The Gershwin Hotel in New York is offering a unique special called Pay your Age – first night’s rate is equal to the year you were born in. So if you were born in 1975, you pay $75. That’s right, the older you are, the cheaper it gets.

Gershwin Hotel, New York

There’s no shortage of New York hotels offering outlandish packages and deals, but for sheer wackiness, there’s very few that can come close to the Gershwin Hotel. There’s wackiness dripping out of every pore of the Gershwin, starting from the exterior, which as you can see above, isn’t exactly conventional.

And it gets better and better as you move in. The hotel, which has graced Manhattan for over 100 years now, has seen the ebb and flow of generations of cultures and the influence is apparent in everything from the hotel’s name to the art along the hallway, the poster above the bed and the green designer chairs.

Oh, and there’s also the artists in residence program – every year, they select a few special artists, performers and painters who live and ’create’ within the hotel. 

The ‘Pay your Age’ offer is valid for July and August only. And you can only book this package if you call them at (212) 545-8000 on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 between 9 & 6pm EST. Taxes extra and a 3-night minimum stay is required, so you’ll have to pay the rack rate for the remaining 2 days. 

Oh and one thing you should know – the Gershwin offers everything from a luxury suite down to bunk beds cheaper than those offered by the Manhattan motels. So if you’re young, and in your youthful exuberance to get a good deal you end up booking a cheap room or shared digs under the pay your age special, you could actually end up paying more than the rack rate for the first night. 

Info: 7 East 27th Street New York NY 10016; (212) 545-8000; www.gershwinhotel.com/; Interior photos by miss_rogue via flickr (creative commons).