On February 7th 2015, I stepped off of a plane after 8hrs - looking like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards, having gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson - and immediately felt at home in a city I'd never visited before. That city was New York. I have waxed lyrical many times about how much I love New York so this post isn't about that, it's about the fact that even though you can feel at home in a city, that definitely doesn't mean that your accommodation always feels homely. And to me, as much as I love travelling and being in a place that I love, staying and sleeping somewhere that feels like a home away from home is really really important to me.
Situated right by Grand central - funny that - in the heart of midtown Manhattan, The Westin Grand Central is, in short, an incredibly stunning hotel. With a beautifully grand entrance, the level of luxury and grandeur only continues once you enter inside. With gorgeous marble and rosewood running throughout, it is definitely one of those hotels that wows from the get go.
And then you enter the room [insert all the heart eye'd emoji's/hands in the air emoji's here]...
We were lucky enough to stay in the most amazing room and I immediately knew that we'd hit the jackpot from the second that we walked in. Before we could even jump on the bed - always a necessity when entering a hotel room - we both raced each other to the window to check out what has to be the most incredible view from a hotel room that I've ever experienced. But more on that later. Oh I'm such a little tease...
Once we ooh'd and ahh'd at the view (and taken all the Instagram photo's, obvs) it was then time to jump on the Westin Heavenly bed - the actual name of the bed as they even have their own beds #fancy - and it was nothing other than dreamy. Like, total "screw it, sod exploring Manhattan, let's just stay in bed all day" kinda dreamy. Marshmallow duvets, the bounciest mattress and pillows that make you feel like you're lying in the arms of Harvey Spector - well, I mean, they're not that incredible but one can dream - the Heavenly beds are definitely a major perk of this beautiful hotel.
The next thing that I love about the Westin rooms are the incredible sofa's - which double up as a bed, just in case you have any crazy nights out in Manhattan and make some friends (or, you know, your other half snores or something...) - which to me, just adds the homeliest feel to the room which as I mentioned previously, is so important to me. I absolutely loved taking a moment out from exploring the beautiful city to catch up on some blog post writing/netflix and chilling on the sofa by the window, with the view that dreams are made of was the perfect place for that.
When shit got real there was some work to be done - i.e transferring the 50 bajillion photo's that I took every day and trying to keep up to date with emails - the corner desk was the perfect little haven for this. With amazingly fast wifi to boot too. I had a little "is this really my life?" moment to myself in the middle of the holiday when I was uploading my photo's from my Central Park and Brooklyn trips, answering some emails for some SUPER/MEGA/EPIC/STUPIDLY EXCITING projects that I have coming up soon, and drinking a Starbucks coffee from our very own coffee machine in the room... and I will never forget that moment. Or everybody that makes these amazing things happen (psst.. that's you reading this). So thank you! Soppy moment over, it's time to indulge in said Coffee machine pictures because if that concept isn't #goals, then I don't know what is.
Coffee, decaf coffee, English breakfast tea and a calming camomile alongside every single sweetener, creamer etc. that you could possibly think, this might [read: definitely was] have been a personal highlight for me.
Another highlight was the bathroom - which was beautiful but clearly not designed for bloggers with the extremely yellow lighting. I know, how unthoughtful ;) - But with their own personalised shower gels, shampoo/conditioners etc. and a mirror that made doing your makeup a dream... it's safe to say that I enjoyed my me time in there a lot. I did also vlog the whole trip including a room tour so yo can see said beautiful bathroom more there.
Now for Dan and I's main highlight - although from his snores, he was a big fan of the bed too ;) - the view from our room...
From our beautiful room on the 39th floor - yep, you read that right, the 39th floor! - we had the most stunning view of midtown Manhattan. With the Chrysler building directly to our left and a view of the Queensboro Bridge and East river to our right, we were completely spoilt for scenery.
I genuinely loved absolutely nothing more than sipping my Starbucks coffee - mostly at 5am, jet lag problems - to the most breathtaking sunrise and sunset over my favourite city in the world.
Once you're done obsessing over the view, watching the sunset, jumping on a bed dreamier than Ryan Gosling, downing your caffeine and indulging in the cosiest bath ever, I would highly recommend heading to the LCL: Bar & Kitchen - the hotel's bar and restaurant - which is the perfect place to grab a bagel or some oatmeal before heading out to see the sights and buy all the Brandy Melville and Bath and body works things.
So that brings me to the end of this hotel review for a place that really did become a home away from home for the most amazing 5 days of my life. A huge thank you to the
Westin New York Grand Central for our amazing stay and for the loveliest most accommodating staff. [insert blow kiss and hand clapping emoji here]. We really did have the most amazing trip and the accommodation definitely played a big part in this, so I couldn't recommend it enough!
As always, thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post!
xx
Labels: Hotels, Lifestyle, New York, Review, Travel, Travel blogger
