The brand-new InterContinental Times Square brings 607 more hotel rooms to New York

It's expected that New York City will see more than 7,000 new hotel rooms open in 2010, a staggering number in any economy. The great wave of hotel openings has begun, with Andaz Fifth Avenue's soft opening last week, Gansevoort Park Avenue just around the corner, and the InterContinental Times Square opening this past Monday.

A soaring glass tower that sits one long block west of Times Square, the InterContinental Times Square opened this week, hoping to impress guests with a new Todd English brasserie, a touch-screen computer in every room, a pending LEED certification, and great views from many of the guest rooms.
We headed over to the hotel yesterday to get an early look and to take some photos for our readers. Below we'll take you on a tour and provide you with some more thoughts on what we saw.

All rooms have at least one 42-inch LG flatscreen TV; the suites have two. The Panoramic Suites, one of which is seen above, have windows that look out over Eighth Avenue, the Theater District to the east, and the Clinton district (AKA Hell's Kitchen) to the northwest.

Every room in the hotel has a touch-screen computer, perfect for those who are traveling on business or those who want to Google nearby movie times (there's also a mouse and keyboard -- you don't need to touch the screen). You can't save files to the hard drive, though, so bring your USB thumb drive along. The unfortunate part? You'll need to pay $12.95 (per 24 hours) to use the internet on the desktop (it's $14.95 for internet if you want to use wireless on your laptop).

This is the view looking down Eighth Avenue from a Panoramic Suite on the 14th floor.

This is another view from the same Panoramic Suite, but this time looking northwest (towards the Hudson River) over Hell's Kitchen.

This is a Standard Room with a king bed. Like all other rooms, it has one 42-inch flatscreen TV, a touch-screen computer, and an iHome docking station. There's also an armchair with an ottoman, and a very spacious bathroom (pictured below).

The bathrooms are a great example of the hotel's attention to detail. The shower's are all lined with beautiful blue mosaic tiles, and the general manager spent months finding a towel dye that would match the tiles exactly. The same shade of blue is seen on the trim of the hotel bathrobes.

The bathroom glasses are decorated by hand, which means no two are exactly alike.

The lobby is spacious and attractive, though there isn't anywhere to sit down (see the Ca Va lounge photo below for an exception).

The front desk.

There's a lovely courtyard garden behind the front desk, though you can't go in it. The front desk, the private dining room inside the restaurant, and one of the hotel's meeting spaces all look out over the garden.

This lounge connects the lobby (which doesn't have its own seating) to Ca Va, Todd English's French brasserie which is scheduled to open next week. Ca Va will serve cocktails and light fare to guests lounging here.

The InterContinental brand takes its concierge services seriously. The above shows an entire room off of the lobby that's dedicated to guests' concierge needs. There's an additional Guest Services desk on the opposite side of the lobby.

The best part of the hotel is its attention to detail. Every elevator has different artwork inside, and it's all stunning. The hotel is covered in different textures, colors, and New York-inspired artwork. Stone, mother-of-pearl, glass tiles, grooved metal -- everywhere you turn, there's a surface you want to touch.

The fitness center has state-of-the-art equipment, lots of natural light, and an attractive design. We especially love the touch-screen TVs that are on every cardio machine, making it easy to control the TV channel and your workout program. We also appreciated the black and white, floor-to-ceiling backlit photos of famous athletes, in case you need some extra inspiration.