Forget the bellhop. Meet the luggage robot.

It's the first of several high-tech, sleek amenities guests encounter at the Yotel, a new US hotel that aims to provide a trendy stay at an affordable price.

Purple lighting, throbbing music in the elevators and futon-like lounges that transform to lie-flat beds at the touch of a button help set the mood. Or maybe they just distract you from the tiny size of the rooms. At 16 square metres, perhaps "room" is too generous of a term. Yotel, in New York, prefers to call them cabins.

Worried about oversleeping? Pick up the phone, press a few buttons and listen to a computer voice prompt you to "press 1 to accept wake-up call". Instead of room service, prepared food is available from the concierge desk, dubbed Mission Control, which also sells hotel souvenirs like metallic Yotel water bottles.
But the real heart of the hotel is the action-packed terrace, already fast on its way to becoming a hot outdoor bar. The varied tapas-style menu of small plates is tasty but the tab can quickly add up. It would be a shame for a meal and drinks there to cost more than the room upstairs. That said, the beef sliders ($US9 ($A8)) and crunchy shrimp dish ($US8 ($A7)) should not be missed. The Spicy Pepino Margarita was also well worth the $US13 ($A12) price tag.
My room went for an introductory rate of $US149 ($A143), or $US179.47 ($A171.77) with tax. After August, Yotel is looking to offer rooms with a base rate in the $US200 ($A191) to $US250 ($A239) range. More expensive suites have hot tubs and rotating beds straight out of an Austin Powers movie. They go for $US1000 ($A957) or more a night.
The Yotel throws in free Wi-Fi, domestic phone calls, morning yoga, and muffins and coffee for breakfast. For the really budget-conscious, each floor has a communal kitchen area with a sink and microwave.
New York has the highest average room rate in the country: $US236 ($A226) a night in April, according to research firm STR. The next closest city was Miami, $US65 ($A62) a night cheaper on average.
On the same night that I slept at the Yotel, across town the Pod Hotel was offering a room with a double bed and private bathroom for $US229 ($A219). The La Quinta Manhattan and Ramada Eastside both had rooms with a queen bed for $US195 ($A187) plus tax. And a private room at the Times Square Hostel with a shared bathroom was $US55 ($A53) per person, based on two people. The Four Seasons wanted $US795 ($A761) a night.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/the-ipod-of-hotels-new-yorks-tiny-yotel-20110627-1gn14.html#ixzz1QTaLKJoT

City Club Hotel Looks To Double Room Count

City Club's owners, led by hoteliers Stephen Brighenti, Jeffrey Klein and Russell Hernandez, intend to use up to $13 million of the financing that closed recently to construct 66 rooms atop the 65 already in place at 55 W. 44th St. The expansion comes amid a hotel development boom in the city, with 4,700 units slated to be added between 2011 and 2013, according to Eastern Consolidated.

"Out best-case scenario is that in six to eight months we'll have [city] approval to proceed," Mr. Brighenti said in an interview. "Whereas the original rooms are more traditional, these will be more open and loft-like. Half of the new rooms will have balcony terraces."

Mr. Brighenti's group opened the independent City Club Hotel in 2001 after renovating a nine-story, historic building to house it. At the time, the developers installed steel infrastructure capable of supporting an additional nine floors.

Since then, the hotel survived the industry's historic downturn and rebounded to post occupancy of 94% last year. It has become known partly as the site of chef Daniel Boulud's popular db Bistro Moderne. And its average nightly rate is nearly $300, Mr. Brighenti said.

But the City Club faced a challenge this month as the payment deadline loomed for its $22 million mortgage, held by Credit Suisse AG's Column Financial Inc. The hotel's owners turned to Starwood Property Trust, which is managed by an affiliate of hotel and real estate investor Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital.

Starwood agreed to loan the hotel's owner, City Club Hotel LLC, $23 million to pay off the Column mortgage as well as a construction loan of up to $13 million to finance the hotel's expansion. The loans carry a four-year term with a one-year option. Brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman arranged the loan for City Club Hotel LLC.

"Functionally, it's a bridge loan with a construction loan attached, and it had to close within 30 days," Starwood Property Trust President Boyd Fellows said. "That's the center of the bull's eye for us. It's a difficult but smart transaction that played to our strengths because we're flexible and can move fast."

Mr. Brighenti and his partners intend for new floors of the hotel to feature a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows that gradually slopes away from the street as it ascends. The partners have a lengthy history in Manhattan's hotel scene, having developed some of the city's first boutique hotels as Gotham Hospitality Group in the early 1990s.