Trip Report: 3/10-12 NYC Marriott Residence Inn & Ben's Deli, Amarone, Wild Ginger, Patsi's, Pampadoro's Restaurants. NYC people are nicer than ever!,
 

So, as promised, our "Just Back Trip Report". So we get to NYC after a brisk 4hr 15 min trip from Silver Spring, MD. by car with our friends in the back seat. The Marriott Residence Inn near Times Square is 4 months old and simply amazing. The hotel is very, very nice, and one of the quietest hotels we have ever stayed in. It used to be a parking garage and was built from the ground up just recently to 34 stories. The view from our room was the Empire State building, and the window even opened up to let in some cool air.

We couldn't believe we were in NYC as we didn't hear a thing outside while in our room. Quietude is very important to us, and they delivered. The lobby, the hallways, the flooring, the rooms - everything is first rate. If you weren't looking more closely, you might have thought you were staying at the Four Seasons, that's how nice this place was to us.

Check in was easy, and they were able to give us a king bedded room which made us very happy as they had mostly queens and were uncertain if we could get a king when we first arrived. We were using Marriott Friends and Family rate so our room was $199 instead of $249. Our room had a full size fridge which was handy, a crockpot!? (why a crockpot?), a full set of utensils, gorgeous bedding, stone floors in the bathroom, decent floor space for NY, top notch furniture and lighting, free internet, and a flat screen tv (never had a flat screen TV before in a hotel room - nice touch). Basically, the room totally rocked. I was already planning our trip back after 10 minutes! Just please, please don't tell anyone else :o). You'll keep this our little secret, right? We don't want to go back next year and find out it's full due to all you Fodorites booking up every room. Just kidding of course.

There were appalachian style quilts framed in the hallways and picture of buttons and thread so you KNEW you were in the garment district. Very nice detail wherever you looked.

The breakfast area was like a high line hotel in terms of beauty and quality of furnishings. The hot items were surprisingly good, although ... no fresh fruit? That was kind of lame. Not even a banana or apple. But they did have organic granola and corn flakes so I was happy. The eggs and potatoes were outstanding for being free with the room, and the free daily NY Times and Wall Street Journal was nice to have.

The workout room was impeccable and had good dumbells like from my hometown gym. The machines were pretty decent too. It filled up fast though after 815am. Luckily I got there early. They even have a billiards room there. We were VERY impressed with the staff - even the housekeepers on the elevator asked how we were enjoying our stay. We were befriended by everyone there. It's a great staff to customer ratio and we felt like we were staying at a 5 Star hotel at points in the trip. This is why it's worth getting a nice hotel while on vacation for us. Yeah, we're not in the room too much, but when we are, they made us feel like gold in every way. Our room was a wonderful haven from the hustle and bustle of the city - we were in heaven and took a daily, uninterrupted nap there before dinner.

Went to Ben's Deli the first day as Katz's was too far for us and we were starved. It was very, very good and so nice inside. Highly recommend it over the Carnegie. We were treated like king's there by our ultra friendly waiter. What's up with friendly New Yorkers? We asked the guy if he could be a little rude to us so we could experience a bit of what I was used to in the past, but he said that after 9/11 most New Yorkers changed, and he was unable to be rude. We were grateful for the change. It felt like a polar shift wherever we went. We had corn beef and matsoh ball soup at Ben's and were quite happy.

Went to the Frick Museum today and it was one of the best smaller museums I've ever been to. 3 Vermeers and 3 Rembrandts in one museum? It was fairly mind blowing that one wealthy industrialist amassed such a sizeable, impressive collection. The Renoir at the end left me teary eyed. Thanks to you guys for recommending the audio guide - being that it was free with the ticket we used it and it enhanced the experience 10 fold.

Had dinner that night at Restaurante Amarone at 686 Ninth Ave after my cousin suggested it. It is one of her favorites in her neighborhood and an easy walk for us from the Marriott. It was excellent as well. The sea bass was incredible as were the spinach and mash potato sides. We had a fantastic artichoke and green lettuce salad to start and also had a very delicate ravioli in a tomato sauce. We finished up with apple streudle with ice cream and a chocolate cake with ice cream. They brought out the fresh uncooked pastas on a plate to let us see what they looked like when they first brought out the menu. Pretty cool. Glad we cancelled our plans to eat at the other restaurant we booked. We learned never to make plans in advance when coming to NYC. They change by the minute!

Next day we decided to do some shopping on 5th ave, took the Subway to Soho, and ate at Pampadoro's Pizza there. My slice of "no cheese" pizza was amazing with tomato sauce and basil but my wife's cheese slice for some reason was awful and overbaked. We asked them questions while in line for pizza and they barely paid attention to us. They wouldn't even answer some of our questions and were very busy. We felt like we were definitely in the frenzied NY atmosphere now :o)

That night we had dinner at Wild Ginger on 29th Street instead of Maria Pia's, our original reservation. Our friend's aunt and uncle recommended it and it was a treasure. Some of the best mouth watering, succulent salmon we had ever had in this delicious pan asian style dish. We also had shrimp tempura sushi with japanese pickle and avocado, a salad with papaya and jicama, and all of it was exquisite. Dessert was out of this world: A chocolate mousse cake with a coconut sorbet next to it. Strangly they opened the front door for large periods of time while we ate even though it was pretty cold out. We would go back here in an instant.

Our last day we were scheduled to go to the MOMA to see the new Edvard Munch exhibit but we got "lost" in Bloomingdales for hours at 59th St and my wife and her friend both got some pretty rings. Sometimes shopping with the one you love can be more fun that museuming. We ate at Patsi's across the street and split a HUGE salad with artichokes and a pizza with 1/2 pepperoni and 1/2 mushrooms and were pleasantly full. We then were suggested to go to Dillon's Candy Store across the street for a Reese's cup muffin and a chocolate frozen drink that was very different. We walked through this wonderland of a candy store for a while and realized that time had passed us by and it was time to head out of town and skip the MOMA. I wasn't too depressed about it... as we had a great day overall.

Learned something about the Subway vs cab rides. With the 4 of us we took the subway the first 2 days, but since it was raining that last day we thought we'd splurge and take a cab, a total, expensive luxury, right? Wrong, we learned. It was cheaper! With the 4 of us a cab ride was only $7 with tip while the Subway would have been $8 and more of a hassle. Glad we learned this. I love cab rides, talking to the cabbie from Bangladesh, learning about his world and him asking interested questions about ours. Plus, not having to deal with the stinky Subway was nice too, and less walking. We certainly got enough exercise the 1st 2 days walking many miles a day. What was really nice about Bloomingdales was when we got there, they gave everyone a perfectly shaped plastic bag to fit over our soaked umbrellas, so when I put it back in my pocket, it didn't get it all wet. Nice touch.

Our first time in the subway we were perplexed as to how to get the tickets. The subway attendant got out of her booth, helped us for a few minutes, all with a big smile, and sent us on our way. Is this the NEW New York? Everywhere we went we ran into people that bent over backwards to be nice and help us. There were so many great emmissaries of NY we stopped counting the instances. It's like when you're in Paris expecting everyone to be rude, and they're just the opposite? People in the subway, native New Yorkers, fellow tourists, shop owners, sales clerks - most everyone was helpful and wore an appreciated smile.

So, that's it for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thank YOU for all your help with our initial planning. Most of what we thought we'd do we didn't. Funny how it worked out better than we expected. Can't wait to go back next year.

Steve and Julia R
Silver Spring, MD

Nice story!

FYI, if you're in town for just a few days and plan on doing a lot of travelling, a Metrocard Funpass is $7 for unlimited subway and bus use for 24 hours.

Personally, we mostly walk, and far, too. Last weekend we walked from Penn Station to Chinatown for lunch, then from Chinatown up to 51st and Broadway for a show, and back to Penn Station after the show.

Wonderful report with lots of good detail. Did you have a studio (one big room) or a one bedroom suite? What is a friends and family rate?

Next time you come, I'm told if you bring proof you live out of town (drivers license) to the customer service desk at Bloomingdales, they give you a card for 11% off most things (not cosmetics and not sure about jewelry, both of which are franchise operations).

Thanks for the report-good to hear about the hotel.
Crockpot. LOL! I am not sure I know anyone in NY with a Crockpot, at least who admits it. Seems like a practical thing that midwesterners would have. Very interesting.

Hi folks. We only got the friends and family rate because a friend of ours works for Marriott and they gave us a special coupon for just that hotel stay. It's not available to the general public... sorry.

As for walking, yes, we walked ALOT too. We only took the subway when we were walked out. I prefer walking as that's the best way to see the city.

And yes, we did get that 11% off coupon for Bloomingdales from our concierge but it couldn't be used for jewelry. My wife was able to use it for some clothing there and it helped.

As to our room, it was just 1 room, not a suite, even though they called it a suite. It was very, very nice, though. It did have a comfortable couch, a table with 2 chairs, and dressers with actual drawers to stay for a while. One gent was staying there for a year while his 2 bedroom 2.5 mill apt was built on the top of the hotel! Has a view of the Statue of Liberty we were told and is actually above the top 34th floor. We were told it was actually cheaper to live there than to buy a place due to some tax write off's for business and lack of other "owning fees". Must be nice. We were also told that the apt he bought will be smaller than one of the employees master bedroom in his house in New Jersey :o)

Lastly, that $7 subway pass sounds like a good deal. We were never told about it. I'm glad we took the subway though as we talked to an interesting person here and there.

Steve R
Silver Spring MD

Good report, Steve!

You said the Marriott was near Times Square. How close to Times Square is it? (how many blocks?) Is it in a safe area to walk at night?

We're wanting to plan a trip to New York soon, and I'm wanting to be able to walk to shows, etc.

Thanks!

stever

Loved your report and many details.

Our son and his wife are in the process of purchasing a apartment in the city and the process is complicated. A board of directors has to approve your purchase for one thing. It has been interesting to hear about the process.

We do not normally choose the Times Square area for our hotel but you made the Marriott Residence sound so appealing. How close is it to Times Square?

Love those friendly NYC folks. What a city, can't wait to go back.

Sandy

Thanks for posting one of hte best trip reports ever.. Plenty of useful info evenn for frequent NYC visitors!

FYI, the $7 pass for all-day Metro riding can't be purchased at booths, but it's available at the vending machines. There's also a 7-day pass for unlimited rides on subway and most buses, for $24; that would pay for itself in 12 rides, less than 2 per day if you're there for a week. When you buy a regular per-ride Metro card, if you put on $10 or more you get a 20% bonus, so putting on $20 would get you $24 worth of rides (e.g., 12 subway rides). The per-ride ticket can be used by multiple riders, but the unlimited-ride pass has security on it so that it can't be used at the same station more than once in 18 minutes, to discourage sharing.

Glad you had a great trip. I also love Wild Ginger.

Shhhh!! Don't tell everyone how nice we New Yorkers really are! It ruins our image. Truth be told, NYers can be very helpful and friendly but they are generally (1) in a hurry and (2) not eager to *offer* help (it's a cardinal rule in NY to mind your own business) but are usually happy to oblige if you ask them for directions, recommendations, etc.

Come back soon!

To answer some of your questions, the Marriott Residence Inn was at 39th and Avenue of the America's (6th ave). It was only a few blocks to Time Sq and we were grateful for not being right at Times Square as the sidewalks are so amazingly crowded and our area was much more manageable and quiet. It was totally safe, had easy access to every direction and restaurant we wanted to go in, and always seemed directly in the center of each place we were directed to for this or that. I would never stay anywhere else, but that's just us. I can see how a different person might stay there and think that the wait for there car was too long (though it took us less than 10 minutes to get our $42.50 a day parked car from them), that there might have been a mark on the wall in the work out room, that their eggs weren't soft enough to their liking, that they found the comforter on the bed a little too noisy or rough on their skin, and given the same hotel we stayed at, over the same time period, a bad review on Trip Advisor! They might have had to wait 3 minutes for the concierge and they might had added that the service was terribly slow. We try to find the good in things and when we read some of these meticulously critical review on Trip Advisor now we take them with a grain of salt. After staying at the Doral Golf and Spa in Miami last month and seeing all the critical and bad reviews of the place, we were worried. When we got there, our worries were for naught as the place was spectacular and all the little things people criticized weren't there for us. The only demerit there were that the rooms were had very thin walls and we heard everything in the adjoining rooms - not good. At this Marriott Residence Inn:

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/NYCRI

(you'll have to cut and paste the above link of course)

we never heard anything from our neighbors, and they had 2 kids in their room! By the way, our room looked EXACTLY like the picture in this link. Exactly. It's rare that the real thing is as good as the pics. You can see the furnishings are really nice and mod :o). I used the wetbar to shave at and brush my teeth in the morning to give my wife space to do her bathroom stuff. This was an added bonus as the bathroom was a bit small and I could stay out of her way but still ready myself for the day. I kept all my bathroom stuff by the wet bar and it worked out well. I used the mirror by the closet to shave by, holding a towel under my chin to catch any loose water. This way I never had to bother her in the bathroom and she could get ready much faster so we could see more stuff!

How could the noisiest city in the US supply a totally quiet room? Quite remarkable to us. All the staff, particularly the front desk concierge and the Security Mgr bent way over backwards to be nice and friendly. "You's guys" they called us.

We love New York now. The last time we went to New York, just my wife and I, we stayed at the Edison Hotel and had a horrible experience. The room was the size of a matchbook and was ugly and old. It ruined the trip for us. She never wanted to go back. 5 years later she was willing to give it another chance, and luckily we struck gold.

As for the subway cards, thanks for posting that info. We didn't really take that many rides in a day to make the 25 hour pass worthwhile but I'll file it away in my brain for the future.

Cheers,
Steve R
Silver Spring MD

to lisettemac: We WILL be back soon - glad you like Wild Ginger too. We were surprised some of these restaurants weren't more crowded on a weekend night, and grateful that they weren't. I mean to say that they didn't have a line out the door and it was easy to get a table. Nothing worse than getting to a restaurant with a reservation and being told to wait 45 minutes anyway.

I guess that link to the hotel DID work above. You can see the great pics on their photo tour link. We couldn't have taken better pics than the Marriott people did!

Steve R

Nice report.
Interesting about the taxi savings. I think many of us forget that despite recent price increases, taxis remain one of the great bargains in NYC -- particularly for three or four people.

The crockpot. Don't you see? It was a simple mistake. The manager was given a list of what must be found in every New York hotel, and he thought "crackpot" was "crockpot".

Steve, your reports are always so good and just crack me up.

I think people still think of New York City as the gritty place in Taxi or some other 1970s movie. Some of my very best friends are native New Yorkers and the nicest people I've ever met.

Did y'all eat at Ben-Ash Deli across from Carnegie? I've always said it had superior pastrami to Carnegie.

Thanks for the tip about the Marriott. I'll pass it along.

Hi Go Travel - we actually ate at Ben's Manhattan on 38th and 7th ave. Delicious. Thanks for the ...well, thanks.

Neopolitan - good one. Crock pot, crack pot. But, why would this be in a tiny little hotel room? Funny thing is our friends didn't get one in their room and felt slighted :o) They were just down the hall.

Now I see why people call NYC so liveable. After spending only 3 beautiful days there, I get it now. We talked with store clerks at Bloomingdales and asked them how they could afford to live there. Some said they lived with there parents just so they could stay in the city. They said they couldn't imagine living anywhere else as it would be so boring for them. I can see why - total stimulation in the city.

She said that some of the people on commission there make very good money which surprised us. She said some of the men's suit salesman make well over $100k a year with one lone guy making a million a year selling men's suits!

Who knew? Not us. We thought most if not all dept store retail workers made just $27-55k per year. Apparantly you can make alot more if you are a "shark" and in the right dept as she said.

Steve R

Nordstrom's shoe salesmen really rake it in!

Hi stever, enjoying another wonderful trip report from you! I do believe that one reason you and your wife have such wonderful trips is that you two obviously have such a good outlook on life and take pleasure in some of the small things. For example, your conversation with the taxidriver. I too love talking to taxidrivers and have heard so many interesting stories..at times I almost feel like I have visited their country. Stories about their life, their family, how they got to the US etc. Better than any book.

Thanks for again sharing a wonderful trip..wishing you two many more.

Well, I have no idea who you are, seattlescuba, but you must have a problem with me. I, too, was shocked at how much the friend of a friend in San Francisco made selling shoes at Nordstrom's. Sorry if that comment causes you concern. I think stever may be able to relate even if you can't.

Hello again everyone - hey, let's all get along, right?

As for that Bangladesh cab driver, the cool part was that he told us that he was taking off next week to go to Virginia and asked us what he should see there. We said that a drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway on Skyline Drive and a trip to Luray Caverns is definitely the way to go. He had heard of the caverns and it was as the top of his list anyway. He was so excited about his trip and said he loves to drive.

By the way, my ex-wife was a shoe salesperson at Nordstrom many years ago and yes, those gals/guys who work smart can make really great money there.

On to the next trip. I think it will be the Biltmore in Ashville NC in May for 3 nights. Guess we need to figure out where to stay. I know where I'm going to look first - our wonderful archives. I don't even buy travel books any more, just cut and past just back reports from Fodors and then hit the library right before our trip for the "Italy 2006 Fodors book" just to get specific info on art in the various museums we go to. We have 3 weeks in Italy planned for Sept. - Florence 4 nts, Orvieto 3 nts, Rome 4 nts, Positano 5 nts, and Capri 3 nts. You'll find that just back report on the Europe forum just after that trip :o).

Steve R

stever-

I'm rarely on the US Board, but just happened to look in here today and found your wonderful trip report.
I'm a New Yorker and just want to express how happy you made me with your recognition of how nice we NYers can be!

And I'm so sorry you missed the Munch show at the MOMA, and also missed the MOMA, which is just a spectacular place in general. I have corporate passes which gives me four guests each time, and I normally ask for all four and then give them out randomly to people waiting on line. Folks usually appreciate this, since the entry fee is something like twenty dollars-so if you ever return to our fair Apple, I hope I can offer some MOMA passes to you!

bellastar: You are way too kind for words! I am planning on coming back to your fair city to see the NY Auto Show on April 15th so I might take you up on that if it's not too much an imposition! I'll be with 2 other people, my uncle and his neighbor.

You New Yorkers really go above and beyond the call of duty! Kudos to ya.

Steve R