Nerdletta Knows: NYC Nerdfest!

So I'm leaving on Wednesday for a whirlwind trip to NYC before I have to head back to the office in DC. And I've loaded several apps onto my iPhone so that I can directly post to this blog with pics and stuff. I'm also going to post pictures onto my Flickr page and plot them onto the map too, but that part'll be later. So check back for real pictures of interesting things in NYC from my POV. I'm SOOOOOOO excited!

The framework:
1) Stay in a different hotel each night - working from interesting to most-awe-inspiring design hotel.
2) Eat amazing food, seek out interesting architecture, stop often and schedule seldom.
3) Start each day with hotel breakfast and massage. Then head out.

The Hotels:

Day one: Marriott Marquis, Times Square

OK, so I'm not really into staying in Times Square or doing anything excessively touristy. But, my flight gets in after 9 pm, the hotel will be really easy to get to by train from JFK, and ... the best part... It's FREE! woo! One of the perks of living out of a hotel in Quantico for the last year is that I have racked up lots and lots of Marriott Reward Points. So I used just under 1/2 of my points and I get a $600 hotel room for free with Platinum Elite status and VIP access to the concierge lounge. This is where the isolation and drudgery of traveling for work pays dividends. Yaaay!

The only plan: have a drink on the 47th floor at The View restaurant and lounge. NYC's only rooftop revolving restaurant - 360 degree view of Time Square from 47 stories up. Holy crap-oly. Then go down to the 37-story high atrium bar for another drink. Then see what I feel like.

Breakfast in the private Concierge lounge.

Day Two: The Royalton

So this place is in the heart of midtown, by Fifth Ave shopping and the Broadway Theater District. Neither of which I care that much about in the sense that I don't really need to shop or see a Broadway show. Maybe this is the day that I'll check out Chelsea art galleries or the MOMA. But the design of this hotel I HAVE to experience for myself.

Check out these pics!
Exterior:

Lobby:

Bar:

Brasserie:

Room:

Day Three: The Hudson
Ooooh yes... its getting better every day, isn't it?!?!

The hightlight for me is going to be the bar with its lit floor and ceiling fresco painted by Francesco Clemente. There's also a private park, awesome library, and a private sky terrace on the 15th floor with views of the city and the Hudson river. Oh my!

Lobby:

Library:

Bar:

Private Park:

Sky Terrace:

Day Four: Gramercy Park Hotel
I'm druelling already just looking at the pictures and reading articles about the history of Gramercy Park and the hotel.... simply and utterly amazing and over the top and special. Like me. And you, of course. Gramercy Park is the only private parks= in NYC and it has a rich and interesting history. Not only is there amazing artwork here at the hotel, but even every picture of this place is a work of art in itself... Ian Schrager designed both the Hudson and the Gramercy.