When you are a woman traveling alone for business, a major factor for where to stay is a safe area….check….Next one must consider a reasonable rate to be considerate of business expenses….check….Clean and comfortable….check….There must be a convenient place to have a decent dinner….check…..Ideally a gym…..check……Now, if on top of all that I can have top notch service, and luxury up the ying yang??? CHECK!!! The Delamar in Greenwich, CT is clearly one of my favorite hotels for business travel, it truly feels like a home away from home to me and I would recommend it to anyone for business or even better, a weekend away…..their onsite restaurant, L’Escale is elegant and has yummy food; for more casual dining in warm weather, there is outdoor seating (overlooking the harbor and yachts) and a bar that’s always fun for people watching…….. Another place I have stayed at in Greenwich is the JHouse – it meets my basic requirements with a very ‘hip’, contemporary feel, and their restaurant is also quite good.

Seen above, it is not only a modern ‘feel’ that you will experience at the JHouse: Everything, yes, everything is automated and/or controlled by an IPad….toilet seat automatically opens when you walk into the bathroom (even if you just went in to check your makeup)…..Press ‘Good Morning’ on the IPad, and all lights go on, shades all go up! (Excuse me, where is my robe!!!)….it is a novelty the first time, but after that, please just give me regular light switches…..(maybe I’m too old for this???)

Going back twenty four years, I had my very first experience in a luxury hotel – Ginger and Candy had a weekend in New York! We stayed at The Carlyle on the Upper East Side, the place my parents stayed at when they went to the city……what puzzles me now is how the heck my mother discovered it…..understated elegance to the MAX, I would stay there now but it is a bit out of my business budget!

In the pic above of Ginger, she is wearing all Ralph Lauren, and notice the Chanel bag on the table – that’s the one I still carry today….in the photo of me, notice the shopping bag from Zabar’s…..my first time there, spent more on crackers than I thought was possible…..

Everything was a new experience to me then, I was like a farmer in the city……but not anymore as work takes me to Manhattan regularly and I am learning  the tricks of getting around New York and finding my ‘homes away from home’….Hotel Elysee, Hotel Giraffe, The Benjamin……..Ginger would be proud. 🙂