The Jane, New York City – Review

Perched on the edge of New York`s Meat Packing District and Chelsea, The Jane represents the new breed of flashpacker hotel. The hotel doesn`t feel like the hostels we know of old – instead, it`s full of professional, young media types flitting between the cafe, lobby and bar. When I stayed, the very cool bar played host to a party, to which only the Big Apple`s young and beautiful seemed to be invited.

The former home to Chelsea sailors, the hotel once housed the survivors of the Titanic when they arrived back on dry land. Today, it has stuck with the nautical theme and The Jane boasts `cabins` with a choice of a single bunk or bunk beds, all with shared bathrooms down the corridor.

When I stayed, I upgraded myself to the `Captain`s Cabin,` home to a huge bed, its own subway-tiled bathroom and some stylish, purposely distressed and flaking 1950s` furniture.

But the best thing about The Jane? Free bicycles. Every morning, I popped down to reception and put my name down for one of the hotel`s bikes that it lends to guests every day. This way, I spent four days cycling from the Lower East Side to Brooklyn and on to the Met, Greenwich Village and Hell`s kitchen. So not only do you save a fortune on cabs, you get a refreshingly different take of one of the coolest cities on earth.