I typically visit my Grandma in upstate New York each year for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Many times however I come right in between the two holidays to save some coins. The difference in ticket prices two weeks after Thanksgiving and one week before Christmas flying between San Jose and New York is at least a few hundred dollars, and not being with my family on a particular holiday vs. a week before really doesn’t make a big difference to me—family is family, love is love and a day is just a day.
This time around I decided to use all the Expedia points I earned from my Eurotrip and solo vacation to Mexico earlier this year on a few days stay in Manhattan before going upstate to my grandma’s house. I’ve been to New York several times before but never alone and have never stayed in a hotel in the city so I was super excited to get my Carrie Bradshaw on. I booked a two night stay at Arlo Soho. With my points I was able to get the hotel for two nights for only $146. It’s a very cute and very chic boutique hotel within walking distance of a lot of shops, restaurants and the iconic shopping of Soho.
The room was small, like teeny tiny, but the use of space was excellent. Everything in the room had a purpose and there was no wasted space. Still—I did kind of feel like I was in a dorm room. The hotel itself was really nice. To make up for the limited space in the rooms they had several open lounge areas and work spaces. They also had a projector for movie night, a vinyl record player accompanied by a wall of vinyl records, a restaurant, two bars—one of which is on the rooftop– and a candy bar (that wasn’t free of course) and access to bikes. The hotel offers daily activities and social events like yoga, meditation and game night.
My stay was great! The staff was friendly and extremely helpful. The one thing I hated about my hotel room however is the one thing I hate if it’s in any hotel room—doorless and curtainless showers! Why, why, why do these stupid things exist?! I hate that it’s impossible to take a shower without a pool of water forming on the floor! If you’ve ever stayed in a room with one of these showers I’m sure you feel me.
I was able to get a direct flight from San Jose into Newark Liberty International airport, which is about a 40 minute ride from Manhattan. When I arrived it was cold AF! It had just snowed the day before, which I had already known from checking the weather but I still wasn’t ready for the hawk (slang for cold in the Midwest). I grabbed a Lyft from the airport and got to my hotel with minimal traffic delays, since it was a Sunday.
Pro-tip: If at all possible, book a hotel stay beginning on Sunday rather than Saturday. Hotel prices surge on Fridays and Saturdays so you’ll get more bang for your buck if you book for a Sunday.
When I arrived at the hotel I was both hungry and sleepy. The hotel lobby had a specialty store with small bites. I checked with the doorman to see what food items they had and he quickly redirected me to the deli up the street. Later I would find out that the store had small, pre-made salads for $11! His guidance was greatly appreciated. I walked down to the deli, which was just a few blocks away, and ordered a BLT, which I ate in my hotel room. After a 45 minute nap I got dressed and ready for my evening.
My friend from Atlanta who relocated to New York made reservations for us at Red Rooster in Harlem, which is the brainchild of Marcus Samuelsson from The Food Network. I love soul food so I so excited to eat there. I ordered the Hot Honey Yardbird and cornbread. The yardbird was two pieces of fried chicken over garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed cabbage. It was really delicious. The cornbread on the other hand was not. It wasn’t simple enough for me. I’m a jiffy with extra sugar kind of girl. You lose my taste buds when you start adding extra ingredients like they did. I ordered the Tortuga Punch which was also not so great. My friend Aamela ordered a little bit of everything and she wasn’t too impressed, so overall I’d rate the food a B-. The atmosphere however was definitely an A! They had a live band the night we went playing old school classics from the likes of Earth, Wind and Fire and Chaka Khan, and the place definitely had a Harlem Nights vibe.
Next we went across the street to a bar called Corner Social and stayed the drinking length of one cocktail. The vibe was laid back. They played a mix of Caribbean and dance hall music and the drinks were ok.
After that we took an Uber a few blocks to a below ground bar called Silvana where the drinks were A1! The bartender was really great. He was even trying to create some new concoctions behind the bar, which I thought was dope. They had an awesome live band that night playing old school rock n’ roll and R&B classics. I’d say the bar was “alternative”. When we walked in the waitress quickly told us they had a DJ coming in at midnight, but we actually really enjoyed the music the band was playing.
Harlem is definitely gentrified. It reminds me a lot of Oakland.
The next day I was riding solo. I left the hotel around 10:30 and headed to Dominique Ansel’s bakery to try a cronut. I have heard about these for years and wanted to make it a priority to try one on this visit since the bakery was within walking distance of my hotel. They had so many beautiful treats in their display cases. As far as the cronut—DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE! It was every kind of eww $10.50 could buy. Yes—the cronut plus a small coffee was $10.50!
After I found a trash can to toss the remains of my bad decision in I headed out to the Chelsea Market. It was 1.3 miles from the bakery so I figured I could walk there. I strolled through Soho for about 15 minutes taking in the beautiful neighborhood buildings and shops until I froze. It was too damn cold to walk a mile so I caught a Lyft the rest of the way. On the way over the Lyft driver and my family informed me there was an explosion in the subway earlier that morning. It was definitely scary but no one around me seemed to be on any higher alert than the norm so I didn’t let it deter me from exploring the city.
Chelsea Market reminds me a lot of the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It’s a huge complex full of eclectic restaurants and local shops. I browsed the shops and found an 80’s gold chain with a “K” charm at a vintage jewelry shop called BrooklynBlue. I also stopped in Posman Books and picked up two new books. Visiting bookstores is becoming a part of my travel tradition. For lunch I had two corn tortilla tacos from Los Tacos No. 1 that were delicious!
I spent about 2.5 hours at the market before I headed out to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET). I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to museums and bookstores. I just really love being transported back in time and am so intrigued by the ingenuity and creativity evidenced by the works.
The MET is huge! I loved all of the exhibits I was able to see within the two or so hours I was there. I’m the type to look at everything. I love to look at every detail and get as close to the art work as the security team will allow me. The dopest part about the museum though is that you pay whatever you want for admission.
I returned to my hotel for a quick dinner and a very short nap then headed out again for a spa evening I booked from 9-11 at Aire Ancient Baths in Soho for the Ancient Thermal Baths with a 45 minute massage. They have six different pools varying in temperature from 50 – 102 degrees that you can soak in prior to your massage. I enjoyed the 102 degree bath the most, but had to split my time between it and cooler bath so I didn’t pass out. I have to say, I was disappointment in the amount of time it took for me to get my massage. The total time allotted for the entire experience was 135 minutes so the spa emailed me beforehand and requested that I arrive between 8:15 and 8:30. My massage should have started sometime around 10:15 but I wasn’t seen until 10:45. I definitely kindly harassed the staff until I was finally seen. The massage I got however was more than worth the wait. I had Lewis who was amazing. I had all types of knots in my back and he paid close attention, adjusting the pressure throughout my massage, to remove all of them. It had to be the best massage I’ve ever received.
The next day I took some time to just walk through Soho before my bus left for Albany that afternoon. The neighborhood is so beautiful. One of my Lyft drivers told me it’s the oldest neighborhood in New York which is evidenced by the still existing cobblestone streets. You can also see a lot of age in the buildings. I wanted to see the Louis Vuitton exhibit at the American Exchange building but it was sold out so after having the $22 breakfast buffet at the hotel’s restaurant, Harold’s, that wasn’t worth the $22, I got dressed and checked out of the hotel. I just walked around, grabbed lunch, took some pictures and then hung out in the hotel’s lobby until I had to head to the bus station. Another Pro-Tip: Don’t assume because something is less than 2 miles away it won’t take you 30 minutes to get there, even at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Overall, I had an amazing experience in New York! It’s one of my favorite cities. Next time I’m in town I look forward to visiting The Strand bookstore, Brooklyn and getting some shopping in. I definitely need to learn how to use the subway though; my Lyft and Uber bills were astronomical!
-Khristal Talyse
Makes me want to visit New York!
Hey Shauni!!! Good to hear from you! You HAVE to visit NY. There are so many things to do, beautiful things to see and any and every type of food you could ever want to eat. Thank you for reading!!