Last week my mom and I took my grandmother on her first trip to New York City to celebrate her 85th birthday (read our full trip recap here). I wanted to make the occasion extra special, starting with where we stayed.
Location was important to us and midtown was the perfect spot to easily see everything we wanted in two days. I am a Hilton Honors member and when looking at their line of hotels The Conrad Midtown instantly stood out above the rest. Up until about a month ago, the Hilton property on west 54th street was known as The London, before transforming to The Conrad Midtown.
I was excited to see the newly renovated rooms and amenities. We stayed in the One Bedroom Suite – Double Queen and because we were at the end of the hallway it was a little larger than the other suites. The bedroom, living room, and bathroom were all separate, which was nice with three people in one room. The closet was in the living area and was large enough for all of our hanging clothes. There was also a dining table near the city view window, which gave us plenty of space for breakfast each morning.
Sadly the restaurant, Dabble, was still under renovation and we were only able to enjoy in-room dining. As a Hilton Honors gold member, we received credit towards breakfast. We had a large spread waiting as we finished our hair each morning. Every staff member we met was extremely friendly and helpful. We mainly used Uber to get around the city, but the concierge will call a car or cab for you. We met a few sweet pups in the elevator because the hotel is pet friendly. I highly recommend The Conrad Midtown for your next trip to New York City! xoxo
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If you follow me on Instagram, chances are you saw a few photos this past weekend of my trip to NYC with Monna. You might remember my grandmother, Monna, from my Mondays with Monna series. Believe it or not, this year Monna is turning 85! A couple of months ago, she mentioned that she has always wanted to visit New York City and never had the chance. My mom and I thought there was no better way to celebrate a milestone birthday than with a trip to the big apple! We had such a great time that I just had to share all the details of our trip to NYC with Monna. Be sure to scroll all the way to the end for a short recap video of our adventures! xoxo
Our flight to New York took a little longer than anticipated thanks to some showers in the area. Luckily, I had already planned to have Precision NY Chauffeur and Airport Transportation pick us up at baggage claim. I do not normally hire a car service, but after our experience, I will be doing so more often. We finally made it to The Conrad Midtown, formally The London NYC, and the two-queen bed suite was perfect for the three of us. I will be sharing a full review of The Conrad Midtown later this week.
We kicked off our grand tour of NYC with a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. The VIP Main Deck Express Experience tickets (aka Fast Pass) made our trip to the top much shorter than everyone else waiting in line. There was a little rain, so we had a beautiful misty view of the city. Next, we made our way downtown to visit Ground Zero. My mom and I had not seen the memorial and it was especially special to my mom who ate lunch at the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. The line to the museum was a mile long, so we did not have a chance to visit that part of the monument, but have I heard great things. We enjoyed lunch at Osteria della Pace in Eatly before walking through the financial district to Battery Park. Since Monna tends to get motion sickness, we saw the Statue of Liberty from the still coastline of Battery Park.
That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Polo Bar before seeing the Broadway production of Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre. The Ambassador Theatre was built in 1921 and has not had as many updates as other Broadway theaters. Before turning in for the night we walked by Times Square to see all the lights at night and to make some custom birthday M&M’s at M&M World.
Past a little rain on the first day, the weather was beautiful the rest of our trip. We started day two with a carriage ride through all of Central Park. We used NYC Horse Carriage Rides and our driver shared a ton of history and was nice enough to take all the photos we wanted. We took a stroll to see The Plaza, Bergdorf Goodman, Trump Tower, The Chrysler Building and stopped in Grand Central Station. That afternoon visited the fourth floor of Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue for lunch at The Blue Box Cafe. The food, employees, and atmosphere made the headache of getting a reservation well worthwhile. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and spent the afternoon strolling through the endless cases full of diamonds, silver, gold, and crystal. Before enjoying dinner at Fig & Olive, we visited Rockefeller Plaza and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Before catching our afternoon flight home, I made everyone visit Ralph’s Coffee Shop on Madison Avenue. The coffee shop is perfectly tucked inside the women’s Ralph Lauren store, where I could have spent all day looking at their black label. The weather was beautiful so we walked back toward our hotel along Park Avenue while admiring the towering building and perfectly placed flowers.
I received so many great restaurant recommendations on Instagram Stories but sadly didn’t have the time to visit them all. Here are the restaurants that were most recommended: 21 Club, Bacaro, Bagels & Schmear on 28th, Bubby’s, Carbone, Catch, Frenchette, Flip Sigi, Gato, Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co., Jacob’s Pickles, Katz’s, La Vara, LAVO, Le Colonial, Osteria Morini, Palma, Sofreh, Wayan, Xi’an Famous Foods.
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A few weeks ago I made a quick trip to New York City for Create & Cultivate. My coworkers (who I was traveling with) insisted that we stay at theRefinery Hotelin midtown (on 38th between 5th and 6th). The location was perfect, and I loved the way that they carried out their branding throughout the entire hotel.
Our flight to NYC was a little longer than expected because of the weather. When we finally landed and made it through rush hour traffic to our hotel, it had been about 10 hours since we had breakfast. Luckily the Refinery Hotel has a fantastic restaurant calledParker & Quinnbecause needless to say we were starving. We started our meal with the Butcher’s Meatballs and NYC Burrata. Both were delicious! The service was wonderful and I quickly followed our appetizers with the Lamb Ragu Rigatoni (told you I was starving). If you are not staying at the Refinery Hotel but would like to dine at Parker & Quinn, they have a separate entrance for the restaurant on 39th.
After dinner, we made our way to our rooms. They were clean, quiet, spacious, and of course, well branded. The studio double queen room comfortably fits two people, but if you have three or more staying, I would recommend getting the deluxe room for space. Next, we made our way upstairs to check out the Refinery Rooftop bar and lounge. The rooftop has an incredible view of NYC including the Empire State Building. The rooftop also has a glass covering if you are visiting during colder months or if it is raining.
Every morning the Refinery provided coffee in the lobby (life-saving), and in the evenings they served wine (game-changing). I didn’t have any complaints about my stay, which is rare and will hopefully be back at the Refinery Hotel soon. Be sure to check out the Refinery Hotel the next time you are in NYC, and shop all my travel must-haves below! xoxo
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