Blog

Belleclaire Hotel, Shimmie Horn

Big Nick’s Burger Joint A Few Steps from the Hotel Belleclaire

Just because you may be living it up in style and comfort at Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Belleclaire does not necessarily mean that you might not be in the mood for a real New York-style burger or pizza.

If such a craving does overcome you, you need not wander further away from the Belleclaire than a one minute walk down the street. Located at 2175 Broadway, right off of 77th Street, is Big Nick’s Burger Joint.

Big Nick’s has a full menu for all three meals of the day, but their specialties are certainly their amazing 3-decker club sandwiches, deli sandwiches, and most spectacular of all, a choice of hamburgers as long as a midsummer’s day.

Reasonably priced and uncompromising in quality, Big Nick’s might be just the thing for slumming it on New York’s Upper West Side.

Iroquois Hotel, Shimmie Horn

Boutique Iroquois Hotel Comfort and Class Rolled Into One

The Iroquois is a luxury hotel with a difference; guests can expect a feeling of warmth and personal service that many larger chain-style hotels simply do not provide. Guests will enjoy perfectly appointed rooms and suites and creative and delicious dining at the well-received Triomphe Restaurant. Similarly, they’ll have access to a state-of-the-art fitness center complete with a Finnish sauna they’ll enjoy WiFi access to the internet.

Boutique Luxury at the Iroquois Hotel

The Iroquois has special dates reserved until the year’s end for guests can take up to a 30% discount on their stay. Other promotions are available for longer visits, a business package, a theater deal, and others.

Staying at the Iroquois is an unforgettable experience, and now, with a variety of money-saving packages, a visit to New York has never been so inviting.

Washington Jefferson Hotel

Ziegfeld Theater Last Great Movie Palace

If you are staying at the Washington Jefferson Hotel, one of Shimmie Horn’s Triumph Hotels, in midtown Manhattan, you might want to consider a trip down memory lane to what might be the last of the great movie palaces built in the United States.

Today the Ziegfeld Theater is part of the chain of Clearview Cinemas, where you can take in first-run Hollywood films, enjoy encore musical presentations, rent the venue for a meeting, seminar or party, or attend a special event.

The name Ziegfeld attests to a glamorous history, which is reflected today in its stunning décor, 1,169 seating capacity with another 863 seats in the balcony.
The original theater was located just a few meters from today’s 54th street location, at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th street. It was constructed in 1927, and torn down in 1966, and named for the entertainment entrepreneur Florenz Ziegfeld, who built the theater with financial backing from William Randolph Hearst.

Today’s theater opened at the end of 1969; built with the design plans of the architecture firm Emery Roth and Sons and interior design by John McNamara, the theater includes plush red carpets and a profusion of gold trim.

A trip to the Ziegfeld is not just a night out to see a movie, but a trip to the glorious past when theaters were elegant, and a night out was magical in New York City.

Belleclaire Hotel, Shimmie Horn

Journey to the Stars Just Minutes Away From the Hotel Belleclaire

Staying at Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Belleclaire? If you are looking for something truly special to do while you’re there, look no farther than three avenue blocks to the east where the Hayden Planetarium beckons. Located at 79th Street and Central Park West, a visit to one of the world’s most famous museums dedicated to the study of space, stars and planetary studies is well worth the while.

The Hayden Planetarium is actually part of the American Museum of Natural History; admission fees include entrance to the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and for a bit extra cost visitors are entitled to visit the AMNH, the Rose Center plus all special exhibitions, IMAX films and the spectacular Hayden Planetarium Space Show.

The featured show, which has been playing at the Hayden Planetarium since July 4th, 2009 is an all new adventure featuring “extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations, the dazzling new Journey to the Stars launches visitors through space and time to experience the life and death of the stars in our night sky, including our own nurturing Sun. Tour familiar stellar formations, explore new celestial mysteries, and discover the fascinating, unfolding story that connects us all to the stars. Those who come along for the journey may never see the night sky in the same way again.”

So the next time you are staying at the Hotel Belleclaire at 250 West 77th Street on Broadway, walk east three blocks to Central Park West and travel to the stars.

Iroquois Hotel, Shimmie Horn

Take a Cruise Around Manhattan

The centralized locations of Shimmie Horn’s Triumph Hotels make it easy to see many of New York’s most beloved attractions. One of my favorite activities whenever I visit New York is the romantic, fun and educational Circle Line Tours around the Island of Manhattan.

Not all out-of-towners are aware that Manhattan is really an island, connected to the other four boroughs of New York and the mainland by many bridges. Due to this happy fact it is possible to completely encircle the world’s most famous island entirely by boat; and that is the idea behind Circle Line Tours.

Circle Line offers 4 types of sightseeing cruises ranging in length from a quick 75 minutes to the full three hour tour. Cruises leave from Pier 83 at 42nd Street and 12th Avenue, which happens to be only a few minutes from Shimmie Horn’s Iroquois Hotel, located at 44th Street off of 6th Avenue. Next time you are in New York, consider taking a Circle Line Tour. You won’t be disappointed.

Shimmie Horn, Washington Jefferson Hotel

The Washington Jefferson Hotel: Book in Advance for Winter Discounts

Winter is a great time to visit New York. There is so much to do and see, from ice skating, to Broadway shows and the world’s greatest museums. The city bubbles with excitement as the holidays approach; at Rockefeller Center a great tree is beautifully decorated each year and displayed; right across the street the Rockettes show-off their impeccable dancing skills in specially produced holiday extravaganzas at the iconic Radio City Music Hall; the list of activities for those lucky enough to be in the Big Apple during the winter season is almost endless.

The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall

To make your stay in New York even more satisfying, the Washington Jefferson Hotel offers tempting winter advance purchase deals to help guests save money on their accommodations. Stays of one night are discounted by 10%, while 2 or 3 consecutive nights at the hotel will get a 15% deduction, and guests that stay 4 nights or more in a row will receive a 20% savings on the full price.

The Washington Jefferson Hotel is located in the heart of Manhattan, just minutes away from Times Square, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, and so much more. Shimmie Horn invites you to check out the Washington Jefferson- with such a great location and alluring winter rates, there is no reason not to come visit New York during this magical holiday season.

Belleclaire Hotel, Shimmie Horn

The Met Beckons This Fall in New York

Planning a visit to New York this autumn? The Metropolitan Museum of Art– the “Met” to seasoned New Yorkers- offers some incredible shows over the next coming few months.

Located at 1000 Fifth Avenue, the Met is easy to get to. This quintessentially New York museum is found on the edge of Central Park, between East 81st and 82nd Streets. Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Belleclaire is only a short bus ride across Central Park from the Met, or if the weather is nice, as it is so often at this time of year in New York, take a stroll through the Park until you get to this mighty edifice and bastion of some of the most exquisite art known to man.

Some current exhibitions showing at the Met are:

•    The Art of Dissent in 17th Century China: Masterpieces of Ming Loyalist Art from the Chih Lo Lou Collection – Through January 2, 2012

•    Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe- Through January 2, 2012

•    Wonder of the Age Master Painters of India, 1100–1900- Through January 8, 2012

If you are staying anywhere in New York, at any of Shimmie Horn’s collection of Triumph Hotels, you are not far from the Met. Go visit, you won’t be disappointed.

Shimmie Horn, Washington Jefferson Hotel

Get a Taste of Broadway

Next time you’re in New York, looking for a bit of culture, why not see what’s playing on Broadway?  Whether you’re in the Big Apple for business or pleasure, you should always try to make time for the classics.  One show currently playing is a remake of ‘Anything Goes,’ which originally debuted in 1934.  This musical comedy is being put on by the Roundabout Theatre Company and ticket prices range from $87-137.  It’s been getting some fabulous reviews since it began in April of this year.  It can be seen at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, located at 124 W. 43rd Street, conveniently located close to some exquisite hotels in the area, like Shimmie Horn’s Washington Jefferson, the Hilton Manhattan East, or the Westin New York Hotel, then it’s definitely worth taking a stroll down there to enjoy an evening of entertainment or a matinee performance.

Belleclaire Hotel, Shimmie Horn

Tecumseh Park One Block from Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Belleclaire

Tecumseh Playground

On 77th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, only one block from Shimmie Horn’s Hotel Belleclaire, is a little playground named for one of the Civil War’s most famous generals, William Tecumseh Sherman.

Since 1952 the park has gone through 4 separate incarnations. It was first developed when the City of New York received the land bordered by Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues on the east and west, and between 77th and 78th streets on the north and south. The land was designated for use for recreational purposes together with a school. The old P.S. 87 was torn down, and the new William T. Sherman School was built, and opened its doors in 1954. The playground had basketball courts, a roller-skating ring, play equipment and a garden from the old school.

In 1970 the site was modernized as an “adventure playground” until it was updated again in May 1987. This third renovation was called “Operation Playground” and incorporated the efforts of a 1,500-member neighborhood association of parents and their children. They raised $55,000 in private monies, and the Department of Parks of NY contributed and additional $30,000. The renowned park designer Robert Leathers drew up a plan which included a maze, tire-bridge, swing, fire engine, tree-house, roller coaster obstacle bridge and a suspension bridge with tunnels. Remarkably the park was built by community volunteers themselves working side-by-side with the Parks Department workers, in only seven days.

Today the park has taken on a fourth renaissance. For $760,000 Councilman Ronnie Eldrigde funded the park’s newest theme, an imaginary journey which children can take from New York City to the 1870s Wild Wild West.

The park is named for General Sherman, who, although born in Ohio in 1820, retired to New York where he lived until his death in 1884. He resided at Broadway and West 70th street, where there is now located Sherman Square, just a few short blocks from Tecumseh Park.

If you are staying at the Hotel Belleclaire, and especially if you have some children in tow, a trip to Tecumseh Park would be great fun.

Shimmie Horn, Washington Jefferson Hotel

Washington Jefferson Hotel Short Walk from Central Park

One of the world’s most famous inner city parks is located just a few short blocks from Shimmie Horn’s Washington Jefferson Hotel. Just exit the hotel, walk east a few steps to 8th Avenue, and then the 8 blocks north from West 51st Street where the Washington Jefferson is located, to Columbus Circle on 59th Street, and you have arrived at the incredible Central Park.

The park first opened to New Yorkers in 1857 and includes 843 acres of fields, trees, gardens, a zoo, a lake, baseball diamonds, brides, paths and lots more. In the following year a competition was held for a design to improve the park. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the design competition, and in 1873 the newly designed, expanded and improved Central Park was ready.

Central Park offers an amazing array of things to do and see within its confines, including two ice-skating rinks, a swimming pool, a wildlife sanctuary, Shakespeare in the Park summer festivals at the Delacorte outdoor amphitheater, and Belvedere Castle. With such a wide selection of things to see and do there, it is no wonder that Central Park is the most visited city park in the United States. Join the crowd and go visit, it’s just a ten minute walk from the Washington Jefferson Hotel.