NECSS had a group rate for The Marcel at Gramercy which normally charges about $310 a night for the room; Pat, Clara, and I paid $180.  I was saddened to learn that cost doesn’t necessarily correspond to size when I found that the main shot on their webpage is taken from the exit of their vestibule.  The room shot shows probably a full third of the room and I’ve seen minivans that were more spacious.  While sitting at the book shelf masquerading as a desk no one could fit between me and the bed even while using the desk as a dunlop shelf.  Had I opted to use the toilet it would have been in a pose I’ll politely call side saddle and was very happy that Baruch college had a proper potty.  The bed seemed spacious, but probably because removing the score of pillows on it doubled its apparent size.

The only non-comically tiny items in the room were the TV and the minibar whose tray covered a quarter of the desk.  Were one to have consumed all the items on it, one would owe the hotel an addition $132, excluding the $14 “pleasure pak”.  $7 condom, anyone?