Loews Regency Hotel New York

Park Avenue in the 60s is about as chic as Manhattan can be. You’ll find Loews Regency New York Hotel facing the broad, holiday-decorated thoroughfare between 61st and 62nd streets in the midst of a swank, family-friendly neighborhood.

Loews Regency in New York. Photo: Irvina Lew

When you enter the marble-floored and chandelier-studded lobby, you’ll find seating in the lobby, and a full lounge with couches. And, a few steps down, the popular Regency Bar & Grill. We had dinner and breakfast there. Dinner was served in a large curved booth and was particularly good (we shared an excellent rigatoni and each ordered steaks), but the menu offers pizza, pasta and hamburgers. Dessert choices included a chocolate cake and a warm apple tart topped with ice cream. Along with families at larger tables, the venue is a meeting place for power breakfasts. Our table, in a sunlit corner of the bar area, was within sight of tempting pastries, pancake stacks and classic New York bagels with smoked salmon. I ordered a variation: avocado toast with a poached egg and smoked salmon.

At one point, while I was waiting in the main lobby, two tweens came off the elevator on their own and sat down, busy texting on their cell phones; a couple walked by pushing a stroller. As four adults and four younger kids approached, the girls ducked into the massive lounge chair; within moments and after some giggling, their younger brother found them hiding there and, before long, the casually clad 10-some, whether an extended family — or two separate ones — departed.

Loews Regency in New York. Photo: Irvina Lew

Suite No. 428, where we stayed, is an 1,100-square-foot corner apartment facing Park Avenue that easily accommodates a family of four to six; frankly, it would make an extremely comfortable New York City family home. When the hotel was renovated in recent years, they added white and grey marble flooring in the entry and bathrooms and contemporary, Art Deco furnishings. A grey palette dominated the interior décor, accessorized with geometric patterns and a soft green accent color. The space was configured with a kitchen-style wall complete with an under-counter refrigerator, a microwave on the counter and cabinetry in the large entry foyer. (Call in advance to stock the kitchen storage space with necessities for your family.) The spacious living room was furnished with a sofa, ample seating, a flat-screen TV atop a large console and a desk and dining table. One bedroom is outfitted with two queen-sized beds and a bathroom; the master bedroom, in the sunny corner with a view of Park Avenue heading south, features a flat-screened TV, lounge chairs and its adjacent bathroom with a large soaking tub. The vast and stunning Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa, located on the second floor, supplies the branded bath amenities.

Loews Regency in New York. Photo: Irvina Lew

For the holiday season, until Dec. 24, the 379-room luxury lodging partnered with Bloomingdale’s and features a Bloomingdale’s Pop Up store in the lobby, where guests can purchase holiday gifts, including scarves and ornaments and monogrammed leather goods and even a buy one/get one hot chocolate. The holiday Shop & Save offer provides a $100 food & beverage credit in the hotel, a $50 Bloomingdale’s gift card, plus complimentary personal shopping, gift wrapping and makeover services. Bloomingdale’s is located two blocks east of the hotel. Also, walking east from the front door, you’ll find Serendipity, where you can eat a meal or just treat your family to the famous sweet shop’s ice cream, sweets and hot chocolate.

You’ll discover an array of family-friendly venues just a few short city blocks away from the hotel. Just two blocks east, there’s the entry to Central Park, and the entrance to the Central Park Zoo is at 5th at 64th. Two of my favorite restaurants are on 60th, between Park and Madison: Rotisserie Georgette, a smart, chic, city café where spit-roasted chicken stars amid authentic French country dishes, and AVRA, a Mediterranean eatery with Greek favorites and a huge display of fresh fish on ice and baskets of seasonal vegetables. One time-honored holiday tradition in Manhattan is to walk with the traffic down Fifth Avenue from Central Park South, and in a few short blocks, you’ll see the famous tree at Rockefeller Center and the American Girl Shop.