The Loews Regency New York Hotel: A Great Choice to Hang Your Hat While in the Big Apple
If traveling to New York City and are seeking a great hotel on the Upper East Side with everything right at your proverbial fingertips, the Loews Regency New York Hotel is a great choice to hang your hat while in the Big Apple. This is true whether you are coming to NYC for work or for play.
Located on Park Avenue and 61st Street, the Loews is a stone’s throw from Central Park, several great restaurants, retail therapy second to none, cultural activities, and a lovely stroll to the N.Y. Public Library to get a literary fix. Built in 1963 by Bob and Larry Tisch, it’s the only luxury hotel on Park Avenue north of 42nd Street. In 1975 it became home of the “Power Breakfast,” amid the city’s financial crises which ultimately replaced the “three martini lunch.” In 2013 it was completely renovated to the tune of $100 million.
The Bed
With an elegant lobby and staff always at the ready to assist, check-in was a breeze. There are 379 rooms, suites and multi-bedroom offerings, so whether you are coming alone for work, venturing in as a couple for a romantic city interlude, or traveling with friends or on a multi-generational jaunt, you will find exactly the accommodations you need.
Staying in a grand luxury king suite, it was a lovely, large affair with marble floors, accented by designer carpets and fabric wallpaper. The living area had a 60-inch flatscreen television, a nice selection of hard cover books, stocked mini refrigerator and a velveteen three-seater sofa, club chair, and large picture window.
Separated by folding French doors, the bedroom had a comfortable king-size bed boasting high-count cotton sheets, two oversized Carrera marble topped nightstands, another 60-inch flatscreen television, and an excellent marble-topped working desk with built-in multiple plugs and USB outlet ports happily facing another large window, as well as a comfortable leather chair.
Wonderfully, the suite had two full bathrooms. One off the living area with a shower bathtub combination and one in the main bathroom en suite with dual vanities, a spacious walk-in shower with both rain and massage shower heads, a built-in lighted make-up mirror, mirror-embedded television, environmentally sized amenities, and voluptuous, enveloping robes.
The Meals
Just around the corner from Loews is La Goulue Restaurant. From the moment one steps inside, it appears certain that one has been transported to a wonderfully cozy and romantic Parisian bistro, minus of course the dastardly trip to Kennedy and the accompanying jetlag.
Managing Partner and Michelin-starred Executive Chef Antoine Camin, hailing from Paris of course, ensures his staff prepares Parisian classics and new takes on longstanding favorites. We dined on divine Burgundy escargots encased in melt-in-your-mouth puff pastry, traditional roasted chicken, and an îles flottant that would have made Marie Antoinette jump for joy.
Another evening following an incredibly long day of meetings, I had the great fortune to dine at Restaurant Daniel, in the former Mayfair Hotel, the original site of Le Cirque, and named of course after French Chef extraordinaire, the impossibly charming Daniel Boulud. It is here that you go when you wish to dine like a king and be treated like a queen, all in a regally elegant setting with magnificent and bold, massive art installations by the uber-talented Ivorian artist Ouattara Watts.
Starting with an artistic amuse bouche that was so beautifully presented, it nearly felt felonious to eat it. Though knowing that a culinary prison was likely not in my foreseeable future, it was happily and guiltlessly devoured. This was followed by a foie gras terrine with smoked wagyu, Périgord black truffle ravioli with rutabaga, Atlantic black bass with oyster and periwinkle ragout, and Elysian Farm lamb tournedos with lemon-mint butter that was in two words, awe-inspiring.
Naturally the meal was paired with exquisite French wines to texturally enhance every course. The extravaganza ended with Mekonga, a Vietnamese dark chocolate marvel with coconut milk jam and black caramelized sugar that bolstered my hard and fast position from which I shall never stray: that chocolate is necessary to life and remains one of the four basic food groups.
By a preponderance of the evidence, in fact, beyond any reasonable doubt whatsoever, a trip to New York City is wholly incomplete without dining at Restaurant Daniel, or to one of his other great restaurants, such as La Tête d’Or, that grace the city.
At the Regency Bar & Grill just off the Loews hotel lobby, we dined on perfectly dressed Caesar salads, tuna tartar served over avocado mash with crunchy taro chips, followed by a tender, flavorful New York strip steak that left my knife seeking alternate employment elsewhere. This was matched with a hearty Argentinian Malbec.
As no meal is compete without dessert, here the Valhrona chocolate mousse was a sight to behold encased in chocolate with a rich and creamy interior. Informed I could not depart without first sampling the vanilla ice cream chocolate chip sandwich cookies resting on chocolate sauce, I pleaded no contest and submitted. That may have been the very best inside information of the day, secret intelligence that would also thankfully not land me in prison.
The Finds
On Loews second floor is a spacious and bright fitness center open 24/7. There are TechnoGym treadmills, ellipticals, recumbent bikes, Cybex exercise machines, free weights, and yoga mats. Given the amount of great food in the city, the Loews fitness center will insure you’ll depart with marginally the same waistline as upon arrival. If there’s any doubt as to that, there are personal trainers available upon request.
If any manner of jewelry purchases happen to be on your personal radar, and the weather is good, there is nothing quite like strolling around the sparkling diamond district in search of the perfect bling to make any occasion, or better yet, no occasion at all. That stroll of course won’t burn off the calories from even one bite of a deliriously delicious corned beef on rye from nearby iconic Junior’s Deli. However, any diamond district purchases are 100-percent guaranteed to be completely free. Calorically speaking of course.
For those seeking some love during this month of love, there is a Love at Loews package and also a Valentine’s Evening dining experience with live jazz at the Regency Bar & Grill.
The Lessons Learned
Whether coming to New York City for work or for play, your visit will be enriched by staying at The Loews Regency New York and you will most certainly divinely dine to your heart’s content. Happy travels!
