New York

The Muse Hotel
130 W 46th St (btwn 6th and 7th on W46th)
NY, NY 10036
(212) 485-2400

I was fortunate to stay at yet another great lifestyle hotel on my last trip to New York City. The Muse, part of the Kimpton Hotel Group is located smack in the theatre district and boasts 181 guestrooms and 19 hotel suites. Each Kimpton brand has a distinct personality; The story at The Muse is Inspiration and is named for the nine Greek mythological Muses each known for their ability to inspire a unique discipline of the arts. My experience started earlier that day when I called to confirm my reservation (something I do as a rule and it helps gauge customer experience). I was greeted on the phone by a very professional woman who welcomed me back to NYC, gladly confirmed my reservation, made certain I knew how to get to the hotel and thanked me in advance for choosing their hotel…so far so good. I went about my day, had a late sushi dinner at Ise and arrived at the hotel by 8:30pm. I was immediately impressed by the very clean lobby area, modern decor and chill club music being streamed overhead. Although I had booked a regular guestroom, I was pleasantly surprised when they upgraded me to one of their exclusive 19 hotel suites. (They had no idea I was writing a review. This was simply a factor of staying on a slower Tuesday and the hyper competition for business and leisure travelers in the city). Up to my very cool, again very clean, and surprisingly spacious room where I promptly logged on to their free Wi-Fi Internet service to finish a few blog posts. Interestingly I noticed an apologetic letter next to the 52″ flat screen notifying customers that the HDTV service from Time Warner was not to be expected for another week or so. Nice touch, however I can’t imagine staying in NYC, let alone the Theatre District and holing up in my room watching TV. I digress….nothing pressing that couldn’t wait until the morning so down I went to check out their bar/restaurant called The District. Minus a short lived group that apparently was more comfortable at the local dive, I thoroughly enjoyed my very healthy pour of Macallans 18 , more chill, relaxing house music and a very comfortable, quiet nights sleep. I paid just just north of $269.00 per night, which frankly is a bargain any day and twice on Sunday in NYC. When planning your next trip to NYC, skip the traditional chain and check out The Muse. My overall rating for The Muse is 8 fierce stars out of 10!