If you're looking to include a few salutes to literary and musical history on your next trip to New York, consider stopping by the Hotel Chelsea and the Algonquin Hotel. From Atlanta, Delta Airlines offers multiple flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport throughout the day, frequently for as low as $200 round trip.
As of August 1, 2011, the infamous Hotel Chelsea in New York City's Flatiron District is no longer accepting reservations, although it remains available for photo and film productions. On your next trip to New York, make sure to stop by if you would like to at least see the building while it still stands. Few landmarks in the world can claim to have been home to as many musical and artistic legends, from Sid Vicious to the Libertines, Stanley Kubrick to Ethan Hawke, Tennessee Williams to Dylan Thomas.
The 23rd Street hotel has been memorialized in countless songs and films, most notably Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel" (detailing his tryst with Janis Joplin in the hotel) and the film "Sid and Nancy," about the death of Nancy Spungeon, allegedly at the hand of her boyfriend, Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. It is difficult to find a more fully realized icon of the triumvirate of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll than the Hotel Chelsea. It's no wonder that Madonna chose to use the location as a setting in her book of fantasy and photographs, Sex.
From survivors of the Titanic to Andy Warhol's Superstars, the residents of the Hotel Chelsea have strung their stories like garland through the halls of this landmark. One can only hope that the new owners of the establishment appreciate its place in history and do not destroy the former home of Jimi Hendrix and Mark Twain.
In contrast, the 174-room Algonquin Hotel has a lighter history, and it is open for business. Located near Times Square, the hotel hosted the famous Algonquin Round Table of literary and artistic elite in the 1920s, including Dorothy Parker and her Vicious Circle. The most famous current resident is a Ragdoll cat, Matilda, who generally can be found lounging on her personal chaise. The hotel's practice of housing a feline dates back to the 1930s, and today's pick of the litter even has her own e-mail account. Be sure to check the hotel's web site for the Friends of Matilda package, which includes a plush replica of the queen of the lobby in addition to a discount on the best available hotel rate.
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