HOTEL BEACON

IMAGINE MY DELIGHT as my New York cab pulled up just after midnight at my hotel on Broadway (ON-BROADWAY!) and I looked across the road to see a market that was still open! I checked in and dashed across to find the most incredible selection of deli goods. Pickles and olives and cured meats as far as the eye could see, a most extensive cheese selection and shelf upon shelf of convenient heat-and-eat options that you are not ever going to come across in a New Zealand supermarket at midnight that’s for sure. Lobster, mac and cheese, spicy empanadas with freshly diced salsa, quesadillas, curries, pastas, soups, fresh bagels and lox (of course) and pastries. If this was what I had available at midnight right across the road from my front door, New York was going to be fun! I almost skipped back to my room laden with deli deliciousness and humming snatches of George Benson. They say the neon lights... on Broadway. The greatest thing about basing your NY trip at the Hotel Beacon is that you will feel like you are a well-heeled local. You could easily spend a week just roaming the nearby streets, with the Hudson River to the west, Central Park to the east, and the bright lights of Midtown to the south. Just around the corner, you will find Levain Bakery where you might need to queue but the chocolate chip cookies are worth the wait. Some of the cities most intriguing museums and cultural attractions are all within walking distance including the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Historical Society. Right next door to the Hotel Beacon you’ll find Cafe Viand, an old-school NY diner serving the meanest turkey sandwich in town. There’s a terrific little cocktail bar, the Beacon Bar for light bites and a nightcap. It’s located just next door to the Beacon Theater a historic 2,894-seater that was designed as a movie palace for motion pictures and vaudeville entertainment by architect Walter Ahlschlager (who also designed the Hotel Beacon which opened in 1928). At the time, the hotel – at 24 stories high – towered above all other buildings and rivaled the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan. You’ll be noticing the word ‘beacon’ is a little popular here. It refers to the original airway beacon located on the roof of the hotel. One of only three hotels in all of New York City to have one at the time, it is 5 feet in diameter and had 1.2 billion candles in power. With 278 spacious studios and suites each with a different outlook across Manhattan, we couldn’t have found a better spot to spend five fabulous nights in New York City. A hidden gem in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side.