Category Archives: hotel mattresses

Recently updated on March 2nd, 2018 at 09:01 am

The Gramercy Park Hotel was built in 1924 and is located at 2 Lexington Avenue in New York City. Famous visitors and residents include Bob Dylan, Babe Ruth, Bob Marley, Davis Bowie, Madonna, the Clash, David Mamet and more. It has a bohemian style throughout. Rooms are about $500/night. Aside from the beautiful rooms, lobby and bar, guests at the Gramercy Park Hotel also get access to Gramercy Park across the street which is only available to Gramercy Park residents.

This is my favorite hotel in NYC and is one of the most cozy, comfortable and quiet hotels in the city. I love the history of the hotel and how accessible it is to some of the best parts of Manhattan. Below are some photos and a video tour of the Gramercy Park hotel to give you an idea of what to expect. During my stay I was upgraded to a junior suite which includes a living room area and a separate bedroom.

The Gramercy Park Hotel Lobby

The Lobby of the hotel is warm and inviting. There are scented candles in the lobby which smell amazing. Below is a picture of the lobby. There’s always a cozy fire burning.

Here’s another pic of the lobby

To your right as you enter is the Rose bar which has a club towards the back.

Here’s a photo of the club area of the Rose Bar which has a DJ playing every night. You’ll find original art throughout the hotel including in your room.

You’ll find that the hotel is dimly lit throughout. This adds to the warm ambiance and is incredibly relaxing.

Each room number is embroidered on the carpeting on the floor.

I was lucky enough to get a junior suite. Here’s what it looks like when you first enter.

Here’s the same view from the back.

To get a full sense of what this room offers, I created a video walk through.

Here’s a photo of the living room area in the Junior Suite.

Here’s the vanity area across from the bathroom.

The hotel offers unique soaps, shampoos and lotions. During my stay they had Aesop Soap which is based out of Melbourne Australia. These soaps incorporate natural essential oils and smell great.

Here’s the card that they leave on the vanity.

In the bathroom, you will also find a couple robes with slippers.

Other surprises include a pop out mini bar underneath the TV in the living room.

Now on to the bedroom. It should be noted that all the light switched in the room had dimmers. Again, this is in keeping with the overal ambiance o the hotel. When I arrived at the room all the lights were dimmed. The Bedroom has its own chandellier with a dimmer switch as well as lights by each bedside, also with dimmers. There are blackout shades, blinds and a large velvet curtain. The hotel will turn down your shades in the evening while you are out so the room is completely dark. This is makes for an excellent sleep environment. Also the HVAC provides a nice white noise to drown out all the city noises while you sleep.

Mine room came with 4 king size down pillows and I suppose you could ask for more if you wanted to but I found these to be more than sufficient. The bed itself comes with a feather bed. The mattress is firm but the featherbed softens it up nicely and I didn’t wake up sore. This is typical of a quality hotel mattress.

On the night stand you will find a limited edition bottle of Evian water starting at $10. I made sure not to open it. I like that they have 2 outlets that are easily accesible on the nightstand.

I was fortunate enough to attend an event on the Terrace which is at the top floor of the hotel. Here’s picture of some of the views you can expect.

One of the best parts of staying at this hotel is access to Gramercy Park. To get in, just go to the reception desk and ask for a key. They will take your ID and then have the bellhop escort you to the park and give you a key. Only residents can access the park.

Here’s the entrance to the park which is always locked.

Here’s a few photos inside Gramercy Park. A nice respite from the crowded NYC streets.

Here are the rules that are posted inside the park.

My Gramercy Park Hotel Recommendation

This is by far the best hotel in NYC that I have stayed at. Not only is it steeped in history, it is extremely welcoming, warm and friendly. Best of all the rooms are quiet and dark which makes for an optimal sleep environment. You can’t ask for more. It is a convenient location near great restaurants and close to all the major tourist destinations.

Learn more about the Gramercy Park Hotel 

Recently updated on October 21st, 2017 at 09:06 pm

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The Langham Hotel in Chicago at 330 N. Wabash opened it 2013 and was named best hotel 2017 by U.S. News and World Report. It was previously known as the IBM building. The building was added to the National Register of Historic places in 2010.

The Room

I stayed in a Deluxe Premier room. Here are some of the ammenities of this type of room as listed on their website:

ROOM

• Dark walnut dressing and vanity parlour
• 55-inch LCD HD-television
• Complimentary in-room coffee and tea
• Cellarette with fully-stocked private bar
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Oversized executive work desk
• Accessible Room available upon request

BED AND BATH

• Signature Blissful Bed
• Chuan Spa bath amenities
• Botticino Fiorito marble, Alaskan White granite, and Travertine bathroom
• Deep soaking tub and rainfall shower
• “Reveal” opaque privacy glass at a touch of a button

SERVICES

• 24-hour concierge services
• In-room dining services
• Valet and laundry services

My room at the Langham was $500 per night which is very pricey so I was expecting the accomodations to live up to the price tag. Here’s a picture of the room.

My room had a king size bed with a 55 inch tv. There’s a mini bar along with a Nespresso machine. I don’t normally drink espresso but since this is such a fancy hotel, I think it calls for it.

Near the desk you get a terminal to connect your computer to the TV via HDMI, etc. which is awesome if you want to stream Netflix from your computer.

The bathroom is just as fancy. It has a large soaking tub and separate shower. You also get Chuan Spa shampoo, conditioner and soap. The Chuan Spa is located on the 4th floor of the hotel

Having a soaking tub can really help with your sleep experience as it helps you relax before bedtime.

If a bath isn’t your thing, you can head down to the pool and hot tub to relax a bit. The pool is gorgeous and has great views of the city.

The Langham Hotel Mattress

My Bed at the Langham wasn’t anything super special. I found it to be a bit firm. According to the Tag, it is a Beautyrest mattress. Here’s a picture of the bed itself.

The sheets weren’t anything special either but that’s to be expected for all hotels as they are constantly washed for new guests and they cycle through sheet much faster than you would in your home.

I was heartened to see that the mattress had a mattress protector around it to keep bed bugs out and even a tamper proof lock.

The pillows that come on your mattress are varied. I believe some are down but others are simply a polyester fill. You get an extra pillow in the closet which I found to be a polyester fill pillow.

I only stayed one night at the langham. Here are some things to keep in mind regarding my sleep experience.

Pros

The room was quiet despite being in the middle of the city. You can still hear occasional sirens and horns but overall it was a quiet experience after I turned on my whitenoise app on my phone.

The curtains kept the room dark. Dark enough for me to sleep in until 9am without being woken up by sunlight.

The rooms are very clean and spacious. The ceilings are higher than why you would typically find making the space feel bigger too.

A soaking tub made me relaxed and helped me to fall asleep sooner.

There are control panels next to the nightstands where you can turn off and on lights in varous rooms. No need to fidget for a switch

The HVAC is quiet and the thermostat is intuitive.

Cons

There are lots of ambient lights in the room when you turn of the lights proper. Such as led lights from the cable tv box and even the lights from the control panel next to the night stand are a little too bright for me.

The mattress is a bit too firm for me as a side sleeper and someone who prefer as softer mattress overall.

I was a little underwhelmed by the polyester spare pillow. However you can ask for a memory foam or even a lavender infused pillow to be brought up to your room.

Our room came with a Bose sound wave speaker but the bluetooth connector was missing the charger so I couldn’t use it to broadcast whitenoise which would have also helped.

My Langham Hotel Recommendation

Overall I enjoyed my stay at the Langham. I would have like to use the Bose radio and a softer mattress would have helped me get a better sleep but the cleanliness and beauty of the hotel along with a nice bath really made me relax. It’s in a great spot for walking to major tourist attractions.

People that want to sleep on a firmer mattress will definitely enjoy this hotel while side sleepers or anyone who craves a softer sleep experience may want to look elsewhere.