Claire01_09_04

Hi

I apologise advance if this is a long post.

I am going to NYC for my wedding anniversary in December. I spent last week in NY on a business trip, so I have done some preliminary investigations. Your expert advice is truly appreciated.

Hotel: Ritz Carlton Central Park.

Stayed in the Le Parker Meridien and the Pierre last week. I liked the quirkiness of LPM. Rooms were very masculine though, but a good size (300 sq ft). Stayed in a suite in the Pierre. The suite was lovely, huge - two bathrooms. But it was very dark. Also, while I couldn't fault the hotel, I thought it was a little old-world for us, the atmosphere was a little stilted. Based on this, do you think the Ritz Carlton CP is a good choice?

Friday - Fly in about 4:00 PM
Wander on 5th Avenue
Recommendation for pre-dinner drinks? Went to the Oak Bar last weekend. Would prefer somewhere a little different - busy, with good atmosphere
Dinner? Somewhere Mid-town - Good Italian/French restaurant? Approx $150 for two?

Saturday
MoMA
Rockefeller Centre
ESB
Good place for pre-dinner drinks?
Anniversary Dinner ? I asked the concierge in the RC for some suggestions. He suggested places like jean-georges, le cirque. Would like somewhere special, but not too stuffy. Somewhere with excellent food (not a seafood restaurant though). Don't mind about the area.

Sunday
Shopping - Union Square/Village
Tour - Soprano's or NY Food Tour? Though I bumped into the food tour I think in the Village last weekend, at a kebab house on MacDougal st. With everyone crowding on the pavement eating kebabs. I'm not sure if that is my scene. Anyone been on this tour?
Dinner at Otto's Enoteca (near Washington sq.). Anyone know what this is like?
Scissor Sisters (concert on in Hammerstein Ballrooms)

Monday
Woodbury Common
Wicked (8:00pm)
Post-Theatre Dinner? - Preferably somewhere trendy with a good atmosphere, e.g. a bar/restaurant, not too heavy as it is very late. Doesn't have to be in the Times Square area. We can get a cab. Ate in the Mercer kitchen last weekend. Food was good, but there was something about the place that was off-putting. Maybe it was the attitude of the staff. But somewhere like that maybe?

Tuesday
Central Park
Brunch - any recommendations? Would like to go to the UES or UWS. Which would be better?
Fly home 18:00

Is there anywhere where could I in Staten Island ferry/SOL?

Thank you again...

GoTravel

Clair, your schedule looks great and I think the RC is an excellent choice. As far as anniversary dinner, March is the one restaurant I've ever eaten at where everything was perfect. I mean flawless. Of all the great restaurants I've eaten at in NYC (Babbo, Gramercy Tavern, Daniel etc) it was the best.

One question that puzzles me, why Woodbury Commons when there is so much great shopping in the city?

In the city, Century 21, Syms, H&M (Karl Lagerfield just took over as chief designer) are all reasonable priced and don't require a bus ride out of the city.

Claire01_09_04

Thanks for your reply. I will have a look at March. Why Woodbury Common?

I agree that the shopping in the city is great. I love Anthropogie..Though I buy all my Zara and H&M in Europe as it is half the price.. My husband is very attached to US brands like Ralph Lauren, A&F, Gant, so he is very keen to go Woodbury common.
Though it does seem like a waste of a day.

Claire01_09_04

Sorry for replying to my own post!

But does anyone have any other advice?

Somewhere Mid-town - Good Italian/French restaurant? Approx $150 for two?

Dinner at Otto's Enoteca (near Washington sq.). Anyone know what this is like?

Post-Theatre Dinner? - Preferably somewhere trendy with a good atmosphere

Thanks again

lucienne78

Woodbury Commons is a great place to shop since everything is less expensive. You do know that it is about an hour away from the city, if not a little bit more? Are you renting a car?

Post-Theater dinner - I just went to this great restaurant on 49th and 8th Ave. It's called Thalia. Very good food and great atmosphere. You should definitely give that a try.

On Saturday, be prepared for Rockefeller Center to be extremely crowded, since the tree is going to be up. You should try to go there at night time (much prettier).

mclaurie

I haven't stayed at the Ritz Carlton but I don't think it will be quite as "stilted" as the Pierre.

For drinks and dinner on your first night there are so many options. If you want to stay in the general area, one thought is to head to 44 st between Fifth & 6th. There are 5 hotels (each with restos and bars) to choose from. Maybe drinks at the bar in the Royalton (very trendy, chic), then dinner at Db Bistro Moderne (the less pricey place owned by Daniel Boulud) across the street in the City Club hotel and maybe after, see if anyone good is playing in the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel. Otherwise, just a drink in the lounge of the Algonquin would be nice.

Another scenario a bit closer to the Ritz Carlton is to go to the new Time Warner building and have drinks in the lobby bar of the Mandarin Oriental or one of the restaurants like Bar Masa or the Stone Rose Lounge. I don't think there are any French or Italian moderately priced places in there, but Cafe Des Artistes (french) isn't far or Picholine (mediterranean) or Gabriel's (Tuscan).

I'll skip to the brunch question. Cafe Botanica down the street from the RC at the Essex House hotel does a very nice weekend brunch. Your other option is to pick the upper east or west (can't say which is better w/o knowing what you want to do/see) and have brunch in one of these neighborhoods which would be less formal/touristy.

The upper east side has the Met Museum and the Frick Museum (small gem). The upper west side has the Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium. If you're doing this around Christmas, the Met Museum has a great tree and also a great gift shop not to mention the awesome art.

Post theater rest. that's trendy? DB Bistro Moderne which I've already mentioned would fit the bill. Orso (Italian) on rest. row, Blue Fin in the W Times Square hotel. Chez Josephine is a great, fun French Bistro owned by Josephine Baker's adopted son. It's not trendy/young, but it does have a very fun atmosphere and live piano music after theater.

whispers

Very interested in Go Travel comments re Woodbury Common - sorry for barging in on this question but what do others thinks about Woodbury vs. staing in centre - I am in NY with my wife for first time in Dec and had planned to spend one day in Woodbury out of 4 - want mens and womens suits shoes etc. at reasonable prices. Any thoughts ?

Judyrem

Whisper: When I used to live in North Jersey, we would go WC quite often and they had wonderful stuff. They always had busloads of Europeans buying things like crazy . If you extra time I would recommend it...but I don't think I would give up an extra day in NYC to go there.

seetheworld

If you go to Woodbury Commons, get an early start as traffic going up that way will be heavy (two major malls are also in that direction). Drive time is closer to 1 1/2 hours to get there (w/o traffic).

I know it is a popular place to shop but I often walk away empty handed. My DH finds better buys on Ralph Lauren at Macy's (and the selection is better) than at WC. In fact, he was recently looking at a pair of RL slacks at WC and they were priced higher than at Macy's.

Whatever you do, enjoy your trip!