Wedding Blog
One of the very few wedding-related tasks that I completely delegated to Mr. Latte was researching and reserving blocks of hotel rooms. I made up some lame excuse about why he should take care of it… something about how his friends were the ones that would need the hotel block, and since he knows them better than I do, he should be the one to do it. I know, super lame… but it worked! 
In reality, I did not want to have anything to do with this aspect of wedding planning. I had heard horror stories from friends about hotels not honoring discounted rates, high minimums and unrelenting customer service representatives. I just didn’t want to deal with it! And to be honest, I just can’t get that excited about a hotel. I am not a fan of sleeping in strange beds, in strange rooms and hearing strange noises at night. This is unfortunate because I travel a lot for work. Sure, I’ve stayed in some really nice hotels, but it just takes a lot for me to get excited about a hotel stay.
But when you can say “bunk bed,” “hammock,” and “sunken bed,” all in 1 sentence, how can you be anything but excited? Yup, these can all be found at the NU Hotel in Brooklyn. A new boutique hotel (opened in July ’08), this hotel boasts fresh designs that looked so cool online that I had to go see it in person. I immediately loved the trendy feel of the lobby, and the clean look of the rooms. Check out these pictures from their website:
(NU’s lobby)
Their standard rooms are nice, but check out these suites:
(The Friends Suite with bunk beds…wouldn’t this fun for a family with children?)
(The Urban Suite has a hammock! And what’s that I see waaaay in the back?)
(Oh right, the SUNKEN bed!!! Don’t you want to just jump in and sleep forever???)
Besides the fact that the rooms are just so cool (the bathrooms have chalk boards where you can leave notes for travel mates or housekeeping), the hotel tries to be as “smart” as possible. There’s cork flooring in the rooms, FSC-certified sustainably harvested teak wood in the hallways and organic bedding on the beds.
NU is located on Smith Street in downtown Brooklyn, and there are lots of bars, restaurants and cute little stores within walking distance to keep our guests entertained.
The Lattes will probably be using reward points and getting our post-wedding rest at our other hotel block, the Marriott in downtown Manhattan. But if I hear of any guests that went for the sunken bed, I think I may have to crash their partay!
Anyone else excited about their guests’ accommodations? What has your experience been with hotel blocks?
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Share this post: How Do I Love Nu? Let Me Count the Ways..
Wow, that place seems so cool it makes me want to be one of your guests, lol!
Wow… it looks very IKEA-esque! That will be a night to remember!
Hmm.. still trying to figure out how to explain to our guests BYOL - bring your own linens! I’m so excited we’re getting married at a summer camp! There’s no hotels to book! none! I know that’s a little… alternative, though, so we’ll see how that goes down with the guests!
I am not so excited about hotels right now. I can’t seem to get it together to organize room blocks! :o( Not only am I a bit dispirited about the whole thing, but it stresses me out. I tried to find a high budget hotel and a low budget hotel for my guests with different financial backgrounds, but I would much rather they find a place they themselves feel more comfortable with for their own budget.
There are only 4 major hotels in the area where I’m getting married. They’re all ridiculously priced ($400+ per night). I told our guests to look for condos because they’re plentiful and reasonably priced. I didn’t want to deal with the minimums they required for the room blocks.
I love hotels! It is so fun to stay in a new place and just relax and enjoy the fun little things in the room. That place looks awesome.
That is awesome! I love the sleek look of the hotel! I wish we had something like that here. Southern Oregon is home to the run of the mill hotels and lots of victorian style B&Bs and that’s about it.
I talked to my FI about blocking out hotel rooms, as it is mostly his family that will be coming from OOT. But he seems to think they would prefer choosing their own hotels, so I’m just planning on including some helpful info on our wedding website and letting everyone do their own thing.
That is the coolest hotel! I wish we had something that different in Atlanta!!
I put off reserving a block of rooms as long as possible, but the experience was actually quite painless. The tricky part for us is going to be making sure our family actually makes reservations at the hotel before the rooms are released! (They ALWAYS wait until the last minute!)
Holy cow, I used to live 4 blocks from there!! Love Brooklyn, and I think your guests will enjoy it too.
I also hated reserving room blocks but I had it easy. The hotels in the town square don’t do them, or want thousands of dollars in advance to do so. So lame, but kind of a relief!!
Wow, what amazing guest rooms! Ours are very nice, but seem so run-of-the-mill compared to the NU suites!
We had a great time! We booked a hotel called the NYLO. There’s one in Rhode Island and one in Texas. The air in the rooms is circulated through a filter with tea tree oils every 15 minutes, so it always smells fresh. The building is an old mill that overlooks a river. The walls are either brick or glass panels. The hallways have huge art pieces done by local artists. There’s a bar on the first floor with a deck outside, with a glass railing - it looks like you’ll fall into the river! I am so excited we found this gem. (We also got a block at a Homewood Suites, for our guests with kids.)
What a cool looking hotel! I love the idea of leaving notes for someone in the bathroom. When you’re doing your best thinking?
OMG! This place looks awesome! We live in NY but my FI is always talking about hammocks and how that’s his life long dream. Great gift idea
This hotel is awesome! So urban chic, I love it.
Us and most of our guests are staying in a beautiful little inn. Each room is has its own theme so no room is alike
All I have to say is that I’d hate to be a maid at this hotel and have to change the sheets on the sunken bed.
How on earth does one accomplish this?? 
What a cool hotel! I live in nyc but I still want to stay there. We got a block at a Holiday Inn… boring (but cheap!).
@FutureTacco: You’re right! Very IKEA. I kept thinking it was like living inside an IPod.
@Sparkles: I hear ya. In addition to the 2 room blocks, we suggested using Priceline to find a room that would fit their budgets.@JLS: Wow! NYLO sounds awesome!!!
@ES123: LOL! Sounds like something Mr. Latte would say.
Those rooms look great. I think I might have to check it out.
[...] some wedding related tasks. Remember that lame excuse I used to get him to research and book our hotel blocks? That was all part of the plan. And that time I used the free food and gift trick to get him to [...]
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Mrs. Latte, Boston/NYC
Age and Occupation: 29, College Admissions Counselor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Elementary School Teacher
Engagement Date: August 23, 2008
Wedding Date: July 2009
Venue: Stage 6 at Steiner Studios
About Me: I am an East Coast girl marrying a West Coast boy. After 2 years of over 3,000 miles between us, Mr. Latte and I are looking forward to finally living in the same time zone/coast/city/home and living “normal couple” lives. I am a crafter at heart and enjoy dragging my friends into new craft projects. I love my Mac, baking cupcakes, wrapping presents, my BlackBerry, naps, good NY style pizza, Jack Bauer and of course, Mr. Latte. I love him a latte. :)
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