Day 6: Standard Hotel.
484 Washington Street, Chelsea.
The Standard Hotel is anything but. This amazing place straddles the HighLine and boasts a cool funk vibe similar to yesterday’s Dream Hotel (also in Chelsea). The High Line, if you don’t know, is a former elevated railroad that linked the ports with the various warehouses and factories in lower Manhattan. After years of lying dormant, it has been converted in stages to an elevated garden. It’s so brilliantly done and popular that about the only time to walk it to avoid seething crowds is mid-winter.
The streets around the Standard are cobbled (not a common thing in New York) and are clearly a fav of fashion shoots as I’ve seen numerous models posing in the area while their photographer snaps away. The lobby of the Standard blends with the cafe with the beer garden with the grill. Most folks were outside in the garden sipping Mojitos and Marguerites and Mimosas on the day I was there, but I chose a quiet corner and coffee. Music’s nice too – ‘Shoot that poison arrow to my heart’ was just one of a selection heavy on 80’s Britpop.
I didn’t head up to the roof but apparently there are tremendous views of the Hudson and Jersey beyond. If you’re headed to New York and you’re after a hip hotel in the Meatpacking/Chelsea district chose this one or the Dream. Flip a coin.
Today’s word count: 2,291
Total word count: 17,566
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