Date Night at The Affinia 50

Written by Carol Cain on 16 March 2010

Date nights. I look forward to them with such excitement because not only is it a fun time to be alone with my husband, and no kid interruption, but we get to enjoy the city, just the two of us doing stuff other adults get to do when they don’t have kids in tow.

On this particular date-retreat it rained. Heavily. Very much like it did the last time we went away on a date-retreat. But my husband and I kissed our children goodbye and set out, onto the windy, rainy streets to begin our fun together.

And, like on our last date, we chose to spend our evening alone at one of The Affinia Hotels. Specifically, the Affinia 50. This idea came to my mind shortly after it was announced that The Affinia 50 was offering a 30 Rock Package to guests. The package, which starts at $199 a night, includes a signature Affinia scarf, a tour of the NBC Studios, a pass to the front of the line at The Rockefeller Rink (and skate rentals), as well as a tour of the FDNY Fire Zone nearby was too good to miss. For someone who loves taking advantage of all the things this city has to offer, I truly felt like a little kid about to go to Disney. Except this was better, because this is New York.

After dropping our bags off at The Affinia 50, we picked up our pre-purchased passes and we ran to the NBC Studios located at the GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Corner of 49th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue) for our tour.

After our tour, we headed back to our hotel suite. As a courtesy offered by the hotel, we stayed at the One Bedroom Deluxe Suite, and it was amazing. The one bedroom, one bathroom suite includes a king size bed, large, fully supplied kitchen with two entryways, a living room area with a sofa bed, a study area, and a dining area. But the absolute, best part of it was the wrap around balcony. The private balcony wraps around from the dining and living room area all the way over to the bedroom area, with doorways to the outside from each section. The room can sleep up to 6 people and is perfect for traveling families or friends.

Had it not been pouring cats and dogs we would have spent all night just sitting outside, drinking wine, and talking.

And though this was by far the largest suite I had seen at an Affinia Hotel, large rooms are one of the things that set the Affinia Hotels in NYC apart from the rest and why we love them so much. With kitchens in pretty much every room and enough space to comfortably fit a large family such as mine, even when not in the One Bedroom Deluxe Suite, not to mention the value for the space, it’s really a wonderful experience.

I had ordered a few other amenities through My Affinia. The Walking Tour kit, the down pillows, and the cotton robes, all free of charge during a guest’s stay, were waiting for us in our suite. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take advantage of the walking tour due to the weather, nor could we use our free ice skating passes, and skipped going on our FDNY Fire Zone tour as well just because it was so awful out.

However, we did enjoy our room and loved our stay there. We opened the door to the balcony in the bedroom slightly, just to listen to the rain fall and city sounds below. It was incredibly quiet in our room, though we knew the hotel was busy because we saw the people checking in as we passed the front desk.

And yet, despite being busy, Stephan in Guest Services always managed to refer to us by name, both the night before and morning after he saw us, which to me is a wonderful show of their incredible customer service. Another great feature I have enjoyed in the Affinia Hotels I have stayed at.

We had gone out to dinner outside of the area, though the hotel provided us with an extensive list of nearby restaurants. Had we decided that we were going to stay in, we also had the option to order from any of the restaurants on their list that delivered or request groceries to be purchased either during or before our stay and stocked into the kitchen for us. These are charged to the room. There are many other amenities that can be reserved ahead of time and charged to the room. Check out the My Affinia section of their site to customize your stay experience.

We ordered the in-room service continental breakfast for the next morning ($9.95 per person), but were disappointed in the presentation. It came on time, as requested, but was delivered in a brown bag and the bagels were cold. Of course we had a kitchen to warm it all up, and I realized that because the hotel doesn’t have an in-house kitchen or restaurant it orders these items from a caterer, but still, I guess I had expected something different.

But that aside, our overall experience was really amazing. The service was really top notch, and that suite was truly heavenly. I was told that the logo of the man tipping his hat is a tribute to the founder of Affinia Hotels, who used to tip his hat every morning to greet the people he met along the way when coming to work. The significance of that gesture is true to what we have experienced in our stay with them and why we would happily come back again.

It was also a wonderful way for us to reconnect as a couple, and catch up on a CSI Miami marathon on t.v. that night as the rain continued to fall and the city lowly fell silent below.

We hope you try out The Affinia Hotels (our favorites so far: Affinia Shelburne, Affinia Gardens, and Affinia 50) on your visit to NYC or a night out with friends or significant other.

Affinia 50

155 East 50th Street

New York, NY 10022

(212) 751-5710

Disclosure: This review is based on a discounted stay at The Affinia 50. I received no other compensation and the business owner did not state any requirements that I express a particular point of view.