It's so exclusive, I don't even know if I'm staying there.

Victoria Beckham
"No, dahhling.... I couldn't possibly...I have this thing and that thing and then I simply must shop...talk to my publicist."  Oh, admit it.  It would be fun to live like a self-indulgent celebrity for a day...or maybe two... I don't know if I could pull off this giant fur thing Posh is sporting, but I might be able to handle the spicy red bag and I'd love to stay in the same hotel. The Carlyle in New York's Upper East Side is a celebrity favorite and has been THE preferred place to hang for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Princess Diana and Mick Jagger for years.


The Carlyle is a gorgeous 1930's art deco building on Madison Avenue overlooking Central Park. A large section of the building is the hotel and a smaller, 17-story section contains luxury apartments for more permanent residents.  The pricetag for a two bedroom? Between $1.5 and $4 million.  Sooooo.... maybe one night in the hotel might be enough "Hollywood" for you.  $600 will get you a guestroom that is anything but average.


Guestroom
The Cruises

The Carlyle's guest registry reads like a who's who of celebrity royalty. Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes threw a pre-wedding get-together for their families at the hotel.  John F. Kennedy hosted parties that required a secret entrance reportedly for Marilyn Monroe to slip in unnoticed.  In fact, The Carlyle is so starry that film director Woody Allen still plays clarinet every Monday in the Cafe Carlyle. Oh, there's a $110 charge for listening to the music and you're to required buy dinner too. 



Mr. Clooney at The Carlye



As you can imagine, staffers at the Carlyle pride themselves on personal service.  White gloved "lift" operators will escort you to your floor.  The higher up you are, the more noteworthy your neighbors. See handsome guy on the left.  For an additional $50  per night you can bring your pooch.  He'll get his own bed, bowl, Fiji water...and a dog walker. You'll have to supply the chic bag for him to ride around in though.  


Silver Cross Pram
Not so for your baby.  The hotel has it's own monogrammed  Silver Cross Balmoral Pram (what we common folk call "a stroller") available for your use as well as an on-staff babysitter. 

The Carlyle is the 2010 recipient of Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotel in New York.  Only the best will do for our friends Posh and George.  If they can live that way, why shouldn't you?  Even if it's only for a day...or two.



 
Posted by NAOMI THOMPSON at 11:45 PM

1 comments:

jaypee said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
November 17, 2010 at 1:51 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

About Me

My photo
I didn’t dip my toe in an ocean until I turned 25 and my friend Sandy and I traveled to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. After that week, I was hooked. I loved being somewhere new; smelling the smells, tasting new food, seeing how other people lived. It energized me. As luck would have it, I landed a job that allowed me to travel all over the US and often to Canada. Being a sports event television producer, I was on the road all the time. That's when my love affair with travel began. Now, its 20 years later and still no one gets more “geeked up” about planning a vacation than I do. All I need is a destination and some travel companions and my fire is lit! I start delving into my favorite hotel sites, sifting through photos and reviews, comparing, contrasting -it’s like an addiction. The travel shows with tips and trends? I study them like a playbook. I LOVE doing the things most people hate doing before they go on vacation. Whether it be searching for a food tasting tour with a local or discovering a romantic B&B in the middle of New York - I’ve found it and I’ll share it with you. So....where should we go?