While this is premature because there are a few details to work out before we can execute a contract, I am confident that is only a formality and we will make the announcement next week that we have secured a block of 120 rooms at Barnard College for $115.00/night. That is the total price, including taxes and BEA will include a $10.00 MetroCard.
While this ain't exactly the Four Seasons or the Plaza, I prefer to think of it as a clean well lighted place.
Here are the facts: The rooms have to be prepaid, they are transferable, but they are not refundable, it is a shared bathroom but they are private single rooms and there is a secure 24 hr entrance. The rooms will include pillows, linens, towels plus there are common rooms with small kitchens as well. The upper floors have spectacular views of Morningside Park and the Hudson River. It is on the corner of 116th and Broadway and it is steps (really it is super close) to the #1 train, from here it is a 16 minute ride to 34th & 7th which is a 5 block walk to Javits. It is an awesome neighborhood adjacent to the Columbia campus. Below is a photo of what the rooms look like plus some sights in the neighborhood - you can recognize Tom's Diner made famous on Seinfeld just 2 blocks down across the street, it is 4 blocks from the main Book Culture store (1 block from the second store). The last photo on the bottom is the entrance gate at 117th & Broadway looking south.
So if you are mildly adventurous and looking for an inexpensive way to stay at BEA, this is your ticket. Plus you will be able to claim you have attended an Ivy League institution. Look for us to announce this next week via BEA's social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc...) and email.
PS: If you were curious about the bathrooms. There are 8 rooms per floor and the bathrooms are like any dorm or gym: multiple showers + multiple sinks + multiple toilets. We will place men and woman on separate floors by gender.
Last comment - if my travel budget was tight, I would stay here in a flat second and I know have stayed at far worse places in my infinite travels for Reed. Lance if you are reading this - you know the place in Amsterdam - matress on floor, stained shower curtains and as clean as a local landfill....
While this ain't exactly the Four Seasons or the Plaza, I prefer to think of it as a clean well lighted place.
Here are the facts: The rooms have to be prepaid, they are transferable, but they are not refundable, it is a shared bathroom but they are private single rooms and there is a secure 24 hr entrance. The rooms will include pillows, linens, towels plus there are common rooms with small kitchens as well. The upper floors have spectacular views of Morningside Park and the Hudson River. It is on the corner of 116th and Broadway and it is steps (really it is super close) to the #1 train, from here it is a 16 minute ride to 34th & 7th which is a 5 block walk to Javits. It is an awesome neighborhood adjacent to the Columbia campus. Below is a photo of what the rooms look like plus some sights in the neighborhood - you can recognize Tom's Diner made famous on Seinfeld just 2 blocks down across the street, it is 4 blocks from the main Book Culture store (1 block from the second store). The last photo on the bottom is the entrance gate at 117th & Broadway looking south.
So if you are mildly adventurous and looking for an inexpensive way to stay at BEA, this is your ticket. Plus you will be able to claim you have attended an Ivy League institution. Look for us to announce this next week via BEA's social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc...) and email.
PS: If you were curious about the bathrooms. There are 8 rooms per floor and the bathrooms are like any dorm or gym: multiple showers + multiple sinks + multiple toilets. We will place men and woman on separate floors by gender.
Last comment - if my travel budget was tight, I would stay here in a flat second and I know have stayed at far worse places in my infinite travels for Reed. Lance if you are reading this - you know the place in Amsterdam - matress on floor, stained shower curtains and as clean as a local landfill....
