Fall is a great time to visit gay New York. GayCities New York editor, JJ Keyes, recommends two Thompson Hotels to knock your socks off. The questions is: Are you an Uptown or Downtown Boy?
Gild Hall, designed by Jim Walrod, is a funky downtown hotel in the classic European tradition. Located in the heart of the Financial District, its the best option if you are coming in to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, cruise Wall Street for a clean-cut I-Banker, sample funky art at the New Museum or just to spend the weekend hanging out with the other Downtown Boys.
Gild Hall is perfect setting to meet a hunky Colin Farrell-esque out-of-towner. You’ll find him flipping through a tattered copy of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises in the upstairs Library Bar. If you prefer to leave the books in the library (or on his bedside table), munch on Dean & Deluca gourmet snacks in the spacious Penthouse Suite. Lounge after a long day of shopping and sightseeing in a Frette terry robe and snuggle in the arms of your lover or the comfort of a handsome stranger in 400-thread-count SFERRA linens while you catch up on this week’s episode of Mad Men.
We recommend dinner a little further uptown at the Stanton Social before heading over to Boys Night at Fuerza Bruta or the new Lisa Kron show at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. If you’re ready to rage into the night Eastern Bloc is full of downtown bad boys, go-gos and plenty of Svedka.
Fashionistas are flocking to 6 Columbus this week for the runway-side accommodation. Steven Sclaroff has evoked the Mod ’60s with the careful infusion of a 21st century sensibility in his the 6 Columbus design. Project Runway hopefuls and fashion forward guests have flooded the upper west side and made the Lincoln Center into a sprawling catwalk. Models are spilling over to the long couch in the lobby of 6 Columbus. The party won’t stop once Gwen Stefani bows after her girls leave the runway and Tom Ford takes off his bowtie.
A stroll through Central Park, the MoMa and the Museum of Natural History should be on your checklist for neighborhood recreation. Have a bite in the hotel at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill or put on your Sunday best and head to Jean Georges for the 7-course spread before catching Rigoletto or Das Rheingold with your very own Richard Gere at the Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera. Head back to the hotel and scream, “Eat your heart out Christie Brinkley,” when you arrive; Six Columbus is sure to make you feel like an Uptown Boy.
Photo Credits: The Brandman Agency, Thompson Hotels
