Of all the LHW hotels to choose from in the City, the choice was obvious for me – The Mark in the UES (Upper East Side). I had passed by the Mark when I was in town with my mother around the holidays in 2010. There was a film crew outside filming scenes from “Gossip Girl”, a show that I had never heard of personally but all of a sudden was fascinated by because we walked past the filming of it! Two lavishly clad couples in evening attire were walking out of the entrance. I couldn’t care less about the outfits the actors were wearing, it was more the black and white strips that are so characteristic of the Mark thanks to designer Jacques Granges. For whatever subconscious reason, I was drawn in to the simplicity of the black and white stripes and knew that it was The Mark where I wanted to stay the night.

Walking into the lobby was like walking into a Miro painting… I am thinking of one of his standard white canvases with block polka dots all over. This was similar in that it was simplistic, consistent and calming even with bright bold pink, red and orange furniture accents. The man at reception did his bit to welcome me to the hotel by asking if it was my first time there, yada yada. He was spewing out the standard jargon except when he informed me of the Frederic Fekkai salon on the 2nd floor… to which I replied, “What are you saying about my hair?!” Of all the hotels that I have stayed in over the years, and  I’ve pretty much lived in hotels the past few years, I have never once been informed of the hair salon. On top of it, who is Frederic Fekkai? Is his well known in the US? NYC? I may like to go shopping in Rome twice per year but hair and make-up are still foreign concepts to me. Dismissing the comment, chalking it up to small talk, I went up to check out my room that did not disappoint.

The designer’s signature black and white stripes could be found even in the guest room along with more attention to detail. In the bathroom, the black and white stripes graced the marble floors next to a massive Jacuzzi bathtub and shower. While marble lined the walls and were broken in half with a simple black “chair rail” (obviously need help describing the design… Stefan, your help welcome!). There were two sinks in the vanity with hand blown tumblers – one black with white swirls and the other white with black swirls. Other bathroom accessories were hammered steel. Taking into consideration the size of the bathroom, one could easily spend a few hours in here especially with the high tech TV screen built into the mirror!! The bathroom was most impressive, up there with the amenities and standards of the Monarch in Dubai, which was outrageous!

The bedroom on the other hand was more cozy albeit larger than what I had expected for a NYC hotel room. For technology, there was an over-sized TV screen and Bang Olufsen telephones. The bed itself was average to the eye but spectacular to the touch! Fine Egyptian linens with down feather pillows atop a cushion top mattress. Lamps were either of modern steel design or else clear acrylic. There were a couple of what looked like Scandinavian designed chairs too (but I couldn’t be bothered to look at the tag underneath as I had a dinner to run out to)! Upon overall initial inspection, all looked fit and worthy of LHW (and my) standards.

I had a dinner to run off to pretty much as soon as I had checked in. It had warmed up that evening and after walking from the metro station on 77th and Lex, I thought a quick rinse off was in order. I went to the luxurious bathroom and turned the knob in the bathtub on to warm up the water before I got in. But because I was not paying attention as I was running around frantically, I didn’t realize that I turned the knob on for the handheld shower head instead, which blasted me with water while fully dressed. Yep. Water sprayed all over the bathroom around the void mark that my body made and that my clothes absorbed. Cleaning up myself and the puddles of water made me later than I had planned. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself for being such a moron as I stood there drying the one of two dresses that I had brought for my one night stay with a very powerful hairdryer.

With evidence of the bathroom accident still apparent, being that I didn’t have time to dry the scarf or jacket that I was wearing, I zipped up to Centolire on Madison for a nice dinner with friends before returning to the bar at the Mark to people watch. What my friend and I saw that night could be a book in and of itself! Extraordinary people watching!! Will definitely return to catch a glimpse of the scene – primarily locals leaving the Jean-Georges restaurant on the ground level via the dark sultry bar with reasonably priced cocktails (for NYC and for a posh hotel – $14/ea). While the locals leaving the restaurant were much more refined, it was the crowd in the bar that was pure entertainment! Who needs to watch reality TV or any TV for that matter when you can just pop over to your local 5-star luxury hotel bar for a sneak peek into reality?!

The next morning, it was Cinco de Mayo. I never used to be able to sleep in beds that were not my own until I started traveling so much for work and had no other choice. The bed at the Mark though was heavenly! I could have slept for hours! I had packed my running gear since the hotel is half a minute from Central Park East but I was enjoying my sleep too much to be bothered to leave my superbly cushioned surroundings. To enjoy my lavish surroundings, I do what most people should do when staying at a hotel – ask if possible to check out one hour later. It never hurts to ask, right?! Fortunately, I was able to extend the room for one hour, which permitted me to work out in the extremely well equipped Punch gym across from the Fekkai hair salon. A quick half hour on the bike followed by some weights, I felt accomplished. Working out in a gym doesn’t compare to running outdoors for me but is refreshing nonetheless. And as my body is driven by food, that mini work out was enough for me to develop a hefty appetite.

I had checked my trusted online reference, Time Out New York, for restaurant recommendations (critics pics) and scoured it for Mexican food on the UES. There was one on Lex at 104th that caught my eye. Within minutes of checking out of a 5-star hotel, I was back on the subway heading up to the 100′s for lunch. The place I wanted to check out, El Paso, was closed for a private party but fortunately had a taqueria across the street selling a much abbreviated menu at a to-go type venue. Fine, I didn’t care about what the table looked liked… I was hungry! I walked in and ordered a chicken burrito “plato fuerte” in Spanish with a Central/South American woman. (She kept saying “aca” which means “aqui” or “here”.) The burrito came out after a surprisingly long wait but it didn’t matter once I took a bite of it… a-m-a-z-i-n-g! It was when I was taking my time to devour each and every bite of this piece of heaven on a plate that I realized that I was no longer in the UES but in Harlem. Despite being the petite woman that I am, I stood out in the area. Again, I didn’t care. I would have dressed differently if I had known I was going up to that part of town where as a native Texan would have sounded so “scary” if you will while growing up. I really just would have not been carrying my Citibank duffle bag… not to dwell on it. Anyway, the food was phenomenal!! There was a constant flow of people of all types coming in to enjoy the very affordable priced food that will definitely bring me back.

In fact, my night at the Mark Hotel followed by my lunch at the El Paso Taqueria seem like two extremes. However, I am as much a fan of quality as I am reputation if that makes sense. What I mean to say is that from the outside, the Mark Hotel and El Paso could not be more different but the reality is that both were so utterly impressive in their own rights that I will be sure to return to both!! In fact, I am more likely to eat at a place like El Paso than the Mark and more likely to have a cheeky cocktail at the Mark than I am at El Paso (namely because they serve beer which I am allergic to!). Both are top notch in my book!! I highly recommend both!!