At least once a week (ok, maybe once a day) every New Yorker dreams of taking a vacation. How nice it would be to get away from work, responsibilities, silly drama, and the everyday hustle and bustle of life. But who can afford to take a week off, buy plane tickets, and head to the Bahamas? Unless you’re a Rockefeller or a Kardashian, you can’t really take trips to tropical resorts every time you want to get away from it all. There’s good news, though—you don’t have to actually go away to get away. It’s called a staycation, and you are able to stay right here in the city and still feel as if you are on vacation, even if it is only for a few days. Thanks to a few places, these staycations are becoming easier and more affordable to have!
One of the places you can indulge in is called the Riff Chelsea. This hotel was formerly known as the Chelsea Star. It has been redone slightly and moved to a new location on West 30th Street and 8th Avenue. It has forty-four rooms, starting at just $99 each! You can either get a smaller single room, or a larger one that includes a small kitchen. The hotel’s decoration is geared towards emulating the “Era of Danceteria,” and has been described as a “rock hideaway” –the 600-foot courtyard even has guitars available for any interested musically inclined guests. The lobby is filled with pictures of 80s rockstars, and complete with various music magazines. The rooms are bright, colorful, and fun. This is a perfect place for a nice NYC staycation- not only is it an awesome hotel with rockstar cool ambiance, but it’s affordable, too. The Riff Chelsea Hotel is guaranteed to make you forget about your stress and want to party like it’s 1980.
Another really amazing staycation in New York is the Rarities Reserve experience at the New York Palace, located on Madison Avenue between 50th Street and 51st Street. Basically, this is an opportunity to taste wines, champagnes, and liquors that are extremely rare and hard to find anywhere else, while living like a King (or Queen) for a few days. If that doesn’t sound like a vacation, I don’t know what does. You have the choice of booking a one bedroom (starting at $1,500) or corner suite (starting at $2,200) and then you receive guided professional tastings of the best and rarest spirits in the country. And they have everything! Brandy, scotch, whiskey, vodka, tequila, gin, port, bourbon, champagne, wine…the list is almost endless. Don’t worry, though, it’s not just drinking-there is food provided, as well. Food like homemade beef jerky, cheese, chocolate, cookies, and nuts — the absolute perfect pairings to eat alongside some fine alcoholic beverages. The rooms located in the Tower have their own elevator and lobby, along with breathtaking views of the city. The whole place is decorated to give the feeling of unadulterated luxury- beautiful carpeting, glass cases, and sparkling chandeliers. You’ll never want to leave!
The last staycation spot is one that happens to be offering some very cool packages through this fall and winter season. The Hyatt Union Square, located on 4th Avenue, is going to be doing three special events for guests — The Greenmarket Experience, Relax and Un-Wined, and The Winner is… Hey, if you want multiple staycations (and who doesn’t?) you can even try to get to all three! The Greenmarket Experience is exactly what it sounds like — an opportunity for guests to check out the Union Square Greenmarket in the best and most fulfilling possible way. Everyone who buys this package gets to stay in a studio guest room, a bottle of refreshing Brooklyn Greenmarket Wheat beer, $20 Greenmarket shopping credit, and a Greenmarket cookbook. If wine is more your thing, you’ll probably want to try out Relax and Un-Wined package, which is a tour and tasting for two in Union Square Wines, located right across the street from the hotel. Not only this, but guests also get their very own bottle of wine to enjoy in the privacy of their rooms. The final package offered is The Winner is… and every guest who purchases this receives an envelope at the beginning of their stay. Think the Oscar or Golden Globe envelope, with the possibility of an award inside. Exciting, right? The awards available in the envelope include extended check out times, bottles of wine, and room upgrades. That’s not even the coolest part. This package occurs on all the nights when there is a big award show being aired on television, like the Emmys or CMAs. All guests who are participating cast votes as to who they think the winners at these award shows will be. Then, special prizes are given to guests who make the most accurate predictions. All of these awesome packages make the Hyatt Union Square a perfect staycation.
Although I’ve mentioned some particularly great places in the city to go to without going away, there are even more out there! You no longer need to leave Manhattan in order to have a vacation. What are you waiting for? Get out there and have yourself a nice little staycation as soon as you can!
Twisted Talk: When is the last time you enjoyed a staycation? Have you stayed in any of these NYC hotels? Discuss below!
