The cliché’, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” is a lie. It IS the heat AND the humidity that make walking around New York City in July a living, sweat-soaked hell. I do not know what 50 degrees and 90% humidity feels like, but it has to be better than 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Mythbusters, are you listening?

 

But we are not here to talk about the weather (imagine sitting in a sauna on the surface of the sun). We are here to talk about our recent Client Education Trip to learn more about why we can say, without exaggeration, that NYC is one of the top destinations in the world.

 

Before I wax poetic about the allure and charm of the city… no, forget that, changed my mind. Too much has already been written about it for me to say anything new, or even mildly interesting about the iconic Cultural Capital City that is New York. It has always been and still is a city of immigrants that testifies to and inspires the American Dream. It is a gritty and tough place to make it, but they still keep coming, wave after wave, with hope and with the determination to be both successful and free, so their children and their children’s children will have a better life. Sound corny? Sure. Easy? Absolutely not. Does that make it less true? Nope.

 

About one in four New Yorkers are foreign-born, and every culture in the world is represented there, in the original. Despite my occasional cynicism about American historical propaganda, the United States is truly a multi-cultural society that shifts, grows, and changes as each new wave is slowly absorbed over generations into the melting pot (for NYC in July I think that is literally true). It all starts in New York.

 

Before I rave about the different neighborhoods that make up the city, the street life that makes it so exciting, the humor and yes, friendliness of most New Yorkers, the sense of being the center of World Empire; financial, artistic, fashion, you name it, and most of all, the electricity of creativity in the air, I want to thank some of the people that made our trip a success (and fun).

 

NYC & Co. (aka the NYC CVB) was fantastic in putting the whole trip together, and I want to thank Amy Miebach for doing an amazing job of taking care of us. She arranged our hotels, site inspections, show tickets, and introduced us to our new DMC in New York, Empire Force Events. Thanks Amy!

 

Jaclyn Bernstein, President and owner of Empire Force Events is a force of nature. Everyone knows her. She is such a New Yawka. She’s a hoot. She knows what she is doing.

 

If you ever have any kind of group or event in NYC, whether it’s a small, very high-end group looking for some unique, un-reproducible behind the scenes action, or some huge public, high-profile VIP event broadcast on national television, Jaclyn will make it happen. She’s pretty funny that way. She’s pretty funny in general, but I grew up in New York and believe that New Yorkers are funnier than everyone else. They talk fast though… you’ve got to pay attention.

 

The host hotel for our three-night stay was Le Parker Meridien, a 731-room Starwood property with a great location on 56^th between 6^th and 7^th. Their Sunday brunch has been voted the best in the city, and features a $1000 omelet. I’d go with the somewhat less expensive Eggs Benedict, my default Brunch order, but if you go for the omelet, remember it is pretty big so you can split it with someone.

 

They also have over 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a very extensive health club, good hamburgers, and a bar designed to look like the nave in a Gothic Cathedral. The ideal size group for this hotel? Let’s say around 150. The staff was friendly, professional and accommodating. And best of all, the hotel air conditioning was working perfectly. 

 

The venerable Waldorf-Astoria hosted our breakfast on Saturday morning. When we walked into one of their enormous suites and saw the table for 12 set up in the dining room, we realized it was more than just a breakfast. I don’t remember exactly what they served us, but I think it was everything. We rolled (waddled) into our site tour and luckily the 1413-room property with over 60,000 square feet of meeting space, plus the 183-room five-star Waldorf Towers, was big enough that we were able to walk off a tiny portion of our meal.

 

In the interest of time, let me just say a couple of things about the hotel. It’s the Waldorf-Astoria. What else do you need to know? OK, OK… a little bit more… it’s an entire city block between Park and Lexington, and 49^th and 50^th. Every President since Hoover has stayed there. The Presidential Suite is truly the Presidential Suite. Anyone staying there has to agree to leave if the President comes to town. It’s where many foreign Heads of State stay when in NY. Their Grand Ballroom is amazing, as are two smaller ballrooms just inside the Park Avenue entrance. My favorite is the Skylight Room, formerly a famous cabaret turned into meeting space.

 

The Towers (mostly suites) has its own lobby, kitchen, staff, and General Manager. My kind of place. Last time I stayed there they gave me the room next to the Presidential suite where the Secret Service stays. They take the bed out for the Secret Service because they are not allowed to lie down on the job. Luckily they had put the bed back when I arrived because I like to lie down on the job. In a weird way, it’s part of my job.

 

My opinion? The Waldorf is a busy place, so if you have a large group, fantastic. If you have a smaller group, they have some terrific meeting suites plus The Towers. What if you have a mid-sized group, too big for the suites but too small to get attention? I have to think about that.

 

On the way to our next hotel inspection, Jaclyn surprised us by whisking us past the lines and taking us up to the Top of the Rock, the viewing platforms at the top of Rockefeller Center. She gave the non-natives the lay of the land from our 360-degree viewpoint high above Manhattan, and also showed us what must be one of the more dramatic venues for a special event. It is not “inexpensive” to have an event up there (and when someone says it is not inexpensive they mean it is expensive), but if you have the budget, wow.

 

Next we went over to a very different hotel “product,” the 561 all-suite Hotel London NYC, on west 54^th Street. It’s a modern, design-type hotel, very chic, great location if you want to be in the theater district, has a two Michelin-Star Gordon Ramsay restaurant, and because it’s an all-suite property, bigger rooms than you can get in many NYC hotels. They take groups, of course, but the meeting space is limited. A group needing meeting space for no more than 50 would work well.

 

After lunch Jaclyn took our group downtown to the now trendy Tribeca neighborhood (Tribeca = Triangle below Canal Street). It’s interesting for me to see because “when I was a boy” growing up in New York, there was no reason to go to SoHo, Tribeca or the Meatpacking district. Now, it’s kind of cool. Lots of young people, street life, trendy restaurants, some great new hotels, and that buzz of creativity that is so New York.

 

We took a look at two truly memorable venues on Debrosses Street, Tribeca Rooftop and 360. If I was rich and wanted to have a party in New York, this is where I would have it. The Rooftop is a 15,000 square foot penthouse with panoramic views of lower Manhattan that make it another wow. Their second venue is an indoor 22,000 square foot space with equally breathtaking views in every direction (hence the name, 360). Ask me about them.

 

These trips are fun, but definitely work. We had 15 minutes to change, and then it was off to dinner at the 1,000 room Hudson Hotel, part of Morgans Hotel Group. For those of you not familiar with MHG, it was started by Ian Schraeger of Studio 54 fame, and is known for its, well… different approach to hotel interior design. Depending on your point of view, and the generation you belong to, it is either chic and trendy and fun, or, weird and different and… weird. Just kidding. MHG has some of the hippest properties in the country, and although Mr. Schraeger has sold his stake in Morgans and moved on, they are still exemplary works of “hotel as art,” or maybe, “art as hotel.”

 

The Hudson is a happening place. It offers great bars, rooftop terraces, some really cool Penthouse suites as meeting space, and a good location not far from Columbus Circle, Central Park, and the Theatre District. I do have to say, hey, those rooms are small. It’s true, the run-of-house group rooms are small (cozy), but have the advantage of being very affordable by Manhattan standards. Cheap Chic-ness. How small are they? Let’s just say that they are great for a younger, single occupancy group who do not plan to spend much time in their rooms. There are larger, upgraded rooms and suites too, but they need to be requested at a slightly higher rate.

 

The restaurant there was fun. It is like a gourmet cafeteria. All sorts of small plates are set out and guests grab a tray and whatever dishes look good (they all do). The servers keep track, and of course, if you don’t want to get up, they will bring it to your table. Nice people there. I ate too much.

 

After dinner NYC & Co. was kind enough to take our group to a Broadway show, Mamma Mia! The theatre is an integral part of any trip to New York, and so group tickets can be arranged in advance (see my web site for that  ). I hesitate to say this about Mamma Mia!, but since I have no censor, I will just say this… I really appreciate the talent, energy, and enthusiasm of the cast, the skill of the musicians and crew, and how much of their heart and soul goes into a Broadway production. But… two hours of ABBA? Really? I actually wrote an additional paragraph about it, and although it was very funny, it is better left deleted.

 

On Sunday morning we headed over to the 892-room New York Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue at 50^th. This is my kind of hotel. Originally built as private residences in New York’s Gilded Age by the then super rich Henry Villard, it has an elegant chic all its own. The Archdiocese of New York actually owns the land (question- do they pay taxes on it? If not, why not?), and gave their permission to allow the development of a hotel on the site. The original three buildings were renovated as a hotel, plus a more modern 55-story tower was added in 1980 along with 22,000 square feet of meeting space. It has gone through a couple of management changes over the years, but is definitely a five-star landmark property. I give it two thumbs up, and maybe even a raised pinky too.

 

We had one more venue to look at… the “R” Room at the Renaissance Times Square. Looking at a venue in another hotel? You will want to check this one out as it has the best view imaginable of Times Square. You are right there, looking south towards the New Years Ball, and every light and billboard is flashing, illuminating the never-ending crowds below.

 

OK- this is now officially way too long for a blog. But hey, it’s New York, larger than life, skyscrapers and everything. Whether it’s a meeting or incentive, and no matter how many times your attendees have been there, there is always some new “wow” they have not seen. Just tell me what you need and I will get options to you right away. You just can’t stop New Yorkers (or ex-New Yorkers) from figuring out how to make things happen.

 

 

For photos of our trip, please visit my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/thecramercollection.