Destination: New York City, New York
Date: December 2015
Hotel: The Standard Highline
Brand: The Standard
Elite Status: complicated
# of travelers: 2
nights: 1
Hotel – Making the Decision
When it came time to pick hotels for the NYC portion of our trip, I had no idea what to pick. New York City is so big – so vast! I was seeing recommendations on the west side, on the east, in Manhattan, in Chinatown, in Queens… How do you know which ones to pick? How do you know which ones are the best? (For the money, that is.)
Like with the Waldorf Astoria, I whittled my list down based on brands I had status with. Eventually I decided on the Intercontinental in downtown Manhattan. Known as a business hotel, it had pretty good ratings and lovely pictures on TripAdvisor. Plus, I had plenty of points to get a free stay. What could go wrong?!
Well, their availability, that's what!
Widening my search criteria, I decided to check out TravelZoo and the Visa Signature Luxury Hotels collection. If I could get a great deal that included breakfast and a way to possibly see the Manhattan skyline from my room (or hotel roof), I would be one happy, happy individual. :) (After much searching, I had basically given up on finding a prettily decorated hotel with Christmas decorations that was still in my price range. One thousand dollars for a one night stay in a hotel room? No thanks!)
The Visa Signature Luxury Hotel website ended up being my ticket to paradise. One glance at the The Standard Highline Hotel with complimentary wi-fi, free breakfast, a free $25 food credit, late checkout, and a potential room upgrade was all it took for me to book. (Justin, on the other hand, may have taken some convincing.)
It is worth noting that you do need a Visa Signature credit card to book a hotel with this website. However, if you have one, you are good to go! There are lots of hotels with premium benefits both in NYC and elsewhere that may provide you your own ticket to paradise, wherever it is that you may want to go. :)
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Getting There
Obviously, after the flight to NYC and our first night at the Waldorf Astoria, we decided to live it up and take a cab to our new hotel.
If you aren't into cab-riding, you might consider taking the Metro or a bus. Being as close to the shore as we were, I imagine that there is a potential for arriving by ferry or boat as well. Just – whatever it takes to get to the Highline area of New York, which, by the way, you should definitely check out! :)
Checking In
Hotel staff was waiting for us just outside the doors of the hotel where guests were ice skating on a pop-up, seasonal ice rink. If you are light on luggage, you should be able to go right through the revolving door. Justin and I had a bit more (larger) luggage than that. The doorman ended up opening a separate door for us to walk through, then held our luggage while we spoke with the front desk.
The Standard Highline we found to be very customer-friendly. They opted to upgrade our room and, when we asked about it, explained how our Visa Signature perks worked. More or less, we order food, charge to our room, and we get the $25 deduction. So on and so forth. As it turns out, the perks were really simple to take advantage of in an almost confusing way. (Is anyone else used to receiving vouchers and the like for hotel credits and food purchases?)
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Room & View
After all was said and done, the porter showed us to our room. As we stepped through the door amazed at the floor to ceiling windows featuring a beautiful view of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline, the porter asked "Is your room okay?"
Umm … What were we supposed to say?
No, the view is terrible. I need a big wall between me and the world?
Ha.
Not going to happen.
And so we plopped down on the bed and people watched for a good hour. Cars came and went … and people were scattered throughout our scene like in a Where's Waldo book. We did have to keep in mind that just because our view was amazing, we didn't actually want to share our unclothed selves with the world. Apparently, that's what the curtains were for. ;)
Speaking of showers, the bathroom was split into two sections – one with a sink and the shower, the second with just the toilet. You could close the door if you were in the WC, but even if you closed the door while you were taking a shower, you would also have to think about closing the blinds that are the only thing keeping people in the bedroom area from seeing into the bathroom. (I guess it's so you can view NYC while you shower? Assuming you don't mind if the world sees you in the nude?) Either way, the hotel offered shower gel, bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, a shower cap, and a sewing set so that you could take care of any personal hygiene issues that you needed to. The room also came with a blow dryer and iron.
Our room, aside from the beautiful view, was quite small and not at all big enough for a family. We paid for a queen size bed and received a sofa as well. But don't get your heart set on having a ton of room even with the added sofa. You just don't get too much space to spread out. However, the room could be smaller (like they are in France), so keep that in mind. :)
At some point we got up the nerve to emerge from our beautiful view to actually explore NYC leaving our Android Nexus 6 by the window to capture a time lapse as the sun went down.
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Restaurant
By the time we returned to the hotel, it was late. Justin wanted to go to bed; I wanted to make sure our $25 credit was used. So, after checking on our time lapse, which had long since quit capturing, we ventured down to the restaurant, to the right of the lobby and past the bar. We ended up settling on a plate of cookies. Justin got a scotch and I got a large glass of milk.
Now, let me just say this: I am not a cookie person. In fact, I am very particular about cookies. I will eat almost any, but I only like very few. And I'm certainly not going to spend a $25 credit buying cookies at a hotel restaurant. Justin, on the other hand, is a cookie guy. He doesn't like cake or ice cream, but he does like cookies. So we ordered them. And they were delicious. :) Hot, as if they had been pulled straight out of the oven, chewy but not so much so. The chocolate melted in your mouth … and a tiny bit on your hands. Trust me – a sweet cutting drink like milk (or scotch) was definitely needed! Plus, it was so much fun having a comfort food in a not-our-home city!
Then for breakfast the next day, we opted to try a berry smoothie, french toast made with almonds and raspberries, and yogurt with granola and mixed berries. Honestly, the breakfast was a little too much and too sweet for me. It was fun to try new things though!
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| The Highline (source) |
Location
If you are wanting the The Standard Highline experience without paying on the Visa Signature website, you don't even have to worry about the lack of free breakfasts and free food credits given how close restaurants are. One in particular, that Justin wants to try, is a "Biergarten" of sorts with local beer available for purchase that you can drink while enjoying greenery in their outdoor seating area. Another place that looks fun is a burger joint where you can order absolutely anything on your burger! Fun, yes?
You also aren't too far from the Chelsea Market, the Meatpacking District, or the Highline, all of which are some of my favorite NYC locations.
Finally, be sure to check out the Whitney Museum of Art for an awesome view of the Highline, the Standard Highline Hotel, and the Hudson. (Of course, you can also view art there, but who goes there just to do that? ;))
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| Buy a hot drink or rent a pair of ice skates here when you come at Christmas time! (TripAdvisor) |
Overall Review
★★★★ (above average)
Out of all of the hotels I've stayed at in NYC, this one was one of the most fun and most expensive. We especially enjoyed when a cleaning lady let us explore the corner suite located right next to our room. :) If we thought we had a good view from our room, they had an amazing view! (And a large room, to boot!) It was nice getting to explore the various amenities, even if they came at the cost of booking with the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel website. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the outside ice rink with a cute hot chocolate stand was a fun reminder of the season.
While I'm not sure if I would consider staying here again due to the high cost, I definitely think my experience at this hotel is one I will not soon be forgetting. Sometimes it is worth it to spend a little bit extra to get a great room.
Your Turn
What do you think of the view from this hotel? Would you be willing to pay more than usual to stay here for a night? … Or do you think I'm crazy? ;) (Both are valid responses, I think.)
And, as always, when I post hotel reviews, feel free to ask me any questions about the hotel that I may not have already covered in my post. I'd love to help you make your hotel experience in NYC (or anywhere in the world, really) as awesome as possible. :)
Cookies too sweet... I'm sensing a theme here. You don't like very sweet. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great hotel.
Lol.
DeleteActually I do like sweet! Just not usually cookies. Give me ice cream any day! :)
It was a fantastic hotel! Highly recommended! :)
I agree, that's quite the view! Sometimes it's worth spending those few extra dollars. If you're going to do something, you might as well do it the way you want. Interesting theme you have going!
ReplyDelete