5 nights in The Pierre, A Taj Hotel – 5-Star Luxury
❖ Iconic hotel, located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side on 5th Ave at Central Park
❖ Opened in 1930, almost 100 years ago
❖ 189 rooms and suites over 41 floors
❖ Part of the Taj Hotels Group since 2005
❖ In 2010, Taj Hotels completed a $100 million renovation of the hotel
❖ In 1972, a robbery of $27 million occurred in the Pierre hotel, making it the largest, most successful hotel robbery in history
❖ The Pierre has featured in a number of movies and tv shows including Madmen, Ocean’s 8, Trainwreck, Real Housewives of New York City and CSI:NY
The Pierre Hotel is classy, elegant and timeless. It is beautifully nostalgic, the perfect mix of old-world elegance and modern luxury.
From the minute we arrived at the front door of the hotel, we were looked after so wonderfully. All the staff were caring and friendly and they made us feel very welcome. The service was exceptional. We enjoyed the traditional elevators with attendants, who always greeted us with a smile.
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We booked a Superior King Interior View room. The rooms are luxurious and spacious, with nice bathrooms and comfortable beds. Our room rate did not include breakfast, nor did it include tea and coffee making facilities. However, each morning in the lobby guests can enjoy complimentary tea, coffee, fruit and pastries between 6am and 8am. This suited us well as we were jet-lagged!
In our opinion, the Pierre is perfectly located. We walked most places, but it is also easily accessible to the subway, with a subway station directly across the road.
The hotel has a courtesy Jaguar car, which offers drop-offs for short trips within Manhattan for all guests. This is operated on a first come, first served basis. Unfortunately, whenever we requested this service, it wasn’t available, so we didn’t get to experience this perk.
The hotel is so calm and peaceful, it’s hard to believe that you are in the middle of the hustle and bustle of 5th Avenue.
We went to the hotel’s bar, TwoE Lounge, where we enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails. This bar is beautifully decorated with colourful artwork on the walls. There was a great ambiance with an added bonus of live music, which we loved. The Rotunda is another of the Pierre’s highlights, with its elegant central staircase and beautifully hand painted murals on the walls and ceiling.
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- TwoE Lounge
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- The Rotunda
Prior to our visit, we mentioned to the hotel that we were celebrating our Wedding Anniversary and they very kindly organised a chocolate cake for us, which was a lovely surprise. The housekeeping staff also left us little treats every day – these included chocolates and branded cable ties for our chargers!
Perhaps it’s the personal touches like this that sets The Pierre ahead of its competitors. We couldn’t have imagined a more perfect stay and will definitely return someday soon.
For more information, visit https://www.thepierreny.com/.
Our top tips for visiting New York:
❖ A couple of days before you travel, make sure to get an ESTA. This is a visa that is required to enter the US. It costs $21 and is valid for 2 years (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/)
❖ The best way to get from JFK Airport to Manhattan is via Airtrain and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Grand Central Station. We flew into Terminal 7 in JFK (Aer Lingus terminal). We got the Airtrain from Terminal 7 to Jamaica Station. This was very quick – just 3 stops. This cost $8 and you pay as you are exiting the station at Jamaica (you can tap with contactless card). Then take the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Station ($5). We took a taxi from Grand Central to our hotel, which cost $13 to Central Park
❖ If you would rather travel by taxi, a taxi from Manhattan to JFK Airport is roughly $100 including taxes and tip. There is a flat rate of $70, plus city tax of $4, plus tolls and tip
❖ Use Citymapper app for journey planning – this allows you to compare your travel options in real time across all transport modes
❖ There is no tax on clothing under $110 (per item), any item above $110 is taxed at 8.875%
❖ There is 8.875% tax on all food and drink
❖ It is recommended you tip between 15% and 20% for food, drink and taxis
❖ Taxis are readily available
❖ The subway is very convenient, efficient and easy to navigate. You can get day passes or 7 day passes, but we just tapped on each time using our debit cards as we didn’t use the subway that much. It is $2.90 flat fare anywhere in Manhattan.
❖ If you plan on using a lot of data eg. using google maps, I would strongly recommend getting an eSIM, as data roaming charges are astronomical. I got an eSIM with unlimited data from a company called Holafly. This was very easy to set up and cost €27 for 7 days
❖ Book restaurants in advance to avoid disappointment, New York is a very busy city so things book up quickly
❖ If shopping in Macys/Bloomingdales, go to the visitor centre in the store and ask for a visitor discount card, which gives you 10% off
Images included in this article are courtesy of the Pierre Hotel.