The Peninsula New York

About The Peninsula New York

The Peninsula New York suits travelers who want a Midtown base on Fifth Avenue and a short walk to the sights on either side of it. Couples here for the Theater District, business travelers with meetings around Rockefeller Center and families on a first New York visit all fit the same footprint. Central Park begins a few blocks north, and the Museum of Modern Art sits around the corner. The address rewards anyone who prefers to walk to dinner, to a gallery or to a Broadway curtain rather than plan around the subway.

Expect a formal, full-service city stay with the facilities to match: a 24-hour front desk, a concierge, restaurants and bars, a fitness center, an indoor pool and a spa. Rooms are the kind you return to between appointments or shows rather than a base for a long budget trip. The tone is quiet and businesslike.

Rooms and listed facilities

Facilities listed for The Peninsula New York cover the practicalities of a Midtown stay. Couples can plan around the indoor pool and spa, and the restaurants and bars keep an evening in the building simple. Families have cots and family rooms listed, together with a 24-hour front desk and luggage storage for an early arrival. Business travelers get a business center, internet access and free wifi, and room service covers late nights.

Rooms are best chosen by how you will use the address. A couple on a theater trip can ask for a quieter floor away from the avenue, while a family will want to confirm bed configuration and how a cot fits the room. Business travelers should check desk space and internet access before booking, and anyone arriving late can rely on the 24-hour front desk and luggage storage. The Peninsula New York lists parking, laundry service and a safe for longer stays.

The setting

The Peninsula New York stands at 700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, on the avenue itself and at the edge of Rockefeller Center. This is dense Midtown, with office towers and shops on the surrounding blocks and the Theater District a short walk south. Central Park begins about 0.2 miles (0.3 km) away in a straight line at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, and the Museum of Modern Art is about 0.1 miles (0.2 km). Times Square and Grand Central Terminal are each about 0.6 miles (1 km) off, Penn Station about 1.2 miles (2 km).

Location and neighborhood

Walking is the best way to read this part of Midtown, because the streets carry the history themselves. Fifth Avenue draws the line between East and West street numbers, and the blocks between Central Park South and Rockefeller Center mix Art Deco towers with churches and museums. Rockefeller Center took shape in the 1930s as one planned complex, and its limestone facades still set the tone; The Peninsula New York sits within that grid, close enough to cross the avenue on foot. St. Patrick's Cathedral faces the center, and the Museum of Modern Art stands a few blocks south.

The cultural layer sits on top of the commercial one. Flagship stores line the avenue, and their window displays run from late November into early January, the busiest stretch of the winter. Museum Mile begins further north, roughly from 82nd to 105th Streets, though the Museum of Modern Art keeps its own address near 53rd Street. The Theater District lies a few blocks west around Times Square, with about 40 Broadway houses. Evening curtains are typically at 7 or 8 pm, so confirm the time for the show you plan to see.

Getting there and around

Midtown is compact and the grid is easy to learn: numbered streets run east to west and avenues north to south, so most trips here become walks. Subway entrances sit a block or two away, trains run 24 hours, and you tap a contactless card or phone at the turnstile; check current service changes with the transit authority before a late journey. Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal are both around 0.6 miles (1 km) away, and Rockefeller Center lies around 0.6 miles (1 km) from The Peninsula New York. JFK and Newark sit around 13 miles (21.3 km) out, typically 45 to 75 minutes by road and rail depending on traffic.

Nearby sights and food

The sights cluster tightly, and most are reached on foot. Central Park begins at 59th Street: 843 acres, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, free to enter, with the busiest paths at the southern end. The Museum of Modern Art sits just south of 53rd Street, and St. Patrick's Cathedral faces the avenue near Rockefeller Center. Observation decks within walking distance include the Empire State Building, with an open-air deck on the 86th floor, and the Rockefeller Center deck on floors 67 to 70. Hours and timed entries change; check with each place before setting out.

Food near the avenue covers a wide range. Delis and counter-service spots handle breakfast and a quick lunch; ramen shops, taquerias, pizza counters and sushi bars fill the side streets; steakhouses and old-line Italian dining rooms sit in the blocks around Rockefeller Center. Theatergoers eat early, so tables before the curtain go first, and weekend evenings fill quickly. For a quieter room, walk west toward Ninth Avenue or east into the lower 50s, where the pace slows and reservations are easier to find.

A day from The Peninsula New York

A day from The Peninsula New York can start early, with a walk into Central Park at 59th Street while the paths are still quiet, then back down Fifth Avenue past the church steps and shop windows. Mid-morning suits the Museum of Modern Art, where two hours covers the main collection without hurry. Eat lunch on a side street, then spend the afternoon at Rockefeller Center: the plaza, the reliefs above the doorways, and the observation deck if the sky is clear. Late afternoon gives the best light. Finish with an early dinner before a Broadway curtain at 7 or 8 pm, confirming the show time first.

Distances

Facilities listed by the supplier

As listed by the booking supplier; a facility not listed here may still exist. Confirm anything important with the property.

• 24 Hour Front Desk
• 24-hour security
• ATM
• Air conditioning
• Alarm clock
• Babysitting service
• Banquet
• Barber/Beauty Salon
• Bars
• Bath
• Bathrobe
• Bathroom
• Bike rental service
• Breakfast
• Breakfast in room
• Business Center
• CD Player
• Car rental service
• Cleaning
• Coffee
• Concierge
• Crib
• Currency exchange
• Desk
• Dry cleaning service
• DVD player
• Express check in
• Family rooms
• Fax
• First aid
• Fitness Center
• Free Wi-Fi
• Garage
• Garden
• Hairdryer
• Housekeeping
• Indoor pool
• Internet access
• iPod dock
• Iron and board