New York 2023

Travelling with United Airlines & staying at Ink48 Hotel

This year I was luckily enough to be chosen to attend a special, fashion forward viewing party of Vogue World London 2023’s premier. I flew to New Work as part of team Genesis Canada, in celebration of their second year as a brand sponsor for the prestigious fashion showcase.

From Vancouver to Newark airport I flew, red eye. A quicker than expected four hour plane ride with United Airlines in Business Class, as a Premier member.

The comforts of having more leg room and wider seats with its own arm rest was a treat. Fold out weighted tray tables and a television screen that included a remote control and the ability to watch movies, listen to music with complimentary over ear head phones.

I would not take advantage of either and instead set the monitor to relaxation mode with soft colours and tranquil ambient sounds to lull me into a quick sleep.

I knew the business flight included a meal and drinks, so wanted to take advantage of that. So after the screen to “wake me for food” so I wouldn’t miss out.

I started with a glass of white wine served in an actual glass. This was paired with lightly salted cocktail nuts.

For my 11:30pm dinner I ordered the spinach and ricotta cheese stuffed cannelloni over the beef teriyaki, and was not disappointed. I finished it all, minus the mound of stewed spinach on the side. With it was a seeded whole wheat bun, individually wrapped chocolate chip cookie, and some fruit. For this I had red wine, to help put me back to sleep.

Then before I knew I was disembarking the plane. I really enjoyed the convenience of being one of the first to board and exit. Not to mention all the space to store my carry on luggage.

On my way back from New York to Vancouver nonstop, I discovered my ticket included access to the United Lounge, so I had to check it out (having missed it on my departure flight). It was not as exclusive as I thought with enough bodies circulating to fill up all the tables, booths, desks, and sofa seats.

But here food and drink were complimentary. It included a coffee and drink bar with high top seats facing television sets broadcasting sporting matches. You could also help yourself to the touch screen fountain drink dispenser or the pre-made coffee and hot water for tea.

For food it was self serve buffet line with two types of soup, a saucy pasta, baked chicken, and a build your own salad bar.

There was also a sandwich counter with four options including a turkey club and pulled pork. I wasn’t too hungry, nor was I inspired by any of the offerings. At most I considered a cookie or may be to try the cream cake for dessert. Even one of the individually Saran wrapped pieces of fruit seemed more appetizing.

I did end up refreshing myself with a cup of mint tea and a side of dried snacks the likes of sesame twists, wasabi peas, and dried banana slices and papaya and pineapple cubes.

During my flight home, I was once again treated to a window seat in Business Class. With a 6 hour flight this time around I had more time to sleep.

For our lunch on the flight we had a choice of barbecue chicken over rice or an Asian style noodle salad. I once again avoided the ethnic option fearing disappointment, and instead got the chicken with wild rice and quinoa; and cleaned my plate. It was served with a side salad of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber with a balasamic dressing; a warmed bun with butter; and a berry cake for dessert.

For beverage I ordered a non-spicy Bloody Mary and was so disappointed that I chased it with a can of Mott’s tomato juice.

But I digress, back to my original trip to New York. When I landed I was greeted by a Genesis driver in a navy GV80, proudly sporting the Genesis logo and Vogue World on either vehicle profile.

Then from New Jersey to New York we travelled to reach Ink48 my hotel accommodations in Hell’s Kitchen.

The drive was traffic ridden, and I was getting a first hand look at New York rush hour, as everyone was commuting from their home in New Jersey to their workplace in New York. Interestingly enough there are no tolls coming into New Jersey, but you have to pay to leave towards New York. And that this is apparently a point of contention with the locals.

Seeing as this was my very first time in New York I had no issue with the drive, as the slower pace allowed me a chance to view the surrounding city, drive by.

I noted the condensed buildings, tall sky scrapers, complex winding roads, and the juxtaposition of new and old side by side.

And I really enjoyed driving through the underground, underwater tunnel with the mid way point between the two city’s pointed out in tile.

When we reached the hotel I was greeted by helpful Genesis staff, tasked with coordinating the entire 2.5 days worth of plans. They helped me check in and set me up with my itinerary, outlining where we would be going and when to be downstairs to meet the drivers taking us there.

My accommodations were on the 14th floor of Ink48 with a great view of the bustling city. A spacious king bed with side table and upholstered chairs, television, and credenza.

The in-suite bar was a shelf that showcased medium bottles of liquor with a mini fridge stocked with mini bottles of white and red wine, sparking, beer, juice, and water. And it had a pull out drawer that included jarred nuts, candy, chip, and even a discreet box containing lubricant, condoms, and a mini vibrator.

But most impressive was in the washroom. The walk-in marble shower that included a bench that you can sit and enjoy the rainfall shower head on, while using their line of CO Bigelow toiletries.

Seeing as the hotel is named Ink, it is not surprising that their logo is an octopus, the restaurant is named Print, that common rooms are named after contemporary font styles, and their rooftop bar is The Press Lounge.

Unfortunately we would not get much time to explore the whole of the property. Only grabbing breakfast to go from Print the next day, as they don’t serve a formal sit down breakfast. From them we had a very filling scrambled egg, cheese, and chorizo breakfast wrap, an apple, and either orange juice or coffee.

And on our last night we found our way to the roof top patio, one of the many New York is known for.

Surrounded by a water feature, fresh air, and the city far below; from our perch up in the sky.

Here, we would enjoy a couple of drinks from their bar and nibble on light snacks the likes of a cheese and meat charcuterie with bread, and hummus with more bread.

Overall, I had a pleasant stay in an area, which was not too far from local tourist attractions. In fact I was able to travel by foot to many of them. A recap I will note in a separate post to come, along with the purpose of this trip and Genesis’ role in Vogue World.