Allegria Hotel: A Great Choice with Owners Stabilis Capital

Whether for a weekend get-away from New York City or for a business conference, the Allegria Hotel in Long Beach is a great choice. The hotel opened in 2009 with great excitement as the first upscale hotel in Long Beach in decades. In the summer of 2016, it was sold at a bankruptcy auction for $27.4 million. The winning bid went to Stabilis Capital Management LP, a New York investment firm.

As Stabilis Capital on New York reported in a memo, “Stabilis is excited to have won the bid and is passionate about this property. We believe strongly in the potential of the Allegria Hotel and, if the [bankruptcy] trustee approves the sale process, we look forward to making capital improvements and other investments in the property. We plan to establish the Allegria as a truly top-notch boutique hotel.”

The hotel includes 143 rooms and 124,000 square foot of oceanfront space.

After the auction, Ken Silverman, a Chapter 11 operating trustee said, “I’m confident that it’s going to be continued as a hotel, and the current management is going to stay on. I believe [Stabilis has] experience in the hospitality industry.”

Silverman continued, “The hotel is going to continue to operate, and we’re honoring all events and we’re still going to be booking. And the summer season has been spectacular so far — [the hotel has] either been substantially or fully occupied.”

NY To Open Luxury Bathroom Facility

Commuting New Yorkers and city visitors will be able to relieve themselves without concerns for their hygiene as soon as this summer, thanks to a new project in Manhattan.

Wayne Parks, an entrepreneur from Fairfield, CN, is opening New York’s first “luxury bathrooms and private day storage”. A self-proclaimed germaphobe, Parks came up with the project idea after touring the city (and its public restrooms) with his family. Posh Stow and Go, as he calls it, will provide commuters with access to clean facilities throughout the day. The first location will be in Midtown Manhattan near Penn Station and Grand Central Station.

Posh Stow and Go will cover 3,000 square feet, and features spacious individual bathroom stalls as well as private showers. The facilities will be open from 9:00am to 11:00pm, 363 days a year. Personal storage lockers will also be provided to members.

Patrons must sign up for a membership in order to use the Posh Stow and Go facilities. The membership fee $15, and there are also packages for three, six or ten days at a time. Those cost $8, $7 and $6 respectively.

 

Minus 5 Opens on Midtown Hotel

Midtown Manhattan recently welcomed Minus 5 to its repertoire of tourist attractions. Located in the lobby of the New York Hilton Manhattan, the ice bar opened earlier this month. The venue, which is essentially an enormous walk-in freezer, has a temperature of 23 degrees Fahrenheit.

For a $20 fee, guests are provided with disposable gloves and parkas. Cocktails are served in ice glasses, or “in the rocks”, and the cavern is decorated with ice sculptures, an ice bar, and ice benches. The ambience is set with a reel of Top 40 hits such as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. The Manhattan location is actually the third in the U.S.; two similar scenes can be found in Las Vegas.

VIP reservations can also be made through the hotel. For a fee of $95, this experience includes a drink, a photo and a take-away hat.

 

Manhattan Bread and Bagel Celebrates 20 Year Anniversary

Manhattan Beach’s Manhattan Bread and Bagel is preparing to celebrate its 20^th anniversary by offering its 1993 prices for a week. The rollback will begin on Saturday, February 23^rd. Bagels will cost 45 cents and sandwiches will sell at no more than $4.55 until March 1^st.

Owner Michael Keegan said:

“We’re making things from scratch the old-fashioned way and hope to continue doing the same for many more years."

He explained that his wife was the one who wanted to open a restaurant, but that he hesitated in the beginning.

“I said, ‘No, I don’t want to open a restaurant. It’s too competitive and people go in and out of business. What we need in this town is a bagel bakery. There are no fresh bagels that are any good in this area’,” Keegan said. “At the time there were no stores like that that sold fresh-made bagels in Manhattan, Hermosa or Redondo."

Since its inception in 1993, Manhattan Bread and Bagel has turned into a 24 hour business. It has 18 full-time and 10 part-time employees.

Smart Screens Come to Manhattan

Manhattan’s Union Square is getting ready to incorporate new smart screens in to its phone booths. These real-time display gadgets will provide information on local services, current events, entertainment listings and community information.

The project, called City24/7 is named after the media and content company that created it. The new technology in Manhattan is a collaboration between City24/7 and several other private-public partnerships including New York’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group and LG Electronic USA.

The city plans to install 250 screens. 10 have already been put into place at payphones in Manhattan.  The technology, aimed at helping visitors and residents navigate the city's goings-on, offers several language options and numerous features for the disabled. Measuring 32-inches, the screens will also have access to mobile apps, as well as the ability to transfer content to mobile and internet platforms.