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Blue Moon Hotel

COST: $$

<p>Set on the Lower East Side's main thoroughfare, this 22-room brick guesthouse—originally built as a tenement in 1879—perfectly embodies its quirky, eclectic home neighborhood. Though updated with modern-day amenities like whirlpool tubs, Wi-Fi, cable TV, and mini-fridges, the rooms (all named after old movie stars and jazz giants) still retain details from their historic past—like wrought-iron bedsteads and original wood shutters, window moldings, and (in some cases) window settees. It's no wonder the place is a hit with today's crop of young, scruffy-chic Lower East Siders; after all, these are the kids who prefer their techno music on vinyl, and who pair their mod asymmetrical haircuts with outfits from the thrift shop.</p> <p><strong>Tip:</strong> To get a real sense of the old neighborhood, visit the Tenement Museum, less than a block away (<em><A HREF="http://tenement.org" class="external" rel="nofollow">tenement.org</A></em>); then walk over to Houston and Ludlow for pastrami at the venerable Katz's Deli (<em><A HREF="http://www.katzdeli.com" class="external" rel="nofollow">www.katzdeli.com</A></em>).</p> <p><strong>Room to Book:</strong> Spring for one of the penthouse suites (the Al Jolson or the Eddie Cantor—both of which have 14-foot ceilings and enormous windows with views of Manhattan), or the Molly Picon suite, with its 26-foot-long private terrace.</p>

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From Travel + Leisure , JUN 2005

Blue Moon Hotel, a tenement built in the late 19th century, takes a radically different approach to cheap and chic. The 22-room guesthouse, squeezed into a trendy Lower East Side block, is filled with period artifacts and modern luxuries such as wet bars and whirlpools....MORE>>

– T+L Reports: Manhattan Lowdown

Last updated June 2005