Lonely Planet Review
It's got the lore (Dorothy Parker staged a 'round table' lunch with literary types here for 10 years beginning in 1919) and the martinis (the 10,000.00 one comes with a diamond ring for question-poppers or bored billionaires) - the classy Algonquin is the quintessential old New York hotel. Rates are high but writers get a break on their first night!
Despite a major renovation in 2004, areas like the lobby lounge still reek of the 1920s. The 174 rooms less so - Dorothy probably didn't have free wi-fi, flat-screen TVs, New Yorker shower curtains, or access to a 24hr fitness centre. All rooms have red-and-gold carpet with fleur-de-lys designs and black-and-white photos of the ornate hotel details. Rooms can feel a little cramped; suites grant you much more space. The public areas include a jaw-dropping lobby lounge (with superb woodwork and pillars, plus Asian-style murals on the walls), the dark Blue Bar, and the Oak Room (home to jazz brunches on weekends and cabaret dinners).
Review by author
Robert Reid