Let’s face it: New York City has never been cheap – and a strong dollar and recent inflation have only made things more expensive.
11.09.2023 - 10:21 / forbes.com / Hudson Yards
A visit to New York is nothing without heading up to the top of one of the city’s much-loved skyscrapers. Viewing the cityscape from up high – from one of its observation decks – is a must-do and thrilling experience.
Traditionalists might opt for the Empire State Building – the oldest of the five official observation decks in the city, while the Top of the Rock (in the Rockefeller Centre) in Midtown may not be the highest of the lot, but it does have one of the best views of Central Park (plus an outdoor deck with no glass walls). One of the highest is at One World Observatory – the deck found at the One World Trade Centre, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, while at Summit One Vanderbilt, you can also enjoy an immersive art installation.
Taking the viewing experience to a whole new level, however, is Edge – one of the newest additions to Manhattan’s viewing platforms with one of the most architecturally ambitious designs. Found on the 100th floor of 30 Hudson Yards, Edge is the largest and highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere at 1,131 feet. Its triangle-shaped deck which sticks out from the side of the tower in perilous fashion, is a feat of engineering wizadry.
On your way up, you can settle any nerves by making a pitstop at the Champagne Bar, found on the 100th floor, or by soaking up the floral drama of this summer’s fragrance-infused pop-up –Sky Bloom.Created by the renowned floral artist Ivie Joy in collaboration with Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid fragrance, the immersive floral display is a cheery, multisensory experience. Designed to bring the heady perfume to life, an indoor sky deck has been bedecked with over 100,000 blooms of multi-coloured flowers – from roses to ranunculus – with a backdrop that is the city laid out before you (be quick, it finishes on 30 September 2023).
When you finally reach the 101st floor, Edge gives the 360-degree views of the iconic NYC skyline that you have been waiting for (what’s more, the lift that takes you up has special digital walls showing New York in all its glory, which simply adds to the anticipation). Its unique design of angled glass walls and a partial glass floor – not for the fainthearted – makes you feel like are being suspended in mid-air. From viewing the streets below to feeling like you can touch the clouds in front of you, it’s a heart-racing experience, with visitors invited to walk across the glass floor and lean out over the city in immersive fashion.
From Central Park – which from this height looks like a postage stamp – to New Jersey in the distance, all of New York’s quarters and attractions can be spotted, including the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge and the High Line.
For those not worried
Let’s face it: New York City has never been cheap – and a strong dollar and recent inflation have only made things more expensive.
The current generation of high-spending hotel guests don’t care about your thread counts, fruit baskets or pillow chocolates, says the CEO of one of Accor’s most ornate hotel brands. Raffles boss Omer Acar states that repeat business in luxury hospitality is achieved through intangible, romantic metrics such as personalization, respect and appreciation of ones’ time.
As the federal government inches closer toward a government shutdown, travel will remain largely the same for Americans if it indeed happens. However, in the event of a shutdown, travelers may feel the effects in various situations.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 25-year-old Elophia Mengestu, who is based in New York City, and it has been edited for length and clarity.
Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta is known for being a growth and change agent at the hotel conglomerate.
As the U.S. government remains unable to agree on a funding bill, a government shutdown will likely begin on October 1 at 12:01 a.m. unless a deal is reached by September 30. The shutdown would last for an unknown amount of time until funding can be passed.
Skift Global Forum is the most anticipated event for the travel industry insiders and travel enthusiasts alike. It’s half thought leadership conference, half essential networking opportunity, and all around way to connect with the ideas and people who are defining the future of travel.
“Fire Island is a very special place, especially for queer people,” Jimi Urquiaga, a.k.a. Missleidy Rodriguez, told me. While that might seem like a statement of the obvious, Urquiaga has experienced the island from an atypical vantage point: for the past two summers, they've been packing up their life in New York City as a costume designer, producer, creative director and drag queen to come work at the Pines’ plant shop, CAMP. Urquiaga called me on their break, sitting behind a desk at the plant shop, with a view overlooking the bay. “So that’s the fantasy,” they said with a laugh after describing their surroundings.
I’m trying to master the downward dog when a flamingo trots past. The bird stands on the edge of my mat as I eye it from my upside down position. Puffing up its fuchsia feathers, it bends over effortlessly, its beak touching the ground, as if to prove its superior flexibility. Welcome to yoga, Bahamas-style.
The best way to visit New York City and Boston is through a unique experience designed for luxury travelers. The Mandarin Oriental is offering a 75-minute seaplane shuttle for two as part of a four-night package split between its properties in the two cities. It’s the ideal vacation for anyone who can afford one of the best view suites in each city, is eager to bypass the hassle of entering and exiting a major airport, and is up for the adventure of taking off and landing in the water while enjoying magnificent airplane views in between.
Pâté en croûte, the centuries-old French dish composed of meat terrine baked in savory pastry, was first developed out of economy as a way to preserve and use up bits of offal. But today, with skilled kitchen staffs in short supply, the labor-intensive delicacy — which requires multiple days of confiting, jellying, laminating and simmering — feels like a luxury item. “I like the technical aspect of it,” says the chef Nicolas Delaroque, 42, who serves a classic rabbit-and-tarragon version modernized with a little less fat and a bit more spice at his restaurant, Maison Nico, in San Francisco. Markus Glocker, 42, of New York’s Koloman, likewise set out to create a lighter take on the original. “You’re not going to feel like you just ate a stone,” he says of his salmon en croûte, in which slices of tramezzini, a fluffy Italian bread, are wrapped around a rare salmon filet slicked with scallop-and-parsley mousse and topped with gherkins and a beet-infused butter. At Melbourne, Australia’s Aru, the pâté en croûte is reminiscent of a fancy bánh mì. Chả lua, a ground Vietnamese pork loaf, is combined with chicken liver pâté for the filling, and the jelly layer between the meat and the pastry is seasoned with rice vinegar, soy sauce and Maggi, an MSG-spiked seasoning. “It’s quite a humbling experience,” says the charcutier George Jephson, 39, of assembling his iteration, which is stuffed with pork belly, confit pork tongue, crisped chicken skin, pistachios and port jelly, and can be found at his East London wine bar, Cadet, and at nearby restaurants, including Chiltern Firehouse. Still, making use of the whole pig, he says, is worth the effort. “I worked 10 years as a butcher, and we didn’t sell a single piece of pork liver,” he says. “Now I sell 60 kilos a week.” —
Wheels Up is again turning to Delta Air Lines for C-suite leadership. After appointing the Atlanta-based airline’s CFO Dan Janki as Chairman last month, the New York-based private jet flight provider is tapping Delta Board Member George Mattson as CEO.