Hotel Beacon in New York's Upper West Side

One of the things we like to do when we travel as a family is to cook some meals "at home."  Even if there are many hotels with kitchen facilities in many parts of the States, I didn't think I'd find a reasonable (in terms of budget) option for New York.

Friends who are more familiar with New York recommended Hotel Beacon.  I went over to Booking.com, was happy with the ratings, and immediately booked a room for the four of us.

For the price of a regular room in NYC, the one-bedroom King Suite was spacious at 65m2 and had a kitchen. Okay, it was a one-person tiny kitchen,  but it had a full-sized fridge, a stove/oven and coffeemaker with pods--all cleaned and refreshed every day.

We didn't even have to do the dishes--but I always did a few so I wouldn't leave such a big mess.

A pleasant surprise was that the hotel was just a block away from the subway station (the red line), across from a wonderful Fairway grocery and a couple of blocks each from a Trader Joe's and even a Zabar's!

Aside from all the conveniences, I loved the quiet, "small-neighborhood" feel (if that is even possible) of the upper west side. After the madness of Soho, Chelsea and Times Square, it was nice to detox in the tree-lined peacefulness of the area.

Hotel Beacon is also just two long blocks from Central Park and the Museum of Natural History, and an easy 12-minute walk to Lincoln Center.

Every person in the staff that we encountered was friendly and always eager to assist.

There was free wifi in the rooms and lobby, and full laundry facilities in the 5th floor.

Hotel Beacon is a comfortable family hotel rather than a 5-star luxury hotel and it easily felt like home (and the wifi was just as slow as being at home in Manila--this was the only negative the hotel had--but nothing we couldn't survive)

The bathroom was basic but always well-stocked with towels and toiletries.

Most of the people who were staying here were from Europe. 

I loved hanging out by the window every morning, and if we came home before 8 pm, we also had a great sunset view right from our living room

And as a final bonus, the hotel was right around the corner from the Levain Bakery. There are people who make a trip to this part of town just for these exquisite cookies!

Hotel Beacon was quite a find, and I would definitely stay here again. 

Check this out for other options for "hotels with kitchens" in New York.

Hotel Beacon

2130 Broadway at 75th Street

New York, NY 10023

Spagna Royal Suite, Rome

Our hotel in Rome couldn't have been located any better. Spagna Royal Suite was on Via Frattina (parallel to the fashionable shopping street, Via Condotti) and  Via Mario de' Fiori. 

 

 heart-shaped sugar sachets

On one end of Via Frattina is Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish steps,  and on the other side is Via del Corso. Via Frattina also leads right into Piazza San Lorenzo Lucina, where the Carabinieri building is, and Ciampini, the bar and ice cream shop we weren't able to try five years ago.

Spagna Royal Suites is an 11-room hotel located on four floors of an old historic building. The lobby is on the 4th level.  

Massimo, the proprietor, told us that the hotel is a work in progress. He was able to get a long term lease from the church (owners of the building!),  and is slowly taking over apartments in the building as their leases come to an end. He doesn't have the whole building yet.

 

Good thing we had ourselves picked up from the airport because the hotel is not well-marked. This big green door below is the front door that leads to a carport, and then to the stairwell and lift. They don't even have a sign outside.

The only indication that this is a hotel is the name on the buzzer

"Please don't mind the entrance of the building, the atmosphere upstairs in the hotel is very different from down here," Massimo told us.

It was a pleasant surprise to enter a stylish little lobby upstairs.

We shared a room with the kids. This room was actually two rooms in one, sharing a bathroom, with only the headboard as the division. This is a clever design for two siblings sharing a bedroom. 

Having the sinks outside was practical because it didn't tie up the bathroom

  Our side of the room

 

 square toilets are uncomfortable

The walls of the room were upholstered, the sofa very comfortable and the tiles were beautiful.

The other rooms were as meticulously designed too.

Via Mario de' Fiori below

 Ceiling details

The regular rooms are not very big.

Some are more elaborate than others. Look at this forest room...

 hallway in the "nature" floor, so many textures going on here.

There was talahib on the walls.

Illuminated deer heads as sconces!

 rustic sink in the forest room

heavy sound-proof doors

Massimo conceptualizes the spaces himself, and it's executed by an an interior designer.

In this other room, there was a bathtub behind the headboard and mirrors around the room.

What I found unusual were the lack of hooks and luggage racks. Our suitcases were just on the floor so the room never looked neat.

 

some smaller rooms didn't have room for suitcases, but they did have soundproof doors!

When I mentioned to Milko (who seemed like the manager) that the rooms were very nice, but could use some hooks and luggage racks, he agreed with the hooks but of the luggage racks he said "oh, but we are not that kind of hotel."   Really? Hmmm... what kind of a hotel *is* this?

It took a couple of days and more observations to finally realize that this hotel is designed to be a romantic hotel! I'm usually quick to pick up these nuances, but as my mind was on sharing room with kids, being with extended family and in-laws, it took me a few days to "get it".

Once I thought "Romantic hotel"--everything made sense. Even the heart-shaped sugar packets in the breakfast room!

We found this hotel on "Booking.com" and it was the only hotel that could accept our large group at such a late booking date. Even if it had good reviews, we were nervous.

The first floor hallway is lined with aquariums, for those with fishy fantasies.

 

It must be fun to think of different design details for each room.

The beds were very comfortable, and the staff friendly and  accommodating, and wifi worked very well too.

 The small, imtimate breakfast room

We had nothing to be nervous about.  The kids liked going to their cousins' rooms to check out the quirky design details.

It must've been a bit disorienting for the staff to see our big group with kids descend on their romantic hotel.

We had a good time here. I hope we didn't ruin the ambience for the other couples who were on a romantic Roman holiday though!


Spagna Royal Suite Rome ® 
Via Mario de' Fiori 3, 00187 Rome Italy
Tel: +39 06 69923793 Fax: +39 06 69290948
Email: info@spagnaroyalsuite.com

Pine Inn, Carmel-by-the-Sea

I first stayed at the Pine Inn hotel 23 years ago, as a guest of my friend, Sylvia.  Sylvia was getting married in Carmel and she booked most of her family and friends at this quaint hotel on Ocean Avenue. As college students, friends and I would drive down to spend the day in Carmel--but we never stayed the night. This wedding allowed me to finally experience an event-filled weekend in this charming town.

Pine Inn is one of the bigger inns of Carmel with 49 rooms. I remember the rooms being compact but comfortable, like European bed and breakfasts.

I was truly enamored of Carmel after experiencing the close-to-magical events of Sylvia's wedding. I decided right then that if and when the time came, I too would get married in Carmel. Yes, I said it aloud to the people at her wedding. When I came home from the wedding, I told my mom about how beautiful everything was and repeated to her the same thing. Over the years I thought it, and said it aloud (I had no candidate for groom, but I already had a venue! lol)

Almost ten years later, I did have the wedding of my dreams in Carmel. There really is something powerful about saying things out loud. I booked my family and girlfriends at the Pine Inn hotel, and B's family booked themselves somewhere in Monterey. Our other guests stayed at other equally enchanting inns around the town.

Fast forward to the present. From the Bay Area, we drove down to Carmel to show the girls the church where we got married. We naturally showed them the hotel I stayed at the night before D-day.We also showed them the patio restaurant where we held our rehearsal dinner, and the famous restaurant where we had our morning-after brunch with all our guests.

I thought they wouldn't like the hotel because of it's period design, but they actually liked it.  Even C (yes, she is named after this town!), the daughter who always asks why our house doesn't look like the boxy modern ones down the street, actually appreciated the antiques and the old furniture.

I couldn't specifically tell why I was drawn to the Pine Inn back then, but now with my more discriminating eye, I could identify exactly what things I liked. I loved the details of the lobby: the gilt mirror, the candelabra sconces, the brass-tacked chairs. I also remembered the rooms had canopied beds and small-print wallpaper.

The girls liked this chair in particular, and fought over who would sit in it longer.

The lobby looked recently renovated because even if the furniture was old, it looked newly upholstered. Il Fornaio is still there but the French Country store Pierre Deux, which gave the entrance and the first floor so much character,  is no longer there.

Twelve years ago, when these girls above were but eggs in my ovaries, my bridesmaids and I had our picture taken in this exact same spot.

It was nice to show them Carmel. They loved the beach, the art galleries and the restaurants. Too bad we only spent the day there. I promised them we would stay a weekend next time we're in the Bay Area.

I wonder if any of them will want a destination wedding too.

What am I talking about? No one is getting married in the next twenty years if I can help it!


Pine Inn Hotel
Ocean Ave, between Lincoln and Monte Verde
Carmel, CA 93921