The Bowery Hotel — Hotel Review Rating: 4.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reviewer: Sara B.
Updated: May 16, 2010

 Scene

The lobby of the Bowery Hotel is like a pair of pre-distressed jeans on a well-heeled hipster: Sure, the look is a bit contrived, but the pants are very flattering -- and damn if the overall effect isn't almost ... perfect.

With its faded oriental rugs, shabby-chic vintage (and faux-vintage) furniture, and wrought-iron detailing, the lobby of the Bowery Hotel is unlike any other in New York. Despite all the old stuff, the whole place was created just a couple of years ago, in February 2007, after making major renovations to a preexisting building. The atmosphere is darkly brooding and richly nostalgic; you wouldn't be surprised to see the dandified thug played by Daniel Day-Louis in Gangs of New York stroll past tasseled velvet couches, examine one of the strategically placed peacock feathers, and sit in one of the leather club chairs.

In fact, the Bowery tends to attract well-to-do guests in their thirties and forties who appreciate the curated decor and are savvy enough to know that the neighborhood is no longer synonymous with Skid Row. On the other hand, they are no doubt attracted by its punk-rock and counterculture associations. After all, the Bowery (the neighborhood, not the hotel) was a stomping ground for Patti Smith, Joey Ramone, and William S. Burroughs. And even if the heyday of those movements are decades in the past, a few vestiges of the neighborhood's grittier days are still around: CBGB's, the temple of punk that was once across the street, is gone, but the homeless shelter next door is still there. That street cred probably helps draw in the celebrity crowd as well: Ashley Olsen, Blake Lively, and Rachel Bilson have all reportedly stayed at the hotel recently, and I shared an elevator with comedienne Sarah Silverman, who told me she always stays here when visiting from LA.

The rooms themselves are also a big draw. Bright, comfortable, and ultra-luxurious, they bring Old New York to life by way of wainscoted ceilings, par avion envelopes in the desk, and C.O. Bigelow bath products and Marvis toothpaste in the bathrooms.

Given the glut of ultra-mod, glass-wrapped hipster hotels cropping up all over downtown Manhattan, including the new Cooper Square Hotel down the street, the nostalgic vibe here feels oddly refreshing and new. All in all, I'm tempted to call it an instant classic.

 Service

The service is impeccable: deeply competent, if not quite doting, and genuinely warm.

Though one TripAdvisor reviewer noted that "preferential treatment was given to the more high-profile guests," I didn't experience this -- nor did any of my fellow guests, if my informal poll is any indication. Several (non-celebrity) guests I spoke with raved about the service, in fact.

Nightly turndown service begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m.; guests can request the time that suits them best. A delicious assortment of small cookies awaited me when I returned to my room after an evening out.

Unlike the Cooper Square Hotel two blocks up the street, room service is available 24 hours a day, and even frivolous requests are cheerfully filled at all hours. Exhibit A: When I ordered the 1982 Scorsese film The King of Comedy at 1:30 a.m., it was delivered in five minutes. The towels I ordered in the morning arrived in under 10 minutes. Room service, which is available 24 hours, came in less than 15. And the cocktail I ordered was delivered in 10 minutes, even though the bar was packed.

Gemma, the Italian trattoria on the ground floor of the hotel, will accept reservations only from Bowery Hotel guests -- everyone else has to fend for themselves. Even better, guests of the Bowery can get coveted reservations at the Waverly Inn, the equally nostalgic supper club co-owned by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and Bowery hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson. (One caveat: Waverly reservations may be made only -- and exactly -- two days in advance via email.)

 Location

What a difference a decade makes. The Bowery, the street the hotel is located on and named after, is a mile-long avenue in Lower Manhattan that was for much of the last century associated with the down-and-out: the homeless, the drug addicts, and the punk rockers who often fell into both those categories. But these days the Bowery looks more like SoHo than Skid Row. A Think coffee shop, trendy clothing boutiques, and hip eateries like the newly opened DBGB, the latest endeavor from renowned French chef Daniel Boulud, now dot this once-desolate street.

The area still has some edge and grit -- there's a homeless shelter next door to the hotel, for example -- but thanks to the active foot traffic, it feels safe even late at night. In fact, it's the juxtaposition of the old and the new, the modern and the gritty, that makes the neighborhood what it is today, even if the purists still mourn the closure of CBGB's, the temple of punk that used to be just a few doors down. (There's now a John Varvatos store in its place.)

Located on the edge of the East Village, and just two blocks south of the Cooper Square Hotel, the Bowery is within easy walking distance of the Lower East Side, SoHo, and Union Square -- an ideal base, in other words, for exploring Manhattan's vibrant downtown nightlife scene. And it's only a 10-minute walk to NYU.

The one downside to the location: It's a bit of a hike to the subway. The 6, B, D, F, and V lines are closest to the hotel (within a few minutes' walking distance), or you can walk 10 minutes north to Union Square to catch an additional seven lines.

 Rooms

These rooms are bright, beautiful, comfortable, and extremely well appointed. The small details in particular really shine: the antique, doily-like fabric draped over the backs of the chairs, the wainscoted ceiling, the brass fixtures, the Villeroy & Boch sink, and the pencils and par avion envelopes in the desk drawer.

I was upgraded for free to a king room, but all I gained was a slightly bigger bed. Standard rooms average around 220 square feet, which is above average for New York hotel rooms. The multipaned, floor-to-ceiling windows make the rooms feel that much more spacious and bright.

Beds look as good as they sleep. The Serta mattresses are topped with 400-thread-count Egyptian cotton linens (which have been ironed -- yes, ironed), down pillows, and a down duvet. An orange wool blanket that's draped over the foot of the bed can go home with you for the low, low price of $450.

The 32-inch Sharp flat-screen TV has a DVD player hidden in the side, and comes with more than 50 channels of basic cable, plus movies on demand. (Bigger rooms have bigger TVs.)

A few other small details are worth mentioning, like the outlets above the nightstand tables on both sides of the bed so that two people can charge their phones simultaneously. Other useful amenities include an iHome iPod dock, soft terry-cloth bathrobes, fast, reliable Wi-Fi, and a creatively stocked minibar with Dean & Deluca snacks like cashews and milk-chocolate raisins ($6.50 each), a Dr. Hauschka body-care kit ($25), Fisherman's Friend throat lozenges ($4), and Kiki de Montparnasse condoms ($5) and an intimacy kit ($50).

The bathroom is unusually spacious for a New York boutique hotel. And as one TripAdvisor reviewer said about the shower, it has a "flow rate that is likely to be illegal somewhere."

The bath products should get an extra special mention for their retro packaging, which seems to tie the whole room's modern vintage look together. The lavender-mint shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel are made by C.O. Bigelow, a West Village apothecary that's been around since 1838. Other bonuses include the loofah scrubber and a mini tube of Italian Marvis toothpaste.

With 17 floors, the hotel is one of the tallest buildings in the area, so views are almost uniformly good. The windows open a few inches, which means fresh air but usually only a little bit of street noise. Request a room on a higher floor to ensure killer views and as much quiet as possible.

Just one minor complaint: No drawer storage space. The only place to stash your undies is the desk drawers, one of which was filled with stationery.

 Features

The Wi-Fi is fast, reliable, and free, but it's shut off in the lobby and bar area at 5 p.m. This irked one guest on a Tuesday night who was hunched over his MacBook chipping away at his inbox; when he complained, the clerk at the front desk immediately turned it back on so he could finish his work.

Guests without laptops can borrow a PC or Mac laptop to use for up to three hours; every hour thereafter is $50. All items to be printed can be emailed to frontoffice@bohonyc.com for 5 cents per page for black and white.

Despite a decent variety of equipment packed into a small space, the gym is the most disappointing feature of the hotel, largely because it's really dark. Not only is the lighting dim, but it faces a brick wall outside. Cardio machines include a treadmill, an elliptical machine, and a reclining bike, all made by LifeFitness and all with personal monitors. There's also a small, multipurpose weight machine, two sets of free weights (one for more feminine muscles, another for Popeye), and some medicine balls. The bowl of Granny Smiths by the watercooler is an appreciated touch.

The hotel has one of the best DVD collections I've seen anywhere -- better even that the one at the Library Hotel. The 100-plus selection includes classics like Bonnie & Clyde, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Sid & Nancy, Pierrot Le Fou, and The Life Aquatic.

The hotel also stocks a collection of board games, including backgammon, Boggle, and Scrabble.

Guests can borrow bikes for free.

 Pets

Dogs under 30 pounds are welcome to the hotel; cats are not. Owners must sign a document promising to cover any costs of cleaning up after their pets.

 Family

Kids don't really fit in among the lobby's distressed antiques, decadent low light, and dark wood paneling. And this isn't a particularly child-friendly neighborhood, either. But cribs are free and fit into any room size. Aerobeds are $40 a night and fit only in king deluxe rooms or suites.

There's a small section of kids movies in the hotel's extensive (and free) DVD collection. In addition, the hotel's restaurant, Gemma, has a decent kids menu with adult-sized prices: peanut butter and jelly with a glass of organic milk ($9), grilled cheese and fries ($10), and ants on a log ($7), among other items.

 Cleanliness

The oriental rugs that line the floor of nearly every square inch of the hotel probably hide dust and dirt very well. And the lobby is so dark it'd be nearly impossible to spot a stain or drink ring. But as far as I could tell, these digs are immaculate. With the exception of the faint bit of rust-colored mildew in my shower, I spotted absolutely no dirt or grime in the rooms or public areas.

 Food

Gemma is located on the ground floor of the hotel, and its rustic wooden tables, candelabra chandeliers, copper pots, and wood-fired oven combine to create a lively bonhomie befitting a trendy trattoria in an even trendier hotel. But be prepared to raise your voice at dinner -- the restaurant is loud and packed elbow to elbow until at least 11 p.m. most nights. The good news is that the restaurant accepts reservations for hotel guests only. (For everyone else, it's first come, first served.) Everything I ordered was delicious. But is it worth passing up the scores of great options in the surrounding neighborhoods? Probably not.

Breakfast is reasonably priced, with dishes ranging from $7 (hard-boiled eggs on toast) to $12 (bagel with lox).

Note that guests at the Bowery can get a coveted reservation at the Waverly Inn, the exclusive (some say pretentious) restaurant co-owned by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and Bowery hoteliers Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson. But reservations must be made exactly two days in advance via email -- no exceptions.

 Drinks

The bar in the lobby is classy (one of the bartenders was sporting a dapper three-piece suit when I was there), low-key, and intimate. Unlike at the bar at Cooper Square, you don't have to scream in order to be heard by the waitstaff. Hotel guests get first dibs on seating. Cocktails run about $14 a pop.

 Bottom Line

With 135 flawlessly appointed rooms, a super-hip bar tucked away in the nostalgic, velvet-filled lobby, 24-hour room service, free Wi-Fi, and bike rentals, the Bowery Hotel redefines class in a gentrified downtown neighborhood where punk rock and squalor once ruled.