Very VERY Short Adventure Ideas

January 12, 2024 10:19 PM

I have reason to treat myself to an adventure! I have a decent enough amount of money - but I am very short on time! I'm looking for ideas! Details/requirements/explanation within!

So after a 6 month search I finally have landed a new job. Yay! It starts on the 29th - yay! That would give me two whole weeks before I start - yay! BUT - I'm also already committed to stage managing a play for that same two-week duration. Oops!

Now - I do NOT want to adjust the start date of the new job, NOR do I want to drop out of the play. On the contrary - this is damn near perfect, because now I have two full weeks of free daytime to kick back, and I just would be doing the show every evening on Tuesdays-Saturdays and then Sunday matinees. And i definitely have ideas about what I can do with that time.

However - we have Mondays off for the show. And it struck me - I could go on a little overnight trip somewhere one of those Mondays, and then get back to the city in time for the show on Tuesday. And I kind of am getting excited about that idea. (It'd have to be next week, this week is just too soon.)

So. I'm looking for a place near NYC where I could go have a mini-splurgey vacation next week - and still get back to NYC, Midtown, in time to be at a theater by 5:30 pm. I realize this is a bit of a unicorn situation, so I'm looking for ideas and suggestions.

Here's the hard requirements:

1. I really, honestly and truly only have this overnight. I can leave my house in Brooklyn sometime Monday morning, and I absolutely must be back in Midtown Manhattan by 5:30 on the following Tuesday. I'm okay bringing my overnight bag to the theater, I just can't be LATE to the theater.

2. I'd prefer sticking close to NYC; since my time is so short, I'd just as soon spend as little time as possible traveling TO the place, and the most time possible actually ENJOYING the place.

3. I had the idea of some kind of luxurious spa-type retreat, and had in fact even started checking out a particular spot in Long Island - until I saw that they only had bookings Wednesdays through Sundays.

4. I TOTALLY HAVE NO PROBLEM just holing up in a hotel room and vegging out for a whole day, so long as it is one KICK ASS hotel room. For the record, the working definition of "kick-ass hotel room" in this instance would involve a) a PROPER BATHTUB that's deep enough for me to go bugnuts with a whole lot of bath products and have a proper soak, b) a very good view, c) extensive room service, d) amenities out the wazoo, and e) otherwise being left alone.

5. A nice quiet place close by NYC would also work too (an all-inclusive spa in New Jersey? A night at Mohonk Mountain House? Some boffo place in CT?).

6. I have an unusually large amount of money to throw at this situation - not, like, "fly to Paris overnight" money, but "I can afford the best suite since it's only one night and I can take Metro-North to get there" money.

I keep leaning towards a spa kind of place. I just don't want it to be too hokey, you know? Have a look at the link I posted to see how I roll.

And I REALLY need it to be a Monday-Tuesday stay. That really is the only window given the schedule.

posted by EmpressCallipygos to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (18 answers total)

Given check-in times and such, if you do the splurge hotel, you might get the most bang for your buck going late on Sunday. (Can't hole up for a day if you have to wait until 3pm to check in.) Is leaving after the matinee absolutely out?
posted by Threeve at 11:14 PM on January 12 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Is leaving after the matinee absolutely out?

Our leads are throwing a cast party in their apartment after the matinee I don't want to miss; although, they DO live near Port Authority, so I could get somewhere by bus that has a late checkin, in theory.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:27 PM on January 12

Best answer: What about the Hudson Valley? You can take a train from Grand Central to Tarrytown or Beacon, both of which are charming, do not require a car at all, and have plenty of BandBs.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:28 AM on January 13 [2 favorites]

(No suggestions, but I've followed your job search saga and wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!)
posted by altolinguistic at 2:27 AM on January 13 [22 favorites]

Mohonk checks almost all of the boxes (not sure about bathtubs, food is included but not room service) and you get a lot of bang for your Buck Monday to Tuesday. That's my vote!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:44 AM on January 13 [4 favorites]

Troutbeck? I would call to make sure you book a room with a tub and that they have the amenities you want open on Mondays, a lot of Hudson Valley closes their restaurants and spas Monday - Wednesday as you already discovered.

Also if you don’t end up leaving the city or want a bonus daytime adventure. QC Spa on Governor’s Island is great for an uncrowded weekday soak if looking at the Manhattan skyline while chilling in a heated pool is your sort of thing.
posted by A Blue Moon at 5:23 AM on January 13 [1 favorite]

I was going to say troutbeck as well, also ive been dying to try Wildflower Farm
Mayflower Inn is also known for their spa
I have heard that at the Mayflower try to stick to one of the new renovated rooms (but they might have completed all the renovations by now). Ive had brunch there and can vouch for the food. Its also around some cute towns if you do want to leave the property.

If you dont want to leave the city, get a room at the Standard with a tub and INSANE views from said tub We stayed in a Corner King, and going to bed and waking up to the sunrise views was incredible. I will warn that the elevator is entirely safe but all black and plays a fucking weird video. Is worth it though.

Mohawk is suppose to be retro cool, and ive heard great things about their food, but I might save that for a time you had maybe one more day to do hiking- one of the great things about it is its location. (if hiking is something you like)
posted by zara at 6:32 AM on January 13

Sorry, one more
The Maker in Hudson easy to get to by train (a really pretty ride), very cool rooms & good food. Hudson is fun with lots of great shops to wander, but the Monday part might be a smidge tricky in that respect. You could go down to Dia Beacon on Monday, and then just take the train from Beacon back to NYC
posted by zara at 6:48 AM on January 13 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: You know what....the more I think about it, the more that a place in Tarrytown or Beacon, getting in late Sunday, might not be a bad idea. The Maker actually seems intriguing, but that may be better for a future weekend (I checked the rates and they're kind of ridiculous, even though I said I wanted to splurge). It'd be a short hop to get there, and with Metro-North it'd even be less than an hour, I could check in late, and just walk around for a day on Monday and then hop the train back home Tuesday and be in the city pretty fast.

Also - the place I'm going to start working has a couple of mandatory preparatory screenings (drug test, background check, etc.) and I may need to see what the scheduling might be there first before I book anything. I looked into The Standard, but for some reason they're not letting me book shorter than a 4-day stay, so that's out...

Incidentally -

if you don’t end up leaving the city or want a bonus daytime adventure. QC Spa on Governor’s Island is great for an uncrowded weekday soak if looking at the Manhattan skyline while chilling in a heated pool is your sort of thing.

When I said up above that "I have two full weeks of free daytime to kick back, and I definitely have ideas about what I can do with that time" - this IS one of those things already, yay! (This quick jaunt is going to be part of two weeks of "yay I can shop for a new work wardrobe at Bloomingdale's and then walk 2 blocks and be at the theater" and "yay I can go check out museums on a Tuesday afternoon when no one is there" and "yay I can take a quick day trip to Brighton Beach" and a whole SHIT-TON of other things locally.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:05 AM on January 13 [5 favorites]

Heading in a different literal direction, have you been to Island Spa in Edison? Between the saunas, services, tubs, and lounge area, it'd be easy to spend a number of hours there. And then you could stay at a nearby luxurious airbnb, like this one with a nice tub.
posted by knile at 7:54 AM on January 13

Best answer: If you are thinking Beacon Ive always wanted to try The Roundhouse

Also you might need to call (i know i know) the Standard, especially if you want a tub room
posted by zara at 8:52 AM on January 13

I was thinking Mohonk, too. I think some of their very cheapest budget rooms are a little dated, but the ones with fireplaces and such look very nice.
posted by praemunire at 10:09 AM on January 13

(P.S. Congrats on landing the new job!)
posted by praemunire at 10:10 AM on January 13

For the overnight, the other suggestions have been great. I'd throw in Philadelphia (super accessible by train, plenty of nice hotels, zero problem with hotels being closed on Mondays) as an urban exploration option, and the stay-over towns in Western Massachusetts (Lenox, Great Barrington, North Adams) as remote getaway options that are about 3 hours away by car & have off-season pricing & come with an abundance of cute B&Bs and walkability. Maybe you won't choose them this go-around, but file away for later weekend adventures...

I also wanted to kick over some daytime spa recs, and you likely know many/all of these, but the big ones: Spa Castle in College Point, AIRE Ancient Baths in Tribeca, King Spa & Sauna in New Jersey (but with a shuttle bus from 32nd Street), World Spa in deep Brooklyn (on the F line)... and there is always the Russian & Turkish Baths in the East Village. You could put together quite a two-week tour visiting these and many of the luxury hotel spas around town. And pretty much all of them will get you back to Midtown by evening.
posted by brianvan at 11:07 AM on January 13

Response by poster: I would like to once again stress that the spas in NYC are ALREADY things I am planning to do during the OTHER days over the next 2 weeks. It is safe to assume they are already covered.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:22 AM on January 13

Congrats on the new job!! Another vote for Mohonk - it sprang to mind before I was halfway finished reading your question, and is the perfect balance of low key relaxing and having options on how to do that relaxing. And it's lovely in the winter.
posted by carlypennylane at 10:20 PM on January 13

Response by poster: Well, this is now moot....part of the onboarding involves a few of those mandatory fingerprint checks/background checks/drug screens/etc. kinds of appointments, and in one case the only time I could get an appointment was ON Monday, at a time that would be too late for me to be heading anywhere afterward.

I'll bank all these ideas for a future long weekend or something - I mean, hey, I'll have an income again now, may as well use it. :-)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:42 AM on January 17

Response by poster: Stumbling across this again only 9 months later - I never went on this trip, and I ended up losing this job (hah, and good riddance). But the advice within lead to my booking a spontaneous weekend in November to celebrate the second new job I got just a month ago that fits way better. My new office is even right by a LIRR station so I can use that for even easier getaways.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:32 AM on September 6