girlonthego

My mother and I just returned from a four night stay in NYC at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. My mom had Amex points to use and so she treated me to a stay in a suite in the original or older section of the hotel.
Our suite was quite large. We had a living room with a fireplace. Not sure if it worked as an electric one or not? We also had a large bedroom with two double beds. The beds were so comfortable and we were tempted to try and steal the pillows, but decided we couldn't make it through the lobby with these large king sized pillows! So sleeping was very comfortable. We were on the corner and had some of the noise from Lexington Ave, but I think we would hear the sirens anywhere in the hotel. We were on the 8th floor. The furnishings in the room are getting worn, and the drapes needed a good cleaning. The room was old, but had charm and definitely space for us to relax.

When we pulled up to the hotel, there were blockades around the hotel and we had to drive three blocks around to get to the Lexington side as Park was blocked to valet the car. It turned out we were checking in during the UN conference and Putin and the Chinese pres were both staying at our hotel, along with many other dignitaries and their entourages. Every time we came and went, we had to go through security like at the airport. Secret service were everywhere, cops, TSA agents. My mom smokes so she had to go through security many times just to have a cigarette. Now most people would be annoyed by all this, but we had so much fun people watching and my mom chatted up the secret service and police. She said she felt safe smoking outside the hotel at 7am because she had security with her! LOL She and I would stop at night in the hotel lobby bar and have a glass of wine and try to spot anyone important, but alas, they must have had their own secret entrances!'
The last day, all the dignitaries were gone and so was all the security. My mom missed all the action!

We realized in NYC, everything costs a lot more. Every glass of wine was 20 dollars plus taxes and tip regardless of how large, small or drinkable it was.
Our dining:
Carbone in the village. Now we love Italian food. My mom is an ex NYorker and so we know what good Italian food is and have missed it living in Virginia. Carbones had a Godfather movie type exterior. It is a small restaurant with a nice comfortable interior and loved the Frank Sinatra music playing. We each ordered a glass of wine which was a little stingy on the pour for 20 dollars, but we are in NY so expected it. We decided to split the Veal Parmigiana and ordered two salads and two sides of pasta. The one salad, chopped was okay, nothing great. The other salad which was tomatoes and mozzerella was very good. The veal was just okay. I expected so much better and was a little disappointed. It almost seemed dry. The sides of tortellini with ragu sauce was tasty but very small amount. The bill came to 200 and then add 20 percent for tip, 240. We shared an entree. That's high in my opinion. I wish the food was better and then I wouldn't have cared. I will say the waitstaff was very pleasant and are a plus to the restaurants credit.
The 21 Club. My mom wanted me to dine in the iconic 21 club. We decided to have our steak night there. I must say I was surprised at all the plastic toys that hang from the ceiling in the bar. It seemed almost tacky and not charming. It is a man's dinner place and i think most people were there on expense accounts. I say expense accounts because the man seating very closely next to us ordered the 250. dollar bottle of wine and made sure he said the amount loud enough for all to hear. That made me giggle. He was quite pompous and I gathered it was not coming out of his personal pocket. We again decided to share and ordered the 10oz filet. My mom does not like to eat a lot and I could be very happy with 5oz of beef. We ordered a shrimp cocktail, one filet and two sides. We each had our own potato side. She had three glasses of wine and I had three beers. Again it was 200 dollars, and 20 percent tip, 240. Again we shared a steak. The filet wasn't all that great and so we again left a very expensive meal feeling disappointed.

We decided on our third day to eat a nice lunch and then maybe have a sandwich before we go to a show. So we dined just off of Madison Ave in a steak place called the Benjamin. We each ordered the roasted chicken with potato entree and we each had a glass of wine. Lunch came to 80 dollars which was a very hearty and delicious lunch at a decent price.
We later split a turkey club sandwich for dinner.
On our last night's dinner, my brother and his family met us up at Carmine's on 91st. Well dinner was plentiful and delicious here! The restaurant is busy and very loud. Don't think you will have any intimate conversations in there. The food is so large, sharing is a must and everything is served family style. We had so much food, I think they took home enough food for a couple of days. We had 9 people dining, some had wine, some had soda, some had water. No one drank that much alcohol. We ordered , one salad (feeds 6), 6 entrees, which were huge!, and two side pastas (which could have fed about 8 people as an entree). We also had a cheesecake for 4 which really fed about 6 of us a nice piece of cake after the meal. All in all food was reasonably priced and quite good. I am not sure of the total bill. My mom just said she thought it was a good price for what we had. ( I was being treated and was seated away from bill viewing).

We saw two shows. The Kind and I and An American in Paris. First, I have to say my favorite was the King and I. I love that show and the story. I saw it when I was 13 with Yul Brenner. I think the new King did a very good job. The woman who plays Anna was excellent. The entire cast did a wonderful job and we both loved the show.
An American in Paris was also an excellent show. Cast were fantastic dancers and singers. The male lead was probably the best male dancer I have ever seen. I liked the music and the storyline. If you love to see a lot of dancing, this is the show for you!

Weather wise, I think we were hoping for better weather. We had very hot and humid weather and then of course rain and cold for the last two days. I luckily packed for both summer and almost winter. The weather changes were pretty dramatic.

We took our first ever Uber which turned out to be cheaper than a taxi and I liked seeing the drivers
face on my phone before we were picked up. We had some nice taxi drivers and some that were very odd. We used the hotel's very expensive car service to pick us up from the shows late at night and I am so glad we did.We ordered it in advance. It was busy outside the shows, especially the time square area and that made my mom nervous. They were very professional and it was nice knowing they were waiting for us. Time Sq was swarming with people and it just seemed so much seedier than just a few years ago. Spiderman jumped at my mom when she wasn't looking and almost gave her a heart attack. Another large man or woman, we weren't sure asked her for a cigarette and seemed strung out on something. I could see how an older person could get unraveled by all the crowds.

Just outside of a Marriott, I went to ask the doorman to hail me a cab and a woman approached my mom, maybe she thought she was alone and asked to share a cab. Really, have you ever seen Taken? I don't think so. She also asked if I thought if the cabbie would change a 100 dollar bill. I told her to go into the hotel and they will. There seemed to be a few scammers out there and seemed to target my mom.

All in all, we loved our stay at the Waldorf. The staff was very pleasant and friendly. The people watching was fun. I rode in the elevator with several people talking and I think I heard at least 4 different languages in that one elevator ride. The location to walk to things was also very good. Traveling with my mother is never boring. She made me laugh the whole time and she always gives me an adventure.

Grandma

So glad to hear you enjoyed your trip….. even tho you were here when the weather was horrible and the traffic impossible- And I'm happy you liked The King and I. Kelli O'Hara is my favorite .. she just won a Tony for her performance as Anna. And Robert Fairchild IS one of the best male dancers. He's a Principal at New York City Ballet… we have been blessed to see him perform so many times.

But the best part of your report was sharing the fun you had with your mother. All daughters should be so lucky !

MichelleY

Nice that you could make fun memories with you mother!

Inakauaidavidababy

what fun!

niamholly

loved your report, thank you