Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection

About Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection

Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection suits travelers who want a Midtown East base within walking distance of the office towers around Grand Central Terminal and the avenues of east Midtown. Business travelers can walk to meetings, while couples and small families get a side street with the city on the doorstep. A 24 hour front desk helps late arrivals. It is a practical, well-connected choice for a first Manhattan visit or a short working trip.

This is a 3-star hotel in Midtown Manhattan, part of the Ascend Hotel Collection. The booking supplier gives Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection a guest score of 4.3 out of 5 from 482 reviews, a figure that points to steady satisfaction from past guests. Expect a straightforward city hotel where the address does much of the work. Treat the supplier's score as a summary of earlier stays and confirm the details of your own room with the property.

Rooms and listed facilities

Facilities listed by the supplier include air conditioning, free wifi, internet access, a minibar, a safe, a terrace, lifts and carpeted rooms. Couples may value the terrace and the minibar, while business travelers get wifi and a 24 hour front desk for late returns. Families should confirm bed configuration and room size with the property, since layouts vary. A concierge, laundry service and bars are also listed. Confirm any facility you plan to rely on, and ask which apply to your room, before you book.

The setting

Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection sits at 152 East 55th Street in Midtown East, on a side street that mixes residential blocks with the surrounding office district. Grand Central Terminal is about 0.6 miles (1 km) away in a straight line and Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street about 0.4 miles (0.7 km). Times Square is about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) and Penn Station about 1.4 miles (2.2 km). Walking routes along the grid run longer than these straight-line figures.

Location and neighborhood

Turtle Bay sits east of the office core, on the side streets between the United Nations and the East River. Couples often settle here for the pace: evenings are calm, mornings start slowly, and a weekend can be built from two or three short walks rather than a schedule. The blocks are mostly residential, with the river at the end of the street and the Theater District a walk west. Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building anchor the southern edge. Slow travel suits this neighborhood. Plan less than you think you should and let the side streets fill the time.

Midtown East runs from Fifth Avenue to the East River, between 42nd and 59th Streets, and holds two moods. Near the avenues the blocks are busy with offices and lunch crowds. Toward the river they thin out after working hours, and that is when the area suits a couple on a slow weekend. The street grid is easy to read: numbered streets run east to west, avenues north to south, and Fifth Avenue divides East from West addresses. The United Nations sits on the riverfront near 42nd Street, and Grand Central Terminal is the transport anchor at 42nd and Park Avenue.

Getting there and around

Grand Central Terminal is around 0.6 miles (1 km) from Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection, with subway and commuter trains under one roof. The subway runs 24 hours a day. Payment is by tapping a contactless card or phone at the turnstile, and the older swipe card is being phased out, so tap to pay where you can. The airports are around 13 miles (20.8 km) away by road: JFK by AirTrain to Jamaica or Howard Beach, Newark Liberty by its AirTrain and a train into Penn Station, LaGuardia closest by road with the free Q70 link to the subway. Check service changes before a late arrival. The central Midtown blocks are around 0.9 miles (1.4 km) from Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection.

Nearby sights and food

Most of the well-known sights sit within a short walk or one subway ride of the area. Grand Central Terminal, at 42nd Street and Park Avenue, rewards an unhurried look at the concourse, and the Chrysler Building stands a block east. The United Nations occupies the riverfront nearby; visitor access can change, so check ahead. The Museum of Modern Art is west of Fifth Avenue, within walking distance. Two observation decks are close: one at the Empire State Building, one next to Grand Central. The Intrepid Museum, on the Hudson, and Hudson Yards with the Vessel are a longer ride west.

Eating well needs no research in Midtown East, though the better places tend to be quiet rather than famous. Turtle Bay holds a cluster of Japanese restaurants, from noodle shops to counters serving sushi and rice bowls, plus Irish pubs and Italian trattorias on the side streets. Near Grand Central, steakhouses and food halls feed the office crowds at lunch. For a slow weekend, look for a bakery in the morning, a wine bar in the late afternoon, and a neighborhood dining room where nobody hurries you out. Reserve ahead for Saturday dinner.

A day from Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection

A day from Blue Angel Hotel NYC Ascend Hotel Collection starts slowly. Coffee and a pastry on a side street, then west to Grand Central Terminal to see the concourse before the crowds build. Continue to the Museum of Modern Art for two hours, or skip it and walk north through Midtown to Central Park, which is free to enter. Lunch near the office blocks, then a rest. In the late afternoon, take an elevator to an observation deck, or head west to Hudson Yards and the Vessel. Dinner in Turtle Bay, then a Broadway show; curtains are usually at 7 or 8 pm, so check the show.

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
• Air conditioning
• Alarm clock
• Bars
• Bathroom
• Carpeted
• Cleaning
• Concierge
• Desk
• Dry cleaning service
• First aid
• Free Wi-Fi
• Hairdryer
• Housekeeping
• Internet access
• iPod dock
• Iron and board
• Laundry Service
• Elevators
• Minibar
• Non smoking rooms
• Radio
• Safe
• Security Features
• Shower
• Smoke detector
• TV
• Telephone
• Terrace
• Toiletries
• Towels
• WC
• Wake-Up service
• Wi-Fi