Empire State of Mind

Empire Hotel marquee
I'm off to New York for a meeting.  Since it was kind of last minute and not really in the budget, I had to do some serious "deal surfing"...and this is what I've learned:

Expedia, Travelocity, Hotels.com, etc. may seem like they're offering the best hotel rates out there, but before you pull the trigger - check the hotel's own website.  Hotels themselves offer some pretty fantastic last minute sales.  I found a room at a really nice hotel (that I've stayed at before for $250) on sale on the hotel's website for $109.  An incredible deal and hard to pass up, but I need to see something new this visit.

Since I'm traveling solo, I chose a hotel that would probably make my husband's eyes roll.  It's just not his bag, baby. The Empire Hotel is funky chic (check out the lobby) and has a great Central Park location near Columbus Circle.  Perfect spot. The hotel is known for it's spectacular rooftop bar - which I'm disappointed I won't get to see in all it's summer-time glory, but I'll stop up for a cool cocktail anyway...for research purposes, of course.

As I mentioned, I'm in money-saving mode so I'll be flying in a tin can with a stop along the way and staying the the most inexpensive room at the Empire - probably the janitor's closet with a bed crammed in it - most likely NOT this one....


  Can't wait to post my own pictures!  More coming soon....


Posted by NAOMI THOMPSON at 10:40 AM

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About Me

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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?