I was nervous before the big trip. I was flying back to New York after exactly 20 months and it was hard to believe that the time had arrived. Something in me felt like it was just yesterday that I was in Manhattan. However, another part of me knew deeply that a lot of time has actually passed. I am returning to a city I love after a pandemic. Something must have changed right? 

The second I landed at The Intercontinental Times Square, I felt that New York energy. My plan to take a long nap and settle in was out the window the minute I saw the skyscraper views from my room on the 32nd floor. New York felt like a new experience all over again. It felt like I was visiting for the first time. I couldn’t measure this experience to any of my previous arrivals. After having spent over a year in lockdowns, anxiousness, wondering pangs of whether I would ever travel to this part again – this experience made me feel renewed. 
The special part about my stay with The Intercontinental Times Square was that I was hosting my first breakfast club in New York post-pandemic in collaboration with the hotel. Gul Turkmenoglu, the GM who actually helped me launch my breakfast club in New York during her time at The Benjamin is now spearheading this hotel into its new era. Her work is phenomenal as a GM and female leader. The hotel stayed open during the pandemic for essential workers and supported the city at the time it needed it the most. 

The hotel’s location, though close to Times Square (which many wouldn’t like) is excellent and well located for those who want to be able to travel easily between uptown and downtown. I was able to walk to my client The Lowell Hotel easily within 20 minutes and a train to TriBeca only took me 18 minutes from the subway stop two doors down from the hotel. 

I immensely enjoyed waking up to the views and going for early jet-lagged walks across Times Square. Coming back to the heart of Manhattan after 20 months, there could have been no better place to start. Despite being a relatively large hotel, I found the service to be personal, non-intrusive, and friendly. The doormen were especially very attentive and helpful.  They guided me to some hidden spots around the neighborhood and introduced me to local coffee shops including Vanilla Gorilla Coffee Shop and the Galaxy Diner. 

Thank you Intercontinental Times Square and Gul, for making my return to New York as energetic an experience as one could imagine!

Rooms are spacious, newly renovated and have excellent amenities including a coffee machine, kettle and organic bath products. Love that the bathrooms have attention to detail and excellent mirrors for getting ready in the evenings!