Travel

Metropolitan Hotel Unveils New Tech Den for Laptop Junkies

Tech Bytes, Tech Supplies, Business-Center Butlers and Secretaries-on-Demand to Satisfy Business Travelers and Techie.

New York, 06.13.01 -- The newly renovated and re-named, Metropolitan Hotel (formerly Loews New York Hotel) has just unveiled a Tech Den for laptop junkies and busy business travelers. This is a place where laptop and cell phone devotees are encouraged to work and talk. It’s a safe haven from "how-rude!" stares and a place where they can grab a "byte" to eat from the "Tech Bytes" menu. Computers can easily connect at the Tech Den, located in the back of the hotel’s recently renovated Lexington Avenue Grill adjacent to the new lobby, via Internet data ports and plugs located right on the table tops ($5.95/hour with food and beverage; $9.95/ hour without). This means no bending, crawling and moving furniture to plug-in and get connected.

The "Tech Bytes" menu features easy-to-eat-while-you-work favorites, such as Laptop Pizza, Virtual Veggies and Digital Dip, the You’ve Got Cheese Burger and more. Also on the menu is a roster of office supplies business travelers don’t think to travel with, but often need while preparing documents on the road, such as paper clips, staplers, envelopes, floppy disks, cell-phone battery re-chargers, white out, palm pilot cradles, and more. If guests need some help getting their work done, the Tech Den will arrange for secretaries-on-demand, translation services, faxing and printing. In fact, guests may simply e-mail documents that need to be printed to the business center and a Business-Center Butler will either deliver the document to the Tech Den or the guest’s room.

"No matter how nice a hotel room is, no one wants to be cooped up in one all day and all night working," stated Michael Lyman, director of sales and marketing. "Our new Tech Den enables hotel guests who need to be plugged in while traveling, a chance to get out of their room, stretch their legs, get a ‘byte’ to eat and even socialize," continued Lyman who never leaves home without his laptop. "If your cell rings or you pull out a laptop in a restaurant, stares are often sent your way. In the Tech Den you might get funny looks if you show up sans laptop."

For hotel reservations and information, please call 866-METRO-NY (866-638-7669) or visit the web site at www.metropolitanhotel.com.

The Metropolitan Hotel (formerly Loews New York Hotel), located on the tony eastside of midtown Manhattan at Lexington Avenue and 51st Street, is undergoing a three-part $17 million renovation. Phase 1, which includes the façade, lobby, restaurant, bar, business class lounge and meetings space, has been completed. 250 Business Class rooms will be renovated in Phase 2 and will boast deluxe amenities, including high-speed Internet access, data-ports, coffee makers, irons, ironing boards and more. Phase 3 will include the balance of the guest rooms in early 2002. The Business Class Lounge, exclusive to business-class guests and located on the Penthouse level, serves up magnificent views of the city skyline, a seasonal terrace and daily, complimentary continental breakfast and evening wine and cheese. The hotel’s popular meeting rooms, available for 10 to 500 people, includes the Penthouse Meeting Room with a wrap-around terrace and a greenhouse-style pre-function room. For dining and drinks, Lexington Avenue Grill features contemporary American fare, and the adjacent lobby Lexy Bar serves the hotel’s signature Sexy Lexy and happy-hour specials. Other programs and services include a business center, a hair and nail salon, a fitness center, a concierge service and a "Did You Forget" Closet. A Tech Den, located on the cozy lower level of the three-tiered restaurant, allows guests to "plug-in" and "connect" while enjoying a favorite snack or drink. The Metropolitan Hotel is owned and operated by Loews Hotels.