Pack lightly but carry a big suitcase

If you are anything like I am (and you probably are to some extent since you are reading this column), you’re likely a bit flighty. I know… you generally have it together, but regardless of how many checklists you make for a trip, you’re bound to forget something. I’ve actually forgotten to pack my underwear before (just so you know who you’re dealing with).
In this instance though, I am going to suggest that you purposefully forget items…whole days' worth of items. Here’s why:
Trips to places like New York, South Beach, and Bangkok should be about adventure, regardless of what purpose actually took you there. They should also be about emersion. Nobody ever goes to New York wanting to look like they’re from Wisconsin unless they’re in a touring company of Our Town. No, unless you have a stylist who can plan your wardrobe for you, or you travel to New York at least 12 times in a calendar year, you can’t really be on top of what’s en vogue at Vogue. Bring an empty suitcase (with one extra pair of undies just in case) and have an adventure… you’ll be glad you did. And if you use the Guide to the Perfect Day of Shopping - Part Un coming in the next installment of this blog, you’ll have a plan of attack for flexing some credit muscle.

Skyscrapers and a close shave

There’s something about the sheer density of skyscrapers in midtown New York that draws tourist traffic all by itself. Anyone who has been to New York knows what I am talking about. First-timers walk down the avenues looking up rather than ahead. To those of us that call New York City home, it can be, well, annoying at times, but after a breath or two even the most jaded Manhattanite can take pause in the ingenuity that stands behind every bit of brick and mortar and the miles and miles of glass and steel. Somewhere in all of that glass and steel is a good bit of nostalgia. The stuff that shows like “Mad Men” draw from when people dressed for dinner and the theater [even the movie theater] and went to the barber for a shave. Somewhere in all of that glass and steel, that still exists.
One of my favorite throw-backs to that era of deco-luxe is the real, honest-to-goodness barber. Probably the truest to the time when men went for a regular hot towel shave is Paul Mole [ http://www.paulmole.com/ 212-535-8461]. Just a up a few blocks from the midtown frenzy on the Upper East Side [Lexington and 73rd] is the barber that has been doing it since 1913 [okay, so it’s not the same man cutting your hair as your great granddaddy, but the current generation of barbers still have their stories to tell and know how to use a straight razor with all of the no nonsense care that their predecessors did].
If you’re in more of a hurry than a trip to Paul’s might entail, there’s an alternative that may not carry quite the same charm of the good Mr. Mole, but is a no lesser of a New York institution. A visit to Roma’s Barber Shop takes you to a location halfway down the stairs to the 1 train at 50th and Broadway. Roma’s is as no nonsense as it gets in the most Russian proletariat of ways, but a precise clipper cut and eyebrow trim in transit for less than twenty bucks is still a bargain and if you have to wait [which is never very long], you can get your bluchers shined for a mere three dollars. This old standby is a regular stop of mine when a bit of clean up is required before a meeting and I don’t have to digress off of my commute one step… and although the underground barber is a dying breed, there are still a good number of these hidden friends of the hirsute to keep you well groomed on most of the major subway lines.
Roma’s is just steps from all of the Midtown Vikram Chatwal Hotels and is open Monday through Friday from the morning to the evening rush.

Spring has sprung, but you can still hit the ice

Every year in New York there are a few spots on the calendar where the seasons seem to converge perfectly. One such time is rapidly approaching… that time when the doldrums of winter start to fade and Spring starts to come into view. While there are a million things to do when this convergence happens, the best of them happen out-of-doors.
It has long been said that Central Park was created to ensure the sanity of all New Yorkers, like a giant zen garden of sorts. What is truly special about this time of year when winter and spring shake hands is the seeing the remnants of the snow from the ‘Februaries’ being pierced by the Cherry blossoms on the Park Drive. For the most agile of us, there is no better way, and surely no better time to take a glide at the Wollman Rink at the bottom of Central Park [www.wollmanskatingrink.com ]. All of what is quintessentially New York seems to converge [in chorus with the seasons] at this New York landmark with the midtown skyline below and the stretch of green to the north. What makes this time of year perfect for the rink is that most New Yorkers and tourists alike have either forgotten about the rink after months in the cement tundra or assume that it has closed for the season. The rink stays open however through the beginning of April [around the time that the tax man comes calling] and with just a sweater and about $20 in your pocket, you can have the rink virtually to yourself and a few dollars left over for a cocktail at the other requisite stop in the park which is The Loeb Boathouse [www.thecentralparkboathouse.com ], just off of the East 72 Street entrance on the park drive.
Once again, this rare window in time opens for the rare few who think to take advantage of the spot before the competing throngs of locals and tourists take over like a drunken ant hill in late spring to summer. Set on a perch overlooking one of the park’s many ponds, The Loeb Boathouse offers full restaurant fare in a setting reminiscent [some would say] of a Merchant Ivory film complete with paddle boats and hanging moss. If you hit it before May Day, you might even have a shot at a table right on the water and without the fraternity antics that can ensue later in the season.
All four Vikram Chatwal Hotels properties in midtown are walking distance from Central Park and our well-seasoned concierge staff can help you navigate the landscape like a native. Please visit http://www.vikramchatwalhotels.com/ for more on our unique offerings.