The Seymour family are among my earliest clients, and I have loved helping with their travel needs over the years and watching the younger members of the family grow up.
After Covid had twice caused their eagerly anticipated family New York trip to be cancelled, they finally made it in December 2022.
I suggested to the girls, Bethany, Tabitha and Daisy, that I would love to feature a review from their perspective, and they were happy to oblige...
Ruth has been trying for a couple of years to get us all to New York and after a couple of Covid interventions, we finally made it! Mum and dad had been many years ago, but it was the first time for the rest of us and we were so excited to take a bite out of The Big Apple!
Ruth’s hotel recommendation, the San Carlos on 50th Street in Midtown East Manhattan was just what we needed - clean, friendly staff and a great location.
On our first evening, we walked towards the Rockefeller Center not realising quite how busy it was. In fact, we later learned that it was the first time that the police had closed the surrounding roads off to vehicles due to the crowds. The “Home Alone” Christmas tree was beautiful and didn’t disappoint.
The Saks department store had created an amazing light show with an Elton John theme and the music was blaring out in time with the lights every 15 minutes.
The crowds were huge though, and it only got busier as we headed towards Times Square. It was getting quite late at this point, and it was obvious that nothing seemed to be quieting down any time soon - it truly is the city that never sleeps!
The next day, we headed out early on foot to see as much as we could before the crowds started again. It was wonderful to be able to stroll all the way down 5th Avenue towards Central Park and see all the famous shops and buildings like Tiffany, Cartier and Trump Tower.
We did A LOT of walking because it’s the only real way to ensure seeing things that you might otherwise miss in a taxi. However, we took the Subway to visit the 9/11 Tribute Museum. Grand Central Station is beautiful, and the Subway was a lot easier to navigate than we were expecting. The museum itself is a must-see - it’s so interesting but also very emotional and moving.
Whilst in that area, we ate at Bubby’s, a really great restaurant with amazing food - the fried chicken and pancakes were sensational! I would advise advance booking as its reputation ensures it is exceptionally busy. Another recommendation would be The Smith on Broadway. It had a cool vibe and the menu was extensive with great burgers.
We were fortunate with the weather - bright clear skies - though it was very cold, and we took advantage of being so near to Central Park with a couple of early morning runs. The park was surprisingly busy with fellow runners, and we got lots of great photos on some of the longer runs that took us out across to Roosevelt Island.
Visiting the Empire State Building at night to view the city lit up was exciting, made even more fun with the addition of a little tour before you get to the viewing gallery, full of fun facts and the building’s film history.
Obviously, you can’t come to NYC without doing a bit of shopping, so we visited Macy’s, Bloomingdales and even Madison Square Garden, home of the NY Knicks basketball and Rangers ice hockey teams.
Even though it was exhausting at times, and our FitBits most definitely got a workout, it was amazing to see the city and all the iconic landmarks that we’d only previously seen in the movies!
Thanks so much Ruth - we had a fantastic time!
The Seymours
