Tag: Central Park

Strolling Fifth Avenue in New York City

A must-see on any visit to New York City: Rockefeller Center. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

NYC Sites to See on a Day Trip or a Longer Visit The Big Apple, a city of dreams for visitors of all ages, is also a city so vast that there will never be sufficient time to see everything…

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Rainy Day Manhattan

Museums for when the Met is too crowded

Museums for when the Met Is Too Crowded As much delight as we take in our own youthful adventurers, especially when they traveled by stroller and drank juice from a box, we aren’t quite, quite as joyful when we get…

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Remember the Plaza?

Plaza Hotel Rose Club

The Rose Club at the Plaza Hotel provides a perfect refuge from a winter afternoon. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

Plaza Hotel Rose Club ladies lounge

The ladies’ lounge at the Plaza Hotel’s Rose Club was surprisingly in disarray on a recent afternoon. Photo credit: L. Tripoli

After a carriage ride through Central Park, crossing 59th Street for a cocktail at the Plaza Hotel seemed a logical next step. There in the land of Eloise, though, the reality was not quite as perfect as my memories of the place. The Oak Bar is closed, the result of some apparent arrears in rent payments. (It should reopen in a couple of months, a concierge maintained. For now, padlocks remain on its doors. There’s a lawsuit.) The Palm Court just seemed crowded. Tea is okay in the Champagne Bar, but, really, I just wasn’t up for cocktails in the lobby.

Up to the Rose Club we went. The ambience was perfect for a wintry Saturday afternoon. Dark and paneled, the place offered refuge with nice lighting. My mistake was heading for the ladies’ lounge. Trash bins were overflowing and the place was a mess. The attendant just commented, “We’ve been busy.” Doing nothing, apparently.

I was soothed by our Irish coffees, which were perfect and overflowed with freshly whipped cream. Refrain from using the facilities, and you’ll be just fine.

© Lori Tripoli