New York is a city for all seasons. There never seems to be any shortage of visitors, but it’s during the holidays, when shoppers hurry between world-famous department stores and luxury boutiques and local residents and visitors from all corners take in the unceasing spectacle of the city’s class-of-their-own arts venues that the city takes on a special energy. Whether enjoying department stores and hotels with their halls fully decked with the spirit of the season, or braving New York’s famously breezy winter weather for ice skating, there’s no shortage of ways to enjoy the Big Apple during the holidays.
Travelers with a modernist aesthetic can take up residence at ModernHaus Soho – part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The hotel specializes in loft-style accommodations within a chic minimalist style. Most guest rooms have views of Lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. The hotel’s 18 floor is host to JIMMY, a rooftop bar with a working fireplace for wintertime hygge and a pool deck with a view of One World Trade Center for summertime frolics.
Also in SoHo, the AAA Five Diamond The Dominick, part of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection, also has languid outdoor pool deck-along with oversized guest rooms with plush fittings. Certain Deluxe rooms have deep soaker tubs with views of the Empire State Building, while many other rooms and suites have views of the Hudson River and the exciting neighborhood surrounding the hotel.
The hotel’s soaring lobby gives all the flash of an arrival experience at a much larger property before wrapping guests in the quiet boutique-like intimacy of calm-there are only a few rooms on each floor, giving the hotel an utterly residential feel. It feels more like a temporary apartment than a grand luxury hotel.
The Dominick is also home to the Michelin-starred restaurant Vestry, where chef Shaun Hergatt turns out seasonal ingredient-driven global cuisine inspired by childhood memories of rural Queensland, Australia.
Across town in the East Village, visitors can dig into Ukrainian eats like hot or cold borscht, cabbage rolls, and pierogies at Veselka (144 2nd Ave). It helps to go early, as sometimes there’s a line. The nearby Lower East Side is a haven for dive and cocktail bars, including the slice-of-South Florida gem Sally Can Wait (252 Broome St.) where the Pina Colada is made with house’s own blend of rum, and the bites menu skews a little Miami, and a little New York.
Travelers preferring to stay close to the attractions of Midtown Manhattan might try the Lotte New York Palace, which takes up residence in an 1882 mansion commissioned by banker Henry Villard. The Villard Houses served as the historic base for a modern tower, constructed in the 1970s, when the residence was first converted to a luxury hotel.
The hotel has a variety of accommodations from standard luxury accommodations to the exclusive Towers level, a hotel-within-a-hotel with separate private reception, but the hotel is perhaps best known for its 5,000 square foot Royal Suites, one of which is the Jewel Suite by Martin Katz. The Jewel Suite contains some $1.5 million in jewels displayed in floating cases throughout, in addition to the feature two-story cascading crystal chandelier.
The city that never sleeps abounds in attractions around the clock, each day of the year, but the city often feels like a village, even though it’s one of the country’s most visited destinations. Broadway shows often fill with New Yorkers, and visitors can eavesdrop for a bit of local gossip-even at some weekend shows. The city is filled with art lovers and theatre devotees, and the sense of community is often best highlighted by visiting a Broadway production like a big, banner musical or a dramatic play with notable stage and screen stars.
Sardi’s (234 W 44th) is a Broadway institution, famous for caricatures of celebrities (mostly of yesteryear) adorning the walls, but also for consistent continental cuisine that evokes an earlier time – think hearty sauces, starched linen tablecloths, love-worn upholstery.
Off Broadway, at Lincoln Center, lovers of dramatic arias and vibrant coloratura can sate their need at the Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s premier opera companies. The dramatic set of theatres surrounding a central plaza are also home to the New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet, all of which have programming through most of the holiday season.
Nearby, Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway) is a relaxed Parisian-style bistro with an impressive wine list, notable charcuterie and a faithful steak frites.
A top attraction for Manhattan visitors, particularly first-time visitors, is the Empire State Building’s observation deck. While the 86th floor observation deck has played prominently in several TV shows and films, there’s a fuller attraction that will be new for many visitors. The Empire State Building Observatory recently completed a $165 million re-do that added a museum that celebrates the history and lore of the famous building in nine themed galleries (including one where King Kong’s paws appear to come through the exterior wall of the building).
Visitors will also see vintage elevator cars, and the 102nd floor indoor observatory has new floor-to-ceiling windows offering 360-degree views of the city.
For hearty travelers who enjoy trying different foods, this city offers plenty of restaurants specializing in every major cuisine, and you can find great options from the best japanese restaurant to the most authentic Costa Rican restaurant here.
Also, those who wish to brave the outdoors to ice skate can go with the holiday icon-the skating rink at Rockefeller Center (it’s smaller than it looks on TV), but for a more local New York experience skaters can head to Central Park. The Wollman Rink is a full-service ice rink with skate rentals and lockers, and opening hours late into the evening for nighttime skaters. Skating is also permitted at Conservatory Water when conditions permit for visitors with their own skates.
Tavern on the Green (W 67th St & Central Park West) is a Central Park institution since 1934, serving up a contemporary American menu-it’s still a see-and-be-seen location for statement brunches and special occasion fests.
Holiday shoppers can get their fill at New York’s top department stores. Macy’s at Herald Square is the largest department store in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, with over a million square feet of retail space. Macy’s has long been noted for their elaborate Christmas display windows, and for the Santaland display where shoppers can pose for photos with Santa Claus. Shoppers in midtown can head to the subsidiary Bloomingdale’s at 59th and Lexington, or Bergdorf Goodman, the 5th Avenue temple to high fashion, located right next door to the Plaza Hotel.
Downtown, a popular stop for many New York visitors is the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. The Memorial is free and open to the public seven days a week. The Museum, which documents the events of the 9/11 attacks, not only in New York but at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, is open six days a week (closed Tuesdays) with the last entry at 3:30 PM). One of the easiest ways to reach the site is via the subway to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub to take the notable architecture of the Oculus, designed to cast autumnal light toward the site of the original building’s footprints.
Whether visitors choose to see Manhattan at its dressiest peak during the holiday period, or in the cooling shades of autumn, this eternal city is never short on ways to impress even the most frequent visitor.
By Scott Laird