At home (Dubai) in New York

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We’ve been in New York for a couple of days attending meetings – and loving our hotel room! As a Jumeirah Sirius Gold card member, J had a few points that were due to expire, so she’s used them on this trip to book our NY accommodation. We’re staying at Jumeirah’s NY acquisition, Essex House which is on the southern fringe of Central Park.

It’s been a wonderful stay. To start, we were upgraded to a suite – YAY!!! The rooms are tastefully decorated, and for us, the most important test of any hotel room is the quality of the beds and pillows. The Essex is on our yes list!

We had the best view! 30 storeys high and overlooking Central Park – a huge rectangle of green surrounded by tall buildings. Plus, it’s the quietest NY hotel that we’ve ever stayed in – hardly any traffic noise, and the wonderful sound of music coming from the park as the free summer concerts occur nearly every evening.

Last night, a knock on the door saw us opening it to a valet arriving, complete with complimentary goodies for us. Chocolates, fruit, champagne, canapés and Voss water – wow, we were in heaven! I can tell you that we gave thanks to the special shareholder of Jumeirah!

The evening brought spectacular rain and thunderstorms to the city. It was thrilling to watch the rain obliterate the buildings from view, the lightning streak across the sky and down towards the park, and listen to the thunder crash overhead – close enough to rattle the windows. The humidity dropped too.

We were sad to leave today. Luckily we had a late checkout so that we can watch the Germany – Argentina soccer game before we caught the train to Washington!