New York City - Part 3

For my days off I will be staying at the Staybridge Times Square. I have found this gem in our last visit to the city. Now, I have told you I am a Hilton kind of guy, and this hotel is Priority Club hotel, not Hilton one. Back in the days Hilton had devaluation of their redemption's scheme, Priority Club had given status and points to Hilton members. Then they had their Crack the Case promo which allowed me to receive quite a few points with relatively easy stays. In addition, I got the Priority Club Visa with a nice sign on bonus. This card comes with 45 dollars annual fee and would be one of the few annual fee’s credit card I will have, as you get a certificate for a free night in any of the chain’s hotels. Any night I will choose to stay in a hotel, especially in the high end (as the Intercontinental) would be worth much more than 45 dollars. In addition, you get 10% rebate on the point you redeem and 5 points per dollar for hotel charges and no foreign transaction fees. Pretty good deal for 45 dollars.

What I like about Priority Club (apart from the fact it is amazingly easy to accumulate points) is the way their redemption is working. Now any other chain base their redemption table on the location of the hotel – that would make a NYC hotel much more expensive than let say a middle of nowhere hotel. Not so Priority Club. They based their redemption table on the chain in which the hotel is. So a Staybridge will cost you 20,000 points a night, whether the hotel will be in NYC or somewhere in the middle of nowhere. That makes the redemption in a big city in NYC extremely cheap. In addition, Priority club allows you to buy 10,000 points when redeeming an award, so basically a night in NYC can be had for 8,000 points (20,000 a night – 10,000 bought for 60$ and 2,000 are given back as 10% from the Visa card). You cannot beat that in any other chain. On the other hand, their elite levels are quite useless. As Platinum member you don’t get much apart from bonus points. That said it is so easy to achieve the status that one cannot expect much out of it.

The Staybridge is close enough to Time Square to be called a Time Square’s hotel, but it is a couple of blocks away. The hotel is new, and its shows. The rooms are small (but this is NYC, everything is small) but include a mini-kitchen. Breakfast is free and so are evening receptions throughout the week.  

In the morning in which I had to switch, I had my early morning at the Hampton Inn, and walked over to the Staybridge, several blocks away. It was not too bad of a walk, about 20 minutes. I have called ahead of time to make sure I can drop my luggage and upon arriving it was not a problem at all. I was checked in at that time without a problem, though did not receive a room yet. I was invited to help myself to breakfast, even when I was not entitled to it, which was a nice touch.

I already had breakfast but had some time to kill before my business meeting, so I took the time to make a comparison between the Hampton and the Staybridge. The brands might not be completely equivalent, but are close enough. The breakfast at the Staybrige is of a higher caliber – there are more food choices, at least two warm dishes as at the Hampton, but more choices of cheese, more fruits, and better quality of rolls and pastries. One of the significant differences is that one gets real China and real silverware; while at the Hampton, it is all throwaway plastic and paper. It might not be much, however it does create a better atmosphere at the place.

Checking in again later in the afternoon they apologize they only had a room in the 14^th floor. The room is better designed than the Hampton. It includes a small kitchenette. The shower is small but functional, and the room is of a size that one expects in NYC – that is not that large. There are several annoyances with the hotel – the elevators are small and slow. Three elevators are just not enough during the rush hours. The wifi is free, but require to log in every time you open the computer from a sleep mode – minor annoyance.

All in all, this is still one of the best values one can get with redeeming priority club points. I will be coming back again.

New York City - Part 2

As a good mileage hoarder, I take every opportunity to collect miles. In NYC, I planned to use the AA dining program for that purpose. Most of the airlines and hotel chains have a variant of this program. Basically, you eat, pay with your registered credit card and earn miles on the amount you have spent. One wonders whether the best restaurants participate in such a program (the answer by-the-way is no); however, I have many successes with good restaurants over the years. As I my lunch time was constrained by my location during the working part of the trip, it was a good opportunity to test some new restaurants and earn miles at the same time.

Largest sandwich ever

The first restaurant I’ve frequented is Roxy Delicatessen. It was quite a shock to see the price of the sandwiches. However, you do get a lot of food in the sandwich. Service was a little sketchy – as a single person who orders only sandwich I guess I was not the high roller they assume I would be. The sandwich was good; however, I am not sure I will be returning, as there was nothing special about the place.

Rino Trattoria

The following day I’ve tried Rino Trattoria. I have to say the food was pretty forgettable, service just OK. Not a place I would return to. The next day it was the turn of Matt’s Grill. The food was just OK, nothing to write home about, but the service was top-notch even at the busy lunch hour. It would be worth getting back and giving the place another chance on the food, if only because of the great service.

Matt's Gril

I have tried Remi Restaurant after a visit to the MOMA. Let’s just say I was the odd duck in the crowed. I was t only one with jeans and a T-shirt. Lunch time at the middle of the week saw mostly business man or business meeting. I literally got the worst seat in the place (not surprisingly), and a cold treatment by the waiter. The food, when it finally arrived, was supreme. As expected from the establishment, they charge you for drinks by the glass. The price tag was quite high but worth the food. I would return, but will remember to dress up.

The last restaurant on this round was Sea restaurant at the meat-packing district. Despite its unassuming look, it is one of the greatest finds in the city. For a lunch menu of $8 you’ll get an appetizer and a main course, both of which were very good. The service was attentive and present, but not overwhelming. It is one of my new favorite places to get back to.

A Trip to NYC - Part 1

I had to go to NYC for work. This coincide quite nicely with my bi-annually trip to the city. We like to get to the city in September and March for our Broadway weekends. We don’t buy any tickets in advance. We stand on the lottery lines and usually manage to win at least once. In case we don’t win we use TKTS to buy discounted show tickets. But more on that later.

As this is a work trip, I am taking the Acela train from DC to NYC. I like the train. It is fast, convenient and bring you from the center of the city to the center of the city. I have taken the Acela several times in first class and it is a nice experience with nice meal and free alcoholic drinks. However, on private trips I rarely take the train. The buses are so much cheaper than, and as convenient as the train. With advance planning one can get to NYC and back in less than five dollars with Mega bus or Bolt bus. My partner will join me later in the week and got the round trip for 15 dollars. One cannot really beat this price – especially when the travel’s time is about the same. (Unfortunately this is not always the case – my partner had an enjoyable 6.5 hours’ drive coming into the city, as traffic was backed up on the New Jersey Turnpike. For out next trip, we will consider the train if prices will be reasonable.)

It is quite ironic that my first real trip report will be about a train ride and not a plain, especially considering my long lasting nick name, but that is the way it goes. The day of travel did not start well as I was checking the Washington Metro Web-site only to find out that the usual weekend chaos is going to be much larger this weekend. The metro is usually single-tracking somewhere across the system on the weekend for repairs; sadly this time it would affect my trip down to Union Station. The not so accurate train schedule posted on the electronic boards at the metro station is not operational in case of delays or track work so the most annoying feature of the track work is just not knowing when the next train will arrive. In the end it was not that bad and it took only about 45 minutes (including about 25 waiting time for the train), which is about what one could expect in the weekend.

My seat on the Acella

At the train station I had to collect my ticket, which was painless using the electronic check-in machines. My corporate travel agent is pretty much useless when it comes to connecting one frequent travel information into a booking. I usually have to do it myself either over the phone to get the pre-check in priorities (for hotels) or at check-in otherwise. Therefore I rather check in at the station and not have the tickets pre-printed and delivered by the travel agent (plus is saves money). I was glad that Amtrak has double point promo on the dates that I am traveling, and made sure to add my Amtrak Guest Reward number and print my boarding card. The Amtrak waiting area in Union Station in DC leaves a lot to be desire, but boarding the train is fast and efficient. After throwing one passenger out for abusing the conductor even before we left Union Station, the rest of the ride was uneventful and I got to New-York quickly and in relative comfort.

When it comes to choosing a hotel, luckily I have some freedom. As long it fits within the expenditure I can book it. I am usually a Hilton guy. I like their frequent stay program as it allows you to double dip and earn both points and miles at the same time. On a slow traveling year, like this one, I maintain my Gold status with Hilton through my Amex Hilton card. It has no annual fees (which I like about my cards) and give back quite a good number of points for Hilton hotel spending. In addition one can get rewards room in significant discount (AXON rewards) which I used in the past. This is very attractive reward especially if redeemed for high-end hotels (like Conrad Hong-Kong, and Hilton Tel-Aviv, with nightly rate in the 400-600 dollar range). As a Gold member I get free breakfasts, upgrades if available and free internet. Despite the devaluation that Hilton had couple of years ago, it is still very attractive program. At the third quarter Hilton runs double points or double miles promo, which means that my stay this time would earn me 6000 BMI miles. BMI frequent flyer program is one of the best around. And despite never flown on BMI, I have accumulated and redeemed quite a few mile on it. I just hope the airline will survive its financial woes and the great frequent flyer program will not be axed. Couple of years back Hilton had triple miles promotion which meant up to 9000 miles for a 3 night stay. Despite BMI charging the YQ (fuel charge) on awards, the rate of accumulation and the very affordable redemption tiers make the program very attractive.

Now finding a Hilton hotel in short notice (4 months) in NYC that fits within the allowed expenditure is very hard thing to do. I ended up staying at the Hampton Inn Madison Square Garden. It would not be my first (or second) choice, but it ended up being my only choice. The hotel was in walking distance from Penn station, and even with luggage it did not take too long to get there.

Check-in experience was interesting; although it was well after check-in time, it seems that most of the rooms were not ready. As HHonors Gold member with request of high floor in my profile, I got the magnificent room on the 6 floor with the view you can see below. Grand. 

The room itself was as big as one can expect to get in NYC, but the layout was quite award. There are not enough closet spaces. The bathroom is small and lacks substantial storage space. It is functional, but nothing more

Limited closet space

Breakfast Area

Breakfast Area

Tonight I am going to meet my friend Joe for dinner. However, before dinner we went to try our lack at the Priscilla Queen of the Desert’s lottery. Now for those who don’t know how it works (and amazingly, very few do), each participating show will have the front row seats saved for the lottery. Two and a half hours before the show you’ll put your name down in the drawing. The drawing is taken place two hours before the show and you must be present to win. If your name is called you get a front row seat in fraction of the price (28-40 dollars depending on the show). It is a great way to see Broadway’s show on a dime.

For this Sunday evening show of Priscilla there were not too many people in the lottery. There are 24 seats and there were probably been less than 30 people around. Which means that everyone won. Joe was selected as number 2; therefore we had good seats. My name was called but I let it go, as we only needed two seats. The show is high-energy fun based on the movie. I’ve seen it before on the opening night (another lottery win), but gladly seen it again as it is so much fun.

We went to eat at Traffic, as Joe wanted to try it out. I will explore my dining strategy for the week in the next post; Traffic was not on the strategy, but I was glad we tried it out. The food was surprisingly good for what it is. The chicken I had was cocked perfectly and Joe’s mashed potatoes were out of this world.

In the next post, I’ll go over my dining strategy for NYC.