In the Big Apple: Little Places, Little Pics - Part 1

Yesterday I checked into hotel #2 of my trip (as my friend Kelly went home yesterday ;-(. As I am trying to do NYC somewhat frugally, I decided to go out on a limb and do something different. Rather than get myself a 4 star hotel for cheap on Priceline (which I've done several times and scored big time for as low as $100/night), I decided to go for a place with shared bathroom (I know, the world stays in hostels and I haven't stayed in a place with a bathroom down the hall since my early 20's... heh). So I selected the The Pod:
This is me welcoming myself to my single room. It has a little nook with a teeensy sink (nice!), so of course I had to ham it up with the mirrors and my camera. It seems here like my room goes on foreeeeeever!

I got my pod for $89/night. I suppose I picked good dates and booked far enough in advance that I was able to get this rate. I think it's good value... hotels in NYC are expensive!

There are only two toilets per floor, but I'm not sure how many rooms on my floor use them. I've not yet had difficulty getting access. The bathrooms are spotless and very chic. The shower has one of those rain showerhead thingees, and even sideways sprayers - cool. As a handy aid, you can look over your door to see if there's a loo that's free.

On the back of your door, you get instructions on how to set up your bed:

And everything you want to know is in this handy little printed guide. Nice. So much better than some big clunky binder. Oh, almost everything you want to know.... there is apparently a rooftop deck, but I haven't figured out how to access that yet and the booklet is mum on that point.

I was very lucky to find they had my room available when I arrived at noon. I am on the 12th floor and have a corner room, so there are windows on both sides. It's very small, but actually bigger than the stateroom I just had on a cruise, and so well designed that it doesn't feel tiny. It comes complete with an iPod docking station (listening to George Harrison right now), free wifi, flat panel tv and a safe. And a hair dryer, if you're a person who needs that kind of thing. There are drawers under the bed.

View looking towards the door. The TV wall, and a view of the long sleek work surface/desk below the window.

Even with the shutters closed, the room is very bright!

And you can even open the windows! But with the heat wave, one is more inclined to keep them shut and enjoy the very good air conditioning. Though it is cooler this morning, and I had them open for a bit just to get some fresh air.

Looking out.

Looking down. Loved how this person claimed a little corner for a rooftop deck.

So far, so good, on the shared bathroom thing. It's a bit of a pain in the middle of the night, but it's really no big deal. Though when I heard some drunks in the hall late at night I wondered how I'd feel out there in my nightie with just my room card and a towel... and had a moment's inclination to switch to a room with a private bath... but feeling fine about it this morning.

The hotel is rather chic, and has very interesting art in the hallways and some nice shared spaces. I'll be sure to snap more pics as the days progress.

I had meant to continue this post... but Blogger was having a "moment" and I had to split this into two. Feel free to go onto Part 2 to read about the rest of my day yesterday, when I had food at another neat little place, saw a photography exhibit, learned about pinhold photography and met some new friends.