Newsday du lieu suivant : New York, New York • 57

ntr 1 Analysts say most New York hotels don't come near those of Europe for super-service, and still get away with charging high rates. Even the top-rated Carlyle doesnt provide late-night ironing: To be a five-star top hotel in Paris you have to fulfill higher expectations, said Robin Axness, director of marketing at the-Plaza Athenee, a highly rated four-year-old hotel on East 64th Street run by Trusthouse Forte that used to be the Hotel Alrae. The New York hotel scene also has lost some ofthe society glamour it had around the 1940s, with the demise of sudi i chibs as the Empire Room at the Wa Astoria and conversion of the Room into a dress stare because it could no longer afford to attract top talent. dont think New York has a 1 hotel at this moment, compared to i other great cities, said Donald Trump, who is taking over the 800-nxm Plaza for Newadsir Linda Carnivals The lobby of the Plaza Athenee, at left, one of New Yorks highest-rated and most expensive hotels. Above, the 54-story Royal Concordia under construction on West 54th Street But developer Tan Bruce lSdinw decided a hotel wouldnt make sense.

He had Considered building a 660-to 800-roohl hotel on Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets but figured that with roam rates of about $200, it-would take a decade to start achieving a meaningful return on investment. We felt the marlin nffina building might be tmirfi more table," he said. Even though room rates should climb 8 to 12 percent a year, according to Rushmore of Hospitality Valuation, they are still cheap compared witn cities like Paris and Tokyo and wont scare away international travelers. The danger isthat when competing for convention business with cities like Las Vegas and Atlanta, if our rates get too far away from what is considered normal in other destinations, New York would be pro- plniimi frryn pitting fmi nfthii ffmymtinn KminaM said Jeffrey Flowers, chairman of the Hotel Assod- ation of New York City and managing director of The Plaza. Analysts' say the top end of the market is less vulnerable to economic shifts.

The luxury end represents 16 percent of the New York market, with onthird of that being super-luxury, said Fax of Pannell Kerr Forster. Some of the hotels are almost forced to go for the top end because of their costs, including two old-time hotels that were each given 9100-million-plus facelifts: Maxims on West 55th Street and Fifth Avenue, formerly the-Gotham, -and the Grand Bay, next to the Equitable Center on Seventh Avenue, formerly the Taft. The Gotham renovation had acolosaally troubled history after a Swiss hotelier took it over in 1979 with plans to turn it into an ultimate luxury hotel. The a New York developer and Dallas who scaled down the plans but are still including a three-level rooftop health club and a 27-step marble staircase. $390 millym and who analyst! say may have to spend another 100 million to revitalize it.

Among other steps. Trump has architects analyzing the entrance and lob-by areas, and is pondering whether to up-the restaurants, what to do with Vics in the basement which several restaurants, health clubs and society pianist Peter Duchin have expressed interest in and whether to give longterm leases to some Fortune 500 executives. That adds to the excitement and the character of the hotel, having people like that living here, Flowers said. Some competitors are skeptical of The Plazas chances. Trump will have a great challenge in chang-ing the attitudes of the staff there, which is what would turn it around, said Frank Bowling, manager ofthe Carfyla.

Fancy decor doesn't fool all the people all of the time. In addition to service, a guest list is important in helping set an images and New York hotela compete for stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholaon and Elton John. Bowling scoffe at suggestions by competitors that Nancy Reagan is just as nky to stmr at thnr hotels aa at the Carlyle. Mrs. Reagan stayed once at the May-fair, once at the Ritz-Carlton and then settled with us here to four years ago, said Bowling, whose hotel is also known to attract such big names asNichol-son, Mick Jagger and King Hussein of Jordan.

The Pierre, which has drawn such celebrities as Tony Curtis, Donna Summer and the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and Finland, has one of the largest percentages of international guests in the city representing 40 percent of its non-co-op guests. The trend not only creates an international atmosphere but also helps cushion against economic shifts, said George Schwab, managing director. When there is be a downturn in business in the United States economy, it doesnt necessarily have the same effect abroad, Schwab said. Your fluctuation becomes leas. Part of the Pierres success stems from a market survey it did five years ago that found opportunities for attracting West Germans and Japanese, which together have grown to more than 6 percent of the clientele.

The hotel has added a concierge and front-desk person if lo in to terry cloth robes and 24-hour room service to try to remain on, or rise to, the top. The Carlyle has added videocassette recorders and stereo tape decks to every room. The Grand Bqy gives free overnight shoeshino service, limousine service to Wall Street and televisions in the bathrooms. TPT Honored Guests Where some celebrities stay when they're in New York I Carlyle Nancy Reagan, Jack Nicholson, Mick Jagger, King Hussein of Jordan, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Carl Bernstein. Lowell Burt Lancaster, DannyDeVito, Stephanie Powers, Maria Shriver, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Dame Kiri Te Kinawa, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Betsy BJoomingdaJe.

Pierre Tony Summer, Charles Bronson, Stewart Granger, and the prime ministers of Canada. Jamaica, Australia, and Finland. CO 3 Plaza Athene Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Billy Crystal, Joan Collins, Jackie Collins, and the prime minister of Luxembourg. Waldorf Towers Lee lacocca, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Dudley Moore, Prime Minister of Japan, Duchess of York, George Harrison, Robert Campeau, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Elizabeth Taylor. the Astor family and once considered one of the city's premier hotels, is an example of how a great hotel can fade from glory.

Industry analysts and officials say Equitable Life may be reluctant to spend the kind at money it will take to create bigger rooms and restore the elegance that used to attract the Otars high society to the King Cole Room. Edward R. Lewis, a longtime hotel real estate agent who handled four sales of the SL Regia, estimated that buying out Equitable might cost $150 million, plus another $100 million to renovate, which might add up to too steep a price tag of $500,000 a room. Sheraton took over and they made it corny, Lewis said. Its a class hotel and it should be run a little different than the rest at the chain.

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