While it’s no secret I’m a fan of little, ultra-luxe boutique hotels, especially for family travel, there are a couple caveats: not always and not only! There are situations when staying at a top-of-the-line chain hotel with a reputation you can trust and a location near a multitude of activities on your itinerary that only big corporate money can afford sometimes outweighs the charm factor. Those attributes more than justify Melville Marriott Long Island, a well-located, newly and nicely renovated property.
The redesigned 358-room, four-story hotel has an atrium entry, an indoor swimming pool and fitness center, and a Great Room Restaurant and Lounge. Accommodations have a mini fridge for easy snacking and lots of in-room entertainment options, including flat-panel TVs and cable channels such as CNN, ESPN and HBO. As part of the renovation, bedding was upgraded with pillow-top mattresses, custom duvets, down comforters, foam pillows and cotton “linens.” Of course, there’s a corporate clientele and rooms have desks, business amenities and super-speedy WiFi. Rooms with two queen beds or a suite with a living room work best for families and cribs are available.
Hospitality Suite. Photo: Melville Marriott
The Melville location is immediately off the major artery through the central core of Long Island, the Long Island Expressway; and it’s close to another, far lovelier, east-west artery, Northern State Parkway. More to the point, it’s just 36 miles from Manhattan, less than 30 miles from JFK and LGA and fewer than 20 miles from ISP airports.
It’s within a short drive of one really good restaurant, Jewel by Tom Schaudel, where I’ve had a few terrific meals, and close to many others. And it’s within a three-mile drive to venues that will delight kids: Adventureland Amusement Park (2.5), Old Bethpage Village Restoration (2.6) and Walt Whitman Mall (2.5). Add a few minutes to reach either of two Long Island Railroad stations (Farmingdale, South Huntington) to spend a day in the city, to golf at Bethpage State Park (4), concerts at Westbury Music Fair (8) and games and concerts at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (16).
Some folks who visit Long Island never get to see the North Shore’s grand estate area on the Gold Coast, in the villages touching the Long Island Sound. Some former estates are now public venues, where your family will delight in a visit: Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium (10 miles), Old Westbury Gardens (10.9) and Planting Field Arboretum (14).
Melville Marriott
On the South Shore, which borders Great South Bay, you can walk the grounds of a former bay-front estate, Bayard Cutting Arboretum; at Jones Beach, you can walk the boardwalk and attend a concert at Jones Beach Theater (23). Drive further east to access Fire Island via Robert Moses Causeway and walk the beach at Captree State Park.
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