The Surrey Hotel

Vanity Fair's SunHee Grinnell's Ten Favorite Essential Items on Display at The Surrey

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Luxury Shopping

Vanity Fair's Beauty Director SunHee Grinnell has selected her top 10 favorite essential Upper East Side items.

Vanity Fair's Beauty Director SunHee Grinnell personally curated The Surrey hotel's latest "Top 10 New York" collection, which is now on display at the boutique hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Grinnell's top ten favorite essential Upper East Side items are displayed inside a Jimmie Martin graffitied armoire in the hotel's lobby. After viewing a sneak peak at some of Vanity Fair's insider's preferred Upper East Side retail offerings, guests of The Surrey may venture a just few blocks to purchase their favorite items in the armoire from the boutiques – or may purchase them directly through the concierge.

SunHee's curated collection for The Surrey's "Top 10 New York" features:

Chanel's stud embroidered flap bag
Yves Saint Laurent's Bell De Jour wallet in turquoise
Dior's Red Silhouette belt
Jimmy Choo's JAVA peep toe ankle boot with handcrafted leather 'ricamo' embroidery in black
Gucci's Guilty Eau de Toilette
Tom Ford's Whitey B5 sunglasses
Valentino's black bow leather gloves
Barneys New York's Simon Doonan Witticism stationary
Pucci's Foulard scarf
Michael Kors' Allover Glitz Watch in black.

Tags: awards-main, barneys new york, Chanel, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, luxist-awards, Pucci, SunHee Grinnell, The Surrey, The Surrey Hotel, Vanity Fair

Continue reading “Vanity Fair's SunHee Grinnell's Ten Favorite Essential Items on Display at The Surrey”

Spend Halloween at The Surrey Hotel in New York

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The gracious lobby of The Surrey Hotel, the boutique hotel in New York City.

This Halloween, travelers visiting New York City don't have to miss out on all the fun events surrounding the spooky holiday.

Families staying at The Surrey Hotel, the gorgeous boutique hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, on Halloween will get to experience all the usual tricks and treats, with fun and festive offerings for both children and parents alike.

Upon checking in to The Surrey, guests will be greeted with a decadent treat of gourmet salted caramels. As the children get ready for a night of spooks and sweets, Moms are invited to escape to The Spa at The Surrey, the luxurious day spa (see video below), where they will receive a special Halloween offer of 20% off any 60-minute spa treatment. Feeling relaxed and refreshed, they will be ready to join their children for some good old-fashioned trick-or-treating, beginning in the hotel's lobby, where The Surrey's Bellmen and Front Desk staff will be giving out an array of delicious treats to guests and local trick-or-treaters throughout the evening. Pets are invited to join in on the fun too, where they can nosh on special doggie treats and mingle with Bentley, the hotel's adorably irresistible Havanese puppy.

Gallery: The Surrey Hotel

Tags: awards-main, boutique hotel, Halloween, hotel, luxist-awards, Surrey Hotel, The Surrey Hotel

Continue reading “Spend Halloween at The Surrey Hotel in New York”

Should You Tip a Concierge? (with video)

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Part Merlin, part Houdini, how is possible for the concierge at your hotel to get you tickets to a sold-out show or a reservation at a restaurant that would have been utterly impossible for you to do so on your own?

One of the most valuable assets a fine hotel has, the concierge is there to help make a guest's stay a happy and memorable one. But have you ever been baffled by whether or not you are supposed to tip the concierge if he or she has done something special for you?

To find out these answers, we sat down with Spencer H. Wadama, who is the General Manager of The Surrey Hotel, the tony and newly renovated boutique hotel located on Manhattan's upper east side. Spencer previously served as the general manager of the Ritz-Carlton in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt). The Surrey Hotel's staff of concierges, for example, regularly make special arrangements for their guests, often before the guest has even arrived at the hotel.

According to Spencer, "The amount is really to your discretion, and what is the appropriate amount really depends on the service that was provided," he says. "It is very appropriate to tip a concierge if you had a special request that you knew was difficult to get access to."

In America, tipping is a way of saying "thank you", but tipping is not expected in all countries, such as in Japan, where tipping is not part of the culture.

The amount you tip should take into account the city where the hotel is located; for example a tip in New York should be higher than a tip in Cleveland, for example, to compensate for the difference in the cost of living.

When you approach a concierge, take a look at the lapel of his or her uniform. If you notice a pin that resembles a small set of gold keys, he or she is a member of an elite organization called Les Clefs d'Or, a French term that translates into "keys of gold". If that is the case, you can be assured that you are dealing with a seasoned professional. Curious about whether you should tip the housekeeping staff? Find out how to do so here.

Tags: awards-main, concierge, Les Clefs dOr, luxist-awards, main-pedia, Spencer Wadama, summer-travel-pedia, Surrey Hotel, The Surrey Hotel, tipping, tips, TipsForTravel, winter-travel-pedia

How to Create a Home Sanctuary

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spas

Luxist visited the recently renovated Surrey Hotel and its beautiful new day spa, Spa at the Surrey, on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

We sat down with Cheryl Jacobs, its Spa Director, who is a nationally acclaimed spa consultant, and discussed how people can create a spa-like sanctuary in their own home.

Jacobs told us how to create a relaxing and therapeutic bath. "The first thing people should buy are Epsom salts, which offer a variety of health benefits," she says. Epsom salts (also known as magnesium sulfate) can help to relieve aching muscles and flush toxins out of the body.

Another item worth investing in are therapeutic level essential oils, which can be used in conjunction with Epsom salts. The best oils are those that are purest in form and have not had fragrances or other chemicals added.

"The trick about doing a bath at home is that the Epsom salts should be placed under the water as it is running," says Jacobs. "But wait until the tub is filled and the water is no longer running before adding the therapeutic oils. The oils should then be smoothed out to get the real essence."

Tags: awards-main, cheryl jacobs, luxist-awards, main-pedia, Spa at Surrey Hotel, spa-pedia, spas-pedia, surrey hotel, The Surrey Hotel