Robots, Japanese jazz brunches and aquariums… find them all in this intro to NYC’s most bizarre hotels by our friends at Travel Bag.
Name: Yotel
Location: Times Square West
What makes it quirky?
How many hotels do you know with their very own robot? Yobot the 15ft tall luggage-delivering robot is just one of the many technological elements featured in this hotel-of-the-future, with self-service reception allowing guests to check in and out at their leisure. There are monsoon rain showers in every room, which must be experienced to be believed – you won’t be able to go back to plain old normal showers! The Yotel model was originally devised as a airport terminal-exclusive hotel, with two in London and one in Amsterdam. The format proved to be so successful that they eventually rolled the format out to New York City. The Times Square West location is now the flagship hotel for Yotel, with the hotel’s terrace the largest of the type in the city.
Name: The Pod Hotel
Location: E39th St & E51st St.
What makes it quirky?
The ‘pod’ hotel format is the closest the West has come to replicating Japan’s famous capsule hotels. The Pod Hotel features streamlined rooms for travellers on a budget. Pod Hotel features an exclusive forum for guests to chat prior to and during their stay. The social element plays a big part in the Pod Hotel experience, with the hotel encouraging online chat on the complementary WiFi between current and incoming guests, to organise social activities such as sight-seeing and even joining each other for food and drink. With the original hotel on E51st St and the new pod open on E39th St, guests can choose the location preferable to them,
Name: Library Hotel
Location: Central Midtown Manhattan
What makes it quirky?
The clue is in the name! The Library Hotel features over 6000 books for guests to enjoy, with each room themed around one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System:
Computer science
Philosophy and psychology
Religion
Social science
Language
Science
Technology
Arts
Literature
History, geography and biography
This ensures a unique experience for each guest and encourages repeat visits. The real attraction though is the 14th floor rooftop which is open to guests. In the day you can enjoy the Writer’s Den and Poetry Garden, while the Bookmarks Lounge comes to life in the evening, with literary-themed cocktails available. The Reading Room offers complimentary coffee and treats at all times of the day, while breakfast is available in the morning, while the wine and cheese comes out in the evening.
Name: Kitano
Location: Park Avenue
What makes it quirky?
Japanese-themed jazz. The Kitano hosts a jazz brunch every Sunday, while guests who wish to get up and jam are free to freestyle on the Open Jam Session evenings. The Kitano heavily emphasizes its passion for the arts, with the hotel even featuring its own gallery, which has a rotating set of art and music, with the aim of sharing Japanese culture with guests from allover the globe. There are a number of fixed pieces which have become synonymous with the hotel, such as the bronze sculpture by Fernando Botero
Name: Stay.
Location: Midtown West
What makes it quirky?
While the Aspen Social Club provides top quality food and is an ideal haunt for celeb-spotting, it is the 18,000-gallon aquarium which really grabbed our attention! The Aspen Social Club is the hotel’s restaurant-cum-lounge and has proven extremely popular with its woodland-themed design. Rather than offering an on-site gym as many hotels do, Stay. provides access to the New York Sports Club for any guests looking for a workout.
Richard Greenleaf is a travel blogger who still dreams of driving the entirety of Route 66. Richard regularly embarks on New York holidays but is still finding new and exciting parts of the city with every visit.