It's such a beautiful day in New York City. I was lucky as I narrowly escaped a huge storm hitting the city just a couple of days ago. I took the airtrain to Jamaica station and caught the E train. There weren't too many people onboard and I thought it was a bit strange for a Saturday afternoon. I prefer taking the subway over taxi/bus for a couple of reasons. First, E train is more reliable. I know I will be in Manhattan in less than 45 minutes. Second, the traffic in manhattan is about as predictable as the winning lottery numbers
. There's always a chance that I will get stuck somewhere in Queens.
I was going to W Times Square but I wanted to avoid Times Square at all cost. So, I got off at 49th St/8th Ave. It was a wise decision as always
There were no tourists and the station was a breeze to get through. I walked a couple of blocks to 47th St and found W.
The doormen greeted me and opened the doors for me. I quickly took the elevator to the 7th floor lobby to check in. One of the agents, M, saw me. With a big smile, she welcomed me to W Times Square. W Times Square is one of my favorite hotels in the world. I usually stay there whenever I go to NY. The rooms are great and staff is amazing. They always treat me well. Before I could opened my mouth, she asked "Mr. BlissWorld, right?" I asked how she knew and she said "Well, we've been expecting you. Let's see here, we have upgraded you to our fantastic suite on the 25th floor. Wait, 25th floor for Mr BlissWorld? That won't do, let me see..." A key stroke here and there later "Here it is, 4611, I have a fantastic suite on the 46th floor for ya." ^ (How did she know I prefer higher floor?)
I handed her my credit card. She offered me my platinum amenity and gave me 2 keys. Before I could say anything, she said "Mr. BlissWorld, I have already programmed your key to work until 4PM on your departure day. I hope you enjoy your W experience with us again. You know where the elevator is, right? If there is anything I can do for you, and I mean anything, please give me a call at the front desk. My name is M"
^ 4PM late check out offered without asking? Nice ^ Great service and attitude as usual.
I took the express elevator to 46st floor. Having stayed in a fanatstic suite previously, I knew what to expect: a spacious living room with outstanding view of Times Square, comfy lounge area with chairs, work area, 2 plasma TVs, bang & olufsen stereo syste with sirius, half a bath in the living room, and a master bathroom in the bedroom:
Just as I was about to enter my suite, housekeeping was exiting. She told me she left my flowers on the table. Flowers?
It turned out they left some fresh orchids on the table for me. Nice ^ I love orchids.
I put my luggages down, unpacked, and went out to explore the city. I had a few beers with a friend. We picked up some NYC street food: Kabobs, nuts 4 nuts, and some mini calzone with marinara sauce. Man, I love NYC street food! After we caught up, we went to see Mary Poppins at Amsterdam Theater.
I wasn't really sure what to expect. I wasn't sure what they were going to do with some of the magic stuff. But, in the end, I was very impressed. The actors were great and some of the magic was cool. The only bad thing about the show was the dance. I LOVE tap dancing and many broadway shows often incorporate fantastic tap dancing into the program (42nd St, the Producer, etc). Mary Poppins did as well, but they weren't that good. Nevertheless, we had a great time.
After the show, we went back to the suite and ordered some room service. When I opened the door, I heard soft music in the background so I knew someone came to turn the bed down. I went into the bedroom and found some chocolate and 2 bottles of Voss water along with a greeting card sent by the manager palced neatly on the illuminated night stand ^ A very nice gesture. They always take good care of me here.
W Times Square has an excellent in room dining menu. They feature many items from their outstanding inhouse restaurant, Blue Fin. I ordered some fresh oysters with difference sauces, a Blue Fin lobster sandwich (yummo!) and a caramel apple bread pudding. As always, the quality of the food was superb and they arrived with 25 minutes.
Ordering room service is a must whenever I stay at W Times Square since they offer a fantastic menu. Because I usually get high floor suites, the view is also amazing. It beats any other restaurant in town. So, we usually end up eating great food and enjoying the fantastic view of Times Square:
We went to bed at a decent hour (I think
) and were going to do some low key shopping in the big city the following day-SOHO.