At one year old, the Trump SoHo is still rockin

by Grant Martin on

It pains us to see one of the best properties in the world not profiled in the Gadling database, so taking advantage of a recent assignment with The Trunk Club and a planned team happy hour we stopped in to take a look.

The Trump Soho is just finishing up it’s first year of operation in the posh corner of Manhattan known as SoHo. It’s a great part of town, were 9 out of 10 tourists head like pilgrims during the Hajj and where all of the finest restaurants and boutiques jostle for store space. With such a prestigious quarters, the Trump had to have a presence in some respect.

At it’s current level of operation, the property is just starting to fire on all cylinders. Aspects of each room have been fine tuned (such as the location of the ice buckets — not trivial!) after some of the initial guest feedback, and all of the employees and operations are starting to look and feel comfortable. The staff, though they’re trained to be attentive and pinpoint now have an air of gravity to them, like they’ve experienced every situation and are capable of handling anything else. There’s a light patina on the metalwork, a hum to the automated room curtains and a tint to the bright blue glass on the exterior walls — something makes this place feel like more of a home than the rigid hotel that it used to be.

All of this is juxtaposed against the normal amenities that make a Trump hotel really outstanding. The Bellino sheets are crisp and inviting, like no luxury sheet we’ve ever experienced, and the room technology system flawlessly controls the living environment seamlessly woven with the classic wood finishes and casual luxury appointments. Looking down the backbone of 6th Avenue from our bedroom window, it’s easy to see how one could never want to leave this place.

In celebration of their one year anniversary, the Trump Soho is offering special upgrades for any April booking made on Saturday, April 9th. Using the code APRIL9, guests booking regular rooms will get to experience the one bedroom suites, a real treat for any thrifty budget traveler. Get ye to the booking engine before the code expires.

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Gadling and Nomading Film Fest’s happy hour by the numbers

by Grant Martin on

We’re just starting to emerge from the haze of this weekend’s happy hour thrown in Brooklyn, New York in celebration of the collaboration between Gadling and the Nomading Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of a sunset peering into DUMBO’s fabulous bar Superfine, the happy hour was a strong, six hours of merrymaking, networking, jostling and drinking, an excellent opportunity to pull together every friend and colleague that we had in the city and buy them a drink in gratitude. We’ll do it again soon, and if you didn’t make it this time we hope that you can join us the next. Here’s how it all came together:

(100): Number of confirmed guests
(200): Number of drink tickets distributed
(43): Number of drink tickets inappropriately used by purchasing shots of tequila, fries or drinks for visiting Irish backpackers.
(386): Number of photos taken of the event by Gadling and NoFF staff
(6): Usable pictures due to poor composition, focus or inability to stand still for a shot
(5): Gadling staff members present
(4): NoFF staff members present
(8): Number of pool games (and subsequent bets) postured between Gadling and NoFF staff
(0): Number of games (and subsequent bets) won by Gadling
(2): Favorite Frommer’s editors in attendance
(1): New York Times Travel editors in attendance
(762): Aggregate pitches heard by travel editors in attendance
(72): Days until the Nomading Film Festival
(71): Days until the Gadling team has recovered well enough to be able to drink with the NoFF boys again.

Cheers to everyone who made it out. Click through the gallery below to pick through some of the attendees.

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The product of communicating with subway patrons

by Grant Martin on

Fun fact: almost half of my good friends in my new home town of Chicago were randomly made on the subway. How did I meet them? By randomly striking up a conversation. I’m one of the few people on the planet that doesn’t think that it’s strange to communicate with people on the train, whether this is with a smile, some polite conversation or a shared laugh — as it turns out, there are a lot of interesting people out there. Perhaps that’s why I travel so much.

There’s an interesting youtube video making its way around the interwebs right now that well-illustrates my line of thought. A guy named Luke Rudkowski spent some time meeting and interviewing random passengers on the New York subway, and in the process pulled some pretty interesting stories and opinions out of everyday passengers. With so many commuters stacked so close to one another each day, it’s amazing that these stories don’t more often intersect.

Bronx Zoo cobra on the loose takes Manhattan…and Twitter

by Meg Nesterov on

On Friday, an adolescent Egyptian cobra escaped from New York’s Bronx Zoo.

The reptile house closed immediately after her escape, and zookeepers are saying she could take weeks to come out of hiding. While we can’t vouch for the authenticity of the snake taking Manhattan, you can follow her adventures on Twitter, where @bronxzooscobra has been chronicling the travels of the errant snake with over 25,000 followers and counting. So where does a young snakess on the town go?

She first mused over a Broadway show, then taunted followers with her location in front of “the original” Ray’s Pizza (good luck checking all 46 locations claiming to be the first). After taking in the other wildlife at American Museum of Natural His(s)tory, she went downtown for a workout at Equinox Gym and a slither atop the High Line park. The Bronx Zoo cobra then tweeted about getting tickets for Jimmy Fallon before spotting Tina Fey at Rockefeller Center and heading back downtown to Wall Street. Despite asking for a vegan restaurant near Union Square, she ended up way uptown at Tom’s Restaurant from Seinfeld, where she may have found a hiding spot for the night in an unsuspecting apartment. Where will she go today?

Any New York travel tips for the cobress? Have you spotted any snakes, tweeting or just taking in the sights? While she is just 20 inches long, she is venomous, so watch your ankles!

VIDEO: Take a stop-motion trip to 1983 New York City

by Meg Nesterov on

In just under six minutes, you can take a (mostly) stop-motion trip to 1983 New York City in this short film called “N.Y.C. (No York City)” by Rick Liss with music by Laurie Anderson. The video follows a dizzying path through Manhattan, past familiar landmarks like the World Trade Center, the subway, and Central Park (check out the roller skaters!). While the clothes and cars may seem dated, in many ways, it’s not much different than 2011 New York City, except with more mimes.