Viceroy New York | moderately priced luxury

Deluxe Park View room at the Viceroy New York

Well-located in midtown Manhattan (two blocks south of the park at 120 W. 57th St, just west of 6th Avenue) and nicely priced for a luxury brand, the Viceroy New York is a brand new hotel, just open a month. I had the opportunity to see the hotel today (during the Thanksgiving Day Parade). The Viceroy is a good option for business travelers to New York City.

The interior design of the hotel is intended to remind guests of the ambiance of a cruise ship. The hotel offers the amenities that most business travelers would want for a comfortable stay: a 24 hour fitness center in the basement, as well as a relaxation pool with water heated to over 100º (consider this either as a very small lap pool or a very large jacuzzi). The Viceroy features Marc Murphy’s new restaurant, Kingside and his New American cooking.

Rooms are compact but well designed to provide a lot of hidden storage (though no closets). The bedding features luxurious Sferra linens. Guestroom bathrooms have a single vanity and step-in shower (no soaking tub) — so the Viceroy will fit the needs of a business traveler who is traveling alone, but not ideal for couples traveling together. Standard (Superior) rooms are quite small and look south toward the back of the buildings on 56th St. Deluxe rooms are a bit larger (more like a typical Superior) with views across 57th Street; larger windows admit more natural light. Deluxe rooms on higher floors provide a view of Central Park (though nothing like the view that you would have from a hotel on 59th Street). Higher floors are definitely recommended here as the rooms will be brighter.

Viceroy New York is a good value. Two blocks south of the Park and two blocks west of 5th Avenue, you’ll love pricing that’s nearly half off the room rates at the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, or St. Regis. Not (yet) a member of Virtuoso, I have usually been successful at getting room upgrades and a complimentary continental breakfast as amenities for my clients.

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. As affiliates of Brownell Travel, we can provide our clients with Virtuoso amenities and amenities from other Brownell preferred hotel partners including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and more. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

New York at Thanksgiving

walking south down Fifth Avenue (Central Park to the right)

Thanksgiving in New York has been a tradition for a number of years, as my sister lives there, my daughter goes to school there (Columbia), and my son and daughter-in-law live on the east coast as well. So I'm preparing to go once again to the Big Apple next week.

Where to stay? I've stayed at a number of different places. As my sister lives on the Upper East Side, I've split time between the Plaza Athenee and The Lowell, two very nice boutique hotels in residential neighborhoods. But this year — as my daughter's apartment is on the Upper West Side, I'm spending three nights at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

Mandarin Oriental New York is located on Columbus Circle at the southwest corner of Central Park. It's a great venue for seeing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; you can see it from the hotel's lobby high above the Time Warner Building. I'll post my review right here on Travel Horizons, as well as a review of the new Viceroy New York which I'll be visiting for a site inspection on Thursday morning. The Viceroy is a reasonably priced luxury hotel on W 57th Street at 6th Avenue, so I'm quite interested to see what it's like.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! It's my favorite holiday of the year … still a family holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized.

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.