{"id":3328,"date":"2019-07-09T20:30:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T20:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandboxworld.com\/travel\/?p=3328"},"modified":"2019-07-25T20:42:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T20:42:39","slug":"the-iconic-algonquin-hotel-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandboxworld.com\/travel\/the-iconic-algonquin-hotel-in-new-york-city\/","title":{"rendered":"The iconic Algonquin Hotel in New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I absolutely love the historic Algonquin Hotel (www.alogonquinhotel.com)<\/a>. It is always our first choice when visiting New York City. Located on 44th<\/sup> Street near 6th<\/sup> Avenue, walk out the front door and you are a block and a half away from Times Square. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Algonquin first opened its doors in 1902. Today,\nit is part of the Marriott chain\u2019s Autograph Collection, an evolving ensemble\nof strikingly independent hotels. Each destination has been selected for its\nquality, bold originality, rich character, and uncommon details. The result is\nan array of properties that is nothing less than unique. The Algonquin Hotel\nwas the first New York City property to become a part of the\ncollection.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For well more than 100\nyears, the Algonquin has been greeting and lodging the country’s most prominent\nwriters and literary personalities, as well as the leading figures of the\nAmerican stage. The hotel is best known, perhaps, for the members of the Round\nTable, a group of luminaries who had in common both the ability to fire blazing\nwitticisms and to withstand being on the receiving end of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After World War I, Vanity\nFair writers and Algonquin regulars Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Robert\nE. Sherwood began lunching at the Algonquin. Though society columns referred to\nthem as the Algonquin Round Table, they called themselves the Vicious Circle.\n“By force of character,” observed drama critic Brooks Atkinson,\n“they changed the nature of American comedy and established the tastes of\na new period in the arts and theatre.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year marks the\ncentennial of the Round Table and as a result special programming took place\nall summer long. We were there to take in some of the festivities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comfortable accommodations <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Each of the 181 rooms and 25 suites features a\ncomfortable well-lit work desk, as well as complimentary Wi-Fi. We stayed in a\nvery comfortable one bedroom Heywood Broun Suite, named for the noted American\njournalist, sportswriter and newspaper columnist in New York City who founded\nthe American Newspaper Guild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The layout was ideally suited for us. There is a nice\nsized entrance, with the master bedroom to the left featuring a nice-sized bathroom.\nThe spacious living room has a pullout couch, a large desk which was perfect\nfor me to write my stories and good drawer and cupboard space. You can get a\nfridge and a microwave, depending upon availability and on request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you enter the hotel, you come face to face with\nthe casual Lobby Lounge, along with The Round Table Restaurant. Just to the\nleft is the hotel\u2019s trendy and aptly named Blue Bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Algonquin Cat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a cat lover, I was of\ncourse excited to see Hamlet VIII, the three year-old orange cat who calls The\nAlgonquin his home. According to hotel executive assistant Alice De Almeida, he\nwas originally a feral cat found in Long Island and brought to the\nBide-a-wee shelter (the oldest shelter in the Big Apple), where the Algonquin then\nadopted him as their own. He came to the hotel in July 2017 after their former cat,\nMatilda III, retired. \u201cHe is so friendly and loveable that people who never liked cats love\nhim.\u201d Alice says proudly. \u201cHe has great purrsonality!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joanna Szepietowska is the recently\nappointed rooms operations manager at the hotel. She admitted to me that she\nwas not much of a cat lover before coming to work here, but Hamlet has changed\nthat in a big way. She is looking into adopting her own cat now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamlet has his own Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as an\nemail account.  \u201cI take care of all his\nneeds, front and back, vet visits and more,\u201d says Alice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alice  has three cats of\nher own at home and feeds several ferals in her area. She came to work at this\nhotel in 2005 and quickly became the natural guardian of the resident cats. \u201cI\nhave become a real Jewish mother to our cats,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the timeline of a book written by the hotel\u2019s first\ngeneral manager, the hotel is now proud to say that the lineage of The\nAlgonquin Cat dates back to the early 1920s. Two days after this first cat, Billy,\npassed, another stray cat wandered into the hotel and The Algonquin welcomed\nRusty. The famous classical actor, John Barrymore, best known for playing\nHamlet on stage, was a resident at the time in the early 1930s, and Rusty was\nrenamed Hamlet in his honor. The lineage thus far now includes eight Hamlets\nand three Matildas. Each cat that has reigned at The Algonquin has been a\nrescue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel\u2019s executive chef cooks Hamlet special meals on\nholidays. He receives fan mail and gifts constantly from around the world. He\nhas recently been the subject of a painting that hangs above the Front Desk, by\nNew York artist Marcus Pierno. Hamlet can often be found at the front desk, in\none of his two tree houses or prancing through the lobby. He has been trained\nto never go outside and is wonderful with everyone who wants to pet him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cat Fashion Show<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every August The Algonquin hosts an annual Cat Fashion Show to raise money for the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals<\/a>. The event \nbrings together the city\u2019s most fashionable felines to strut their stuff\nin one-of-a-kind outfits that coincide with  different themes \u2013 the 2019 edition being\n\u201cIt\u2019s a Small World.\u201d   Hamlet VIII is\nnaturally the star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spectacle begins with cocktails, hors\nd\u2019oeuvres and desserts; a silent auction featuring a variety of kitty-centric\nitems; an on-site mobile adoption unit in front of the hotel that day and of\ncourse NYC cats hitting the catwalk in opulent threads designed by legendary\npet fashion designer Ada Nieves<\/a>. Human guests are encouraged to wear their most\neccentric, feline-inspired outfit and share photos from the un-fur-gettable\nnight on social media using the hashtag #<\/strong>AlgonquinCat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 100 percent of proceeds benefits the Mayor’s Alliance for\nNYC’s Animals, a non-profit charity that works with more than 150 partner\nrescue groups and shelters to offer important programs and services that save\nthe lives of NYC’s homeless animals. A raffle raises additional funds\nthroughout the evening, with prizes including a variety of pet products curated\nby the event\u2019s co-chair, pet lifestyle expert and author Sandy Robins<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamlet can be found on Facebook, Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.  He can also be reached via\nemail: hamletalgonquincat@algonquinhotel.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Algonquin Hotel is located at 59 W 44th Street, New York, New York 10036. www.algonquinhotel.com.<\/a> For information call 212-840-6800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n