I hadn’t been to New York City in yearssssss. And I missed it. This time, however, I didn’t want to crash on a friend’s sofa. I wanted to stay in a swanky hotel in the middle of an area that was surrounded by lots of good shops and restaurants. I wanted to be close to where The Makeup Show NYC was going to be and I really wanted a hotel that had a really good room service menu.
Don’t judge me, man. I’m fancy. I LOVE room service.
My girl Courtney and I settled on staying at the Hilton New York Fashion District for several reasons; one being that it was listed as an option on The Makeup Show NYC website. And also, Courtney said that she had never had a bad experience at a Hilton. Same here.
And so we checked in. It really only got better from there.
The Room
Spoiled Floridian here. I’m used to spacious rooms but I always prepare myself for when I’m visiting NYC. I know the rooms will be smaller and yes, while the room was on the smaller side, it was comfortable and charming. The basics were there and despite not having enough space to stash my beauty products (says the beauty blogger), I really can’t complain about the room’s setup.
As a matter of fact, later on during the week, we had about 4 gals total hanging out in the room and we all sat comfortably. Then again, I stayed in dorms in college so I’m totally used to a queen size bed turning into a couch and acting as sitting quarters for guests. It was SO my norm for many years.
The Dining
Our first morning in, we decided to have room service and honey, lemme tell you something…I don’t think I have ever seen French toast as large as these slices. I could barely get through 2 delicious slices but I wasn’t at all mad about it. I definitely got my money’s worth. Said breakfast dish was tasty and delivered promptly by a wonderful staff person.
But really it was Rare Bar & Grill that rocked our world. Rare quite simply replenished us, nourished us and gave us back our lives after a long day of traveling. The dimly-lit swanky restaurant with a grown and sexy vibe had such a great variety of dishes that were prepared so beautifully that we dined there THREE of the four days that we were in the city. Excessive, much? Maybe.
No apologies here, y’all, because the food isn’t only delicious but it’s just SO convenient. You mean to tell me I can have a Warm Tuna Steak Sandwich just a few feet away from my hotel room? I’ll be right down. The menu? Ooooh, the menu. I’ll be back.
The Staff
I don’t think I’m a needy guest when I stay at hotels. I tip the maids and I try my best to not leave a mess and make a ton of requests. However, traveling while nursing comes with necessities, man. After checking in, I asked for a mini fridge to store milk and it was delivered with NO problems or delay. And without a charge. Thank you, Hilton. Just…thank you.
But it doesn’t stop there. The night before I was leaving, I wanted to freeze my breast milk so that it would stay nice and cold during the long day of traveling that awaited me. I had to explain this to the gentleman at the front desk. I was nervous. And I don’t get nervous. But how do you explain this to a man with a straight face? Whatever. I did it and no one, I mean, NO ONE batted an eye lash. Of course, they didn’t. This was New York City, bro. They were so chill about the entire thing and picking up my milk the next morning couldn’t be easier.
I was so so grateful.
The Location
Best.location.ever. We rarely needed to hop on a train or take a Lyft ride as everything was within walking distance. By everything I mean, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, delicious breakfast spots, Duane Reade’s, you name it, we had it. Also, the location was just a good 35-40 minute drive to and from JFK Airport and Union Square as well as The High Line weren’t long walks, either. Remind me to tell you about The High Line. I’m obsessed.
The Overall
I’ll be back, Hilton New York Fashion District. No, really…I’ll be back. I’m thinking of making this location my main spot for whenever I visit NYC. I kinda want it to get to the point where I know the people at the front desk and they’re all, “Brittanyyyyy, you’re baaaack!” And we hug and somewhere the theme song of Cheers starts playing. We casually shoot the breeze and someone clues me in on some hot party happening on the rooftop and yeah well…a girl can dream, right?
But really, I’ll be back.
FTC Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Noooope! I just enjoyed my experience at this hotel so much that I decided to write about it. I paid for all expenses and incidentals and all thoughts and opinions are my own. However, the guy at the front who managed to keep a straight face when I said “boob juice” seriously deserves a raise. That is all.
I haven’t been to NY in forever but when I make it back I know where I’ll be staying! Lol