<div><p>In mid-November, my colleague Chris Shott recounted that even marquee hotels in New York were dropping room rates--a sure sign that the much-ballyhooed hotel boom was waning, if not completely over. </p><p> A basic room at the Hotel Pennsylvania tonight would also cost $189, down from $222. The price of a superior queen at the Philippe Stark-designed Paramount Hotel Times Square, meanwhile, has dropped from $209 to $167. The Theater District's Milford Plaza is pricing rooms as low as $159, down from $199. </p><p>Michael Stoler gets in on the action today, writing in The Real Deal: </p><p>On December 21, a handful of rooms were made available to visitors at a rate of $195 per night at Andre Balazs' 18-story, 337-room Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District. The room price included complimentary breakfast room-service, wireless Internet access and free local calls. </p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=39614350&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2008  <a href="http://www.observer.com">The New York Observer</a></div></div>