I think I found the perfect hotel for a quick day & night trip to NYC. The DoubleTree Hotel on 29th & 6th was perfect for my in and out trip this weekend. It is situated in a great location, close to trains, restaurants and shops.

If ever you need to be in New York and want a decent inexpensive place to stay, DoubleTree is the spot. What I always love about the DT Hotels is that they give you these warm oven baked chocolate chip cookies which are just incredible. They forgot to give some at check in, so they gave me 4 packs at check out. I would definitely stay here again if I need a quick stop in NYC.

Hotel Chain: Doubletree Hotels
Activities: Fitness Centre
Floors: 27 floors
Checkout Time: 1200
info@hilton.com

Style: Modern & Small

Atmosphere: Quiet

Staff: Super polite and friendly

Average room price: $129/Night

Rooms: very small

Beds: Very comfortable

Marcus Troy Rating: 7/10

The Doubletree New York City-Chelsea128 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001, United States(212) 564-0994‎

Category: Reviews1 comment

This weekend I stayed at the 6-Thompson Hotel in New York City, not to be confused with the 60 Thompson in Soho.(my cab took me to the wrong hotel)

My first impression about the hotel was how nice it was. The lobby looked like a living room, very modern and classy. The Staff was very kind and helpful and wanted to know your name, great personal touch. The rooms are small but no different than any other hotel in NYC. It was very clean and nicely designed. The one thing that I loved was the heated bathroom floor, what a great and pleasant surprise. The great thing about the hotel is that it was located right next to the 1, A, B, C, D train. The hotel restaurant, Blue Ribbon, apparently has amazing sushi; unfortunately I did not get a chance to try it out.

There were a couple things that bothered me; I had to call up for an iron and a board, which most rooms usually come equipped with. Due to airport regulations I often forget to bring body lotion and I look forward to using the ones at the hotel, but this time the lotion was missing in action and I had to order one up (not a big deal, I know). The other thing that bothered me was the missing soap holder in the bath! I mean when you’re finished soaping you have to pretty much drop it on the floor, which isn’t a good thing. The sink is a little further than the bath so the other option would be to leave it on the toilet bowl.

Overall the stay was good, and I would recommend this hotel again.

Bonus* wholefoods and starbucks are very close.

Six Columbus Circle Thompson Hotel

6 Columbus Circle, New York, NY, United States 10023

Style: BOUTIQUE APARTMENT

Atmosphere: Busy

Staff: Polite and kind (Ask for Peter, super cool guy)

Average room price: $185/Night

Marcus Troy Rating: 7/10

Category: Reviews3 comments

This weekend while i was in Toronto I stayed at the Pantages Hotel which might be one of my favorite hotels in Toronto.

This Hotel is in a great location, just a a few steps away from the Eaton Centre and Young Street. I stayed in the Delux Suite, for the extra space, as you have a living room as as a separate bedroom.

The rooms are very nice and clean and tidy, it is like staying in an apartment more than a hotel. You have a full kitchen in case you rather make groceries than order room service. The fridge also comes equipped with some food and drink essentials if you don’t have time to hit the store or if you get a craving. The wood floors and shag carpet really gives it that rich look. The bed was extremely comfortable and the sheets and pillow were really soft.

What I like about the room is that it had a surplus of towels in the bathroom which is always a plus. I hate it when there is only 2 towels in the room.

The only down side of this stay was the construction going on right outside my window across the street.

I’ve stayed at the Pantages many times and I have to say I love it! It is also home to a lot of celebrities when they are in town for the weekend.

Pantages Hotel and SPA

200 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1V8, Canada

122 Rooms

Style: BOUTIQUE APARTMENT

Atmosphere: Quiet

Average room price: $175/Night

Marcus Troy Rating: 8/10

Category: ReviewsNo comments

I decided to start reviewing clubs because I think people need to know what’s good in the club world. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about Santos night club, so I decided to check it out while I was in NYC. I wasn’t sure what night was supposed to be the popping night hosted by the downtown sweetheart Va$htie but I decided to roll trough anyway where Questlove was the guest DJ.

I showed up at the club 2 deep and the line was “dumb long” The guest list line was much shorter and the good dude Hawaii Mike got me on Vashtie’s guest list so I knew we were going to be good.

My review in point form:

Club: Santos

Location: New York City, Lafayette and Canal

Day: Friday Night the 17th of April

Guest DJ: Questlove from the Roots

MC: Consequence

Guest: Drake

Host: Vashtie & Oscar

- Bouncers were friendly and helpful
- The lines get super crazy at 11:30 so get there early
- The line was good mix of guys and girls
- Chad was the guest list door man and he was mad chill.
- No I’d and you don’t get in/ $15 to get in if you have no connections
- Women get preferred treatment
- Drinks are expensive like 10 bucks a drink
- The sound system  pounds clear and crispy
- The crowd actually dances
- Signs that are taped around the club are pretty entertaining.
- The bar tenders are cool
- The host Vashtie is super hot
- There is no reception for blackberrys or cells so you won’t see guys profiling like they getting a booty call or talking on the phone in the club.
- No dress code
- They check you for weapons pretty lightly
- The vibe is overall very chill
- The decor is ok, there is a disco ball spinning which is kind of cheese.
- The music was funk and soul pretty dope

* My Stupid Moment
So we arrived at the club around 11:30 and the line was so long that we thought that inside must be jumping. The bouncer told us to walk downstairs and when we got there the club seemed kind of small and there were not a lot of people there. We headed to the bar to get a couple of drinks and to chill out to the vibes. We kept seeing people walk in the club and it looked liked they were leaving, I kept asking my homie, where is everyone going? He says maybe they are leaving because no one is here yet! I said isn’t Questlove suppose to be playing? I thought it was early and he was going to show up at 2. The problem was that Questlove was twittering all the songs he was playing before we got to the club, so I was wondering if we missed him. About 30-45 min pass by and the club was not jumping the way I expected it too, so I decided to go and ask the bouncer if there was another room? WOW I felt so stupid! As we walked up to the top floor, is was like another world!!!! Mad girls and Questlove was killing the music…The one thing that made me question myself, was when I saw Elliott Wilson from Rap Radar walk in and make his way trough a door that lead somewhere else so I went to investigate and it was the top floor of the club. SO MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE OTHER ROOM or you might not enjoy your Santos experience.
* The rumblings around town

I heard from multiple people and even overheard it at the ball game that Diddy (puff Daddy) was attracting the wrong crowd at Santos and that it was messing the night up. I think you guys should judge that for yourself.

I had a great time!

Club Rating (based on 1 night)

Ease of Entry (with guest list): 10/10

Bouncers: 8/10

Decor: 5/10

Crowd: 7/10

Women: 8/10

Drinks: 8/10

Music: 10/10

Vibe: 9/10

Security: 5/10

Celebrity Status: 10/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

I recommend this club on a Friday night in NYC!

Thanks Vashtie for the guest list.

Category: Reviews4 comments

Whenever I visit Vancouver, I stay at Le Soleil hotel, last week I went down for the Junos and decided to take some pictures and review it for you guys.

Pros:
- Great location: within walking distance to many attractions and shopping areas.
- Clean (as in: spotless).
- Elegant.
- Soundproof
- Excellent room service: the breakfast came quick and was excellent!
- Helpful front desk staff: they were knowledgeable about all the stores and surronding restaurants. It really makes a difference. They were all great, ask for Bret (he has an British accent)
- Free high-speed internet
- Fresh apple and a bottles of water waiting at the front desk at all times
- Valet Parking

Cons:
- Surrounded by building so the views aren’t the best.

Good things to know:
- There is no swimming pool or exercise room on the premise. The Y is literally next door, and you can use their facilities if you wish, but you have to pay extra. The rates were very reasonable, at the time of our stay.
- The Hotel is attached to a pretty good steakhouse named The Keg.

Le Soleil Hotel

567 Hornby St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2E8, Canada

122 Rooms

Style: Elegant Vintage

Atmosphere: Quiet

Average room price: $175/Night

Marcus Troy Rating: 8/10

Category: Reviews2 comments