{"id":7532,"date":"2018-07-17T16:29:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T16:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=7532"},"modified":"2018-07-18T13:05:35","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T13:05:35","slug":"unique-boutique-hotel-find-in-the-heart-of-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2018\/unique-boutique-hotel-find-in-the-heart-of-manhattan\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique Boutique Hotel Find in the Heart of Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Y<\/span>ou\u2019ve planned your weekend getaway to the Big Apple with visions of a night out at the theater, a dinner at a new wave restaurant, or one steeped in history. You have a list of all the museums you want to hit, a list of all the shops to visit along Fifth Avenue, and a hope to get some exercise by walking or running through Central Park.<\/p>\n

And although you\u2019re excited about visiting the city that never sleeps, you probably hope you can. Sifting through a choice of where to stay\u2014when there are more than 75,000 rooms in 270 hotels, with over half of them being in midtown Manhattan\u2014is mind-boggling. And are there any that won\u2019t crush your budget?<\/p>\n

Sure, you could take a look at the big hotel chains in or near Times Square that boast close to 2,000 rooms. But wouldn\u2019t it be nice to take in all that Manhattan has to offer, knowing you can escape to a seemingly private sanctuary that could be your home away from home?<\/p>\n

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Photo: Courtesy of WestHouse<\/p><\/div>\n

Welcoming Oasis<\/h3>\n

We had the chance to visit one such boutique hotel with 172 rooms recently and highly recommend it for its welcoming hometown yet luxurious feel: WestHouse Hotel on 55th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.<\/p>\n

Centrally located in midtown Manhattan, WestHouse Hotel is a short walk to Central Park, two and a half blocks from shopping on Fifth Avenue (Bergdorf\u2019s, Barney\u2019s, Bendel\u2019s, or Tiffany\u2019s anyone?), around the corner from Carnegie Hall, and down the street from New York City Center.<\/p>\n

The hotel staff is extremely welcoming the moment you pull up in your car in front of the hotel or walk through the door. What\u2019s particularly striking about this hotel is its quiet, calm feel from the lobby to the rooms. The designers of the hotel sought to create the feel and glamour of a 1920s Carnegie Hall dressing room, adding special touches like art deco picture rails, tufted leather headboards, director\u2019s chairs, dark wood flooring, high ceilings, and marble bathrooms.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like us, when we find a comfortable bed, we want to take it home or, at least, sneak a peek at the bed tag to ferret out the manufacturer. You\u2019ll want to take this bed home, for sure.<\/p>\n

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King-size comfy bed in well-appointed room. Photo: WestHouse Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Sounds of Silence<\/h3>\n

The most notable feature of the room for us was how quiet it was. How many times have we all stayed in big city hotels where you can hear every truck rumbling down the street hitting the potholes, cabs honking, and sirens blaring. Or sometimes, we\u2019ve been unlucky to be near elevators and hear the opening and closing of the doors and clanking of the operating system.<\/p>\n

Not here. It\u2019s quiet, quiet, quiet!<\/p>\n

We were on the 23rd floor with an expansive view of Times Square and beyond. The bank of elevators was directly across from our room, but we never heard a sound from them.<\/p>\n

WestHouse gets an A+ in soundproof, beautifully appointed rooms!<\/p>\n

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Concierge amenities include breakfast and happy hour. Photo: WestHouse Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Resident Privileges<\/h3>\n

We were lucky to be on the concierge floor, so we were down the hall from a complete buffet that offered full breakfast choices and an extensive happy hour with wine, beer, and nonalcoholic options.<\/p>\n

Insider tip: There are enough substantial hors d\u2019oeuvres that will tempt you to stay in for dinner. The casual seating areas inside open to an outdoor terrace with more comfy chairs and an above-it-all view of bustling Manhattan below. In mild weather, it\u2019s an excellent spot to savor your coffee, read the paper on your iPad, enjoy a cocktail, or whisper sweet nothings into your spouse\u2019s ear.<\/p>\n

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Terrace for enjoying coffee or hors d’oeuvres. Photo: WestHouse Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Although a breakfast buffet and a happy hour gathering is the norm at many hotels these days, cloth napkins, china and glass service, and an attentive, uniformed waitstaff are rarely included in the deal. Not so here. Quality is the norm, and the $47-per-person price is less than you\u2019d easily spend going out to nearby restaurants.<\/p>\n

Clever Features That Make Your Stay Even More Special<\/h3>\n

In an effort to truly set itself apart from other New York hotels and to make guests feel special, the hotel offers special partnerships to enhance the stay.<\/p>\n

One such partnership is with DayNa Decker, a former Ford model. Her luxury products, such as those for the bath, can be found in the rooms.<\/p>\n

For the fashionista, you can book a suite and receive a $100 gift card from Henri Bendel (just around the corner) and a session with one of the store\u2019s personal shopper stylists. What fun!<\/p>\n

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Perfect picnic. Photo: WestHouse Hotel<\/p><\/div>\n

Picnic in the Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Central Park so close by, why not choose one of the hotel\u2019s \u201cpicnic\u201d packages for a special treat. Here are two ideas\u2026<\/p>\n

The Central Park Experience:<\/h5>\n

A special treat in the heart of Central Park that features the meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, crudit\u00e9s, and a bottle of prosecco. When you arrive at your picnic spot, one of the hotel\u2019s picnic experts will have everything set up, ready, and waiting for you. Classy! $350 for two.<\/p>\n

The Romantic Basket:<\/h5>\n

Perfect for a decade birthday or anniversary, choose the \u201cRomantic Basket\u201d picnic. Have a basket delivered to your room and find the perfect picnic spot to celebrate your romance. The basket includes meats, cheeses, olives, jam, a bottle of prosecco, and a picnic blanket. $200 for two.<\/p>\n

Thumbs Up!<\/h3>\n

All in all, WestHouse Hotel is a welcoming headquarters for any visit to the Big Apple. It has great rooms, terrific amenities, and fabulous attention to detail\u2014right down to the two complimentary bottles of SmartWater provided every night. Plus, this boutique hotel is reasonably priced. We give it a huge thumbs up!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rare find in bustling metropolitan area<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-summer-2018","category-spring-summer-2018-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7532"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7659,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7532\/revisions\/7659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}