District
The new zinc-and-glass-clad, 13-floor HotelGansevoort opens this winter in the eclectic MeatpackingDistrict on Manhattan's Lower West Side. Surrounded bycutting-edge restaurants and boutiques housed in retrofitted meatwarehouses and storefronts, the hotel offers balconies and/or baywindows with views of the city or the Hudson River from most of its187 rooms. High-tech amenities include free Wi-Fi and plasma-screenTVs in each room. Rates start at $325. (18 Ninth Ave.;212-206-6700)
Luxury:Mandarin Oriental, Columbus Circle
The dramatic new Mandarin Oriental is perched on the top floorsof the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle-a brand-newtwin-tower, multipurpose complex on the southwest corner of CentralPark. The 251 guest rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows, threephones, high-definition plasma-screen TVs and marble bathroomsfeaturing soaking tubs with picture windows overlooking the parkand the city. Start saving now; rooms start at $595. (80 ColumbusCir.; 212-805-8800)
Christopher McGinnis, travel correspondent for CNNHeadline News, is author of The Unofficial BusinessTravelers' Pocket Guide.
