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Kim, back in Baltimore, planning the next getaway.
Last month I visited one of my favorite cities, New York. I try to get there at least twice a year. Though I’m not fond of crowds or the Times Square hubbub, the West Village has wrapped itself around my heart. It was the Jane Hotel that first introduced me to this lovely neighborhood several years ago.
The Jane Hotel, designed by William A. Boring and opened in 1908 as a hotel for sailors, is not only a beautiful and inexpensive place to stay but is rich with history. More than 100 survivors of the Titanic stayed at the hotel during the American Inquiry into the sinking of the ocean liner in 1912. The sailors felt right at home in the cabin-like rooms.
I stay in a “Captain’s” room usually on the third floor with a view of the Hudson River. The rooms are a fair size though not overly large, but you could swim in the bathtubs! The Jane also has a restaurant and a nightclub. Even if you’re not a “clubbier” it is worth going to see the Victorian architecture.
In the late 1980’s RuPaul lived in the “penthouse” apartment which is now the rooftop bar. Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Million Dollar Club were among the bands who performed there in the 1990’s.
As much as I love New York, I believe I really go just to stay at the Jane. Everything else is a bonus.
Readers, Join me next month to learn about all the fabulous places I visited when I was able to drag myself from the hotel. In the meantime, please share your favorite hotel experience.
What a wonderful place! Never heard of it. Thank you for adding to my bucket list.
You must go and once you do no other hotel will measure up!
I might have to visit that place, Kim. Thanks for the recommendation!
We should have a Wicked retreat there.
The Jane sounds fab.
My favorite hotel story is also in NYC, when I was newly married. My husband and I and my cousin and her husband did a trip together to New York. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and got to see a society wedding on Saturday night that is almost tied with Mardi Gras for best free entertainment. Best part of the trip? Our last day, we had time for Bloomingdale’s or Wall Street. We outvoted my husband’s cousin and went to Bloomingdale’s, but we noticed people gathering on street corners watching the Stock Exchange ticker. When we tried to get back to the hotel, it was blocked off because the Prime Minister of India had arrived and there was a Sikh protest outside the hotel. The NYC bomb squad was called out, so more fantastic free entertainment. We barely made to our train in time, but when we did, we discovered why people were watching the NYSE ticker: stock markets had crashed all over the world. It was Black Monday (1987) and we could have been on Wall Street when it happened, but instead, we went to Bloomie’s!
That is a good story!!
It looks amazing! I think the closest I’ve come is the little B&B we stayed at for our honeymoon up in Stratford, Ontario.
I have not been to Ontario, but it is on my list.
The most memorable hotel stay for me has to be the J. W. Marriott in Atlanta, GA in the 1990’s. We were there for a celebration of Emmett Kelly Jr. (world famous clown) 70th birthday. We all had suites (at equal to single room in cheaper motel due to volume of reservations) and ours was on the upper floor. We had a corner room with huge windows so we had a panoramic view of the city. This room was huge and very high end furnished. We had lush bathrobes, stocked mini bar, maid turned down the bed at night and even put mints on the pillows, and our suite even had a doorbell. All this may not seem like much to some, but for a country girl who at the time hadn’t stayed at many motels at all, well lets just say I took lots of photos of our room and talked about it for ages. Another fascinating thing is that you went out the side door of the hotel right into what was at the time the largest mall in Atlanta. So for shopping, restaurants etc. you never had to get in your car to leave the hotel. It was a fun time and one I will remember all my life – both the event and the motel.
That sounds fabulous. What a great time!
I love New York City, too. We should meet up there sometime. It’s kinda in the middle. 🙂
I would love to meet you there. Let’s plan it!
What a great place! On a New York trip with my (Kentucky) sister, I made her stay at the Algonquin with me. What it lacks in elegance it makes up in literary history. Ignore the fact that the bathroom was smaller than the closet. We did make friends with the hotel cat.
Tune in next month for my review of the Algonquin. No stay in NYC is complete without a visit there!
Road trip! It sounds wonderful!
We need a road trip!
I’ve never been to NYC. I’d love to go sometime, and this hotel sounds like a fabulous place to stay.
You must, must go.
Last time I was in NYC was when I was a kid. Would love to visit again.
Now is the time!
What a great story! I’m a native NYer, but now I want to visit the city and stay at the Jane.
Ellen, it is a great place. You must stay at The Jane!