We all know the cliches about New York, so I’ll forbear from mentioning them here. But it’s undeniable that it’s a city that feels energetic to its roots and its core. It’s a bustling, busy place, in which the momentum seems never to have slipped since its days as a hotbed of immigrants trying to make a new life for themselves.
Now, of course, it’s somewhere that the pursuit of wealth and consequent happiness is not only approved of, but positively encouraged. It means that even the most fleeting of visits here – 24 hours, give or take, after a currently under-wraps filming assignment – is charged with adrenaline and excitement.
Your best bet for a base is, and always should be, the Peninsula hotel on Fifth Avenue. I’d actually visited it earlier this year and found myself intrigued by what seemed to be large sections remaining under wraps. I’d heard rumours that a substantial refurbishment was taking place, and that something particularly exciting was going to open on the 23rd floor; I felt rather like an eager tourist, nose pressed against the glass at nearby Tiffany or Cartier. What was going to be presented, and how could it live up to expectations?
Well, I’m pleased to say that the all-singing, all-dancing Peninsula combines all of the old-school charm and sophistication that it’s known for with something decidedly 21st century that makes it surely the premier address in New York for the discerning and well-heeled.
You arrive to all the trappings of luxury – doormen who combine charm and courtesy with a wry New York humour; reception staff who are light and breeze itself and who make the whole process of checking in a pleasure rather than a chore – and the room that you end up in, whether or not it has a view of the bustle of 5th Avenue, is going to be splendidly luxurious, with the kind of bed so soft and massive that it should be prescribed for anyone with any disorder of any kind. I sank into it when I arrived in my room, with the gratitude of a weary traveller who has truly found his place of rest, and it took a great deal to rouse me out.
This ‘great deal’, as it so happened, began at the hotel’s 23rd floor. I had heard that the Peninsula was now home to one of the city’s finest rooftop bars, Pen Top – geddit?- and leaving the lift, I felt a genuine sense of giddy excitement at the prospect of joining the cognoscenti for a moment.
The cocktails are far from cheap – around the $30 mark – but they’re perfectly reasonable value for what I try, an excellent, inimitable spin on the Singapore Sling, a ‘Ning Sling’, which, for once, matches the heights and the view with the excellence. I walked into Pen Top feeling exhausted and jetlagged, and left feeling jocund and sublime; one excellently mixed, beautifully presented cocktail can work wonders, and this fine place lifts its glamorous clientele up several notches.
In fact, everything about the Peninsula is exhilarating. From the beautifully presented and delicious room service breakfast that I enjoyed at a leisurely pace the next morning to the comfort and sophistication of everything from the bedrooms to the public spaces, this has as fair a claim to be the best hotel in Manhattan as any other. Coming here will forever be a joy. But what of dining? Well, that’s another story…
For more information about The Peninsula, including details of the ‘Academy’ and offers, such as their Holly Jolly New York Holiday package, please visit www.peninsula.com.
To be continued…
