eighteen questions
Frequently asked questions
Every question this page answers is grouped below rather than run together, so the one you actually have is easier to find.
Booking and dates
Booking and dates
Can I book one apartment, or do I have to take the whole house?
Either. The three apartments are sold separately at a nightly rate, and the whole house is sold as one let to one party. The calendar shows both and it will not sell you a night that is already gone in the other form.
If I book an apartment, do I have the garden to myself?
No. The garden is shared between the three apartments and there may well be somebody else in it. If having the garden and the building to yourself is the point, that is the whole-house let.
What is the minimum stay?
Two nights for an apartment and three for the whole house, except in summer, when it is five, and over the holidays, when it is four. The booking page applies whichever is longer and says which rule it used.
Rates and fees
Rates and fees
What does the whole house cost compared with the three apartments?
Less than the three added together, and the rates page shows the arithmetic on the same screen. The house is one clean, one changeover and one arrival instead of three, and the price reflects that.
Is there a cleaning fee?
Yes, once per stay, and it is printed beside every nightly rate on this site rather than added at the end. It is eighty-five to a hundred and five dollars for an apartment and two hundred and sixty for the whole house.
Is there anything else added at the end?
No. Nightly rate, cleaning fee, and a refundable hold that is an authorisation rather than a payment. No resort fee, no service charge and no surcharge invented at checkout.
Arrival and the building
Arrival and the building
How do I get in?
A keypad. The code arrives by e-mail a week before, works from three in the afternoon on the day of arrival, and stops working at eleven on the morning you leave. There is no key and nobody meets you.
Is anybody in the building at night?
No. The telephone is answered by a person who lives twenty minutes away. That is what a house of this size can honestly offer instead of a night porter.
Is there a lift?
No. Five steps up the stoop to the parlour floor and two more flights to the loft. The garden apartment is three steps down from the pavement and level inside.
Can I check in late?
Any hour. The code works from three in the afternoon and it does not care what time you arrive. There is nobody to keep waiting.
Can I leave my bags before check-in or after check-out?
Yes, in the store under the stoop, which has its own code. It is not attended and there is a limit of what will fit, which is about six cases.
Do you serve breakfast?
No. Every apartment has its own kitchen, there is a bakery on 61st Street and a supermarket three blocks away, and the parlour kitchen will cook for thirty-four if you want it to.
Events at the house
Events at the house
Can you host a wedding?
The house takes about thirty-five seated when the garden is usable. It is not a licensed venue, it holds no liquor licence, and nobody here can conduct the marriage — the day is the celebration and the legal part happens elsewhere.
Do you allow parties?
Not on an apartment booking. A gathering is a different product: it takes the whole house, it has its own price and its own clean, and it is arranged by enquiry rather than booked online.
Neighbourhood, parking and rules
Neighbourhood, parking and rules
Can I bring a dog?
No, and the reason is the stair carpet and the number of guests with allergies. Assistance dogs are not pets and are welcome — tell us in advance so the right apartment is ready.
Is there parking?
Not at the house. Alternate-side parking on 61st Street and free overnight on the side streets. Most guests who arrive by car stop using it on the second day.
How noisy is it?
The elevated line is four minutes away and audible from the front of the house, all night. The loft faces the other way and is the quietest room in the building.
What happens if something breaks while I am there?
Telephone. Most things are fixed the same day, and a glass or a plate is not charged for. The refundable hold exists for the floor, the cornice and the original sash frames, which cannot be replaced.
Still have a question?
The contact page reaches a person for anything not answered above; the booking page answers the one question a page cannot: whether your dates are free.