How We Ate Our Way Through NYC: Forty Four

Restaurant Name:

Forty Four

44 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036, United States
(212) 944-8844

Cuisine: American

Price Rating: $$$$
Beach Junkies Rating (based out of 5 stars):
Food: 5 / Service: 5 / Drinks: 5 / Atmosphere: 5

One of our main goals was to try as many drinks as we could at Forty Four. After dinner we would walk back to the hotel in anticipation of what drinks we would get that night.  The drinks here are awesome!  Pricey, yes but if you go to other quality bars and restaurants around the city, the price is just right.  There is a range of cocktails and other drinks to choose from, but knowing that Forty Four bar is staffed with awesome mixologists, we knew we were going for their signature cocktails!

Drinks: Please keep in mind that we did not drink all of these in one sitting.  These were the drinks we had throughout our stay.

Creamsicle & Ginger Julep

The Creamsicle is an off the menu cocktail that Matt at Forty Four had done up for "M".  It was clean, tart, fresh and strong. If you like the taste of spirits, this drink is for you. If not, I'd stay away from it as it might be too much for your taste buds.  "A" ordered the Ginger Julep and this is where Matt introduced us to Honey Jack Daniels! Y-U-M!

Seven Spiced Cider & Agave Royale

After sitting on top of a double decker tour bus for 2 hours in the cold, we longed to sit by the fireplace at the lobby of the Royalton Hotel. Seeing that we were chilled to the bone, Jason recommended that we get the Seven Spiced Cider. It was definitely what we needed.  Hot, flavorful, and just a soothing cocktail!  It was perfect for coming in from the cold.  "A" opted to get the Agave Royale, her second crushed ice drink of the trip.  At this point I was getting really jealous of her crushed ice drinks but I'm glad she shared with me.

French Caribbean & Sidecar

I thought this time around it was about time that I ordered a crushed ice drink, so I went with French Caribbean which became my absolute favorite drink of the trip. It's pretty much a Pina Colada on roids.  It's that good.  It also comes in a clear Tiki mask mug that I thought was a perfect touch! The only thing that could've gone better with the drink is if it was called Beach Junkie lol! I definitely recommend it.  As a joke, "A" decided to order a Sidecar since Matt raved about it (inside joke). She should've ordered it when Matt was there but Merritt made one for her instead.

Merritt also made us a bunch of drinks our first night like the Alchemist and the Italian Banana Bread which were delicious as well but unfortunately we forgot to take photographs of them.

Appetizers: We don't remember what they called this bread, but we sure can still taste it.  This was the best bread we have ever eaten!  At first we thought it was some sort of danish.  The outer layer is like a danish but the inside is like bread. You really have to try this. It's unreal

Fresh Mozzarella Salad: A-MA-ZING! The roasted peppers and arugula compliment well with the texture of the mozzarella.  It was really fresh.  We've never eaten fresh mozzarella before and I can see what the difference is.  It's not hard and chewy, it's tender and slightly flakes at a bite.  Just great!

Tuna Tartar: The best tuna tartar you will ever have.  Sushi grade tuna dressed with Kimchi and mixed with Cucumbers and toasted chia seeds.  Fresh.  Flavorful. Fantastic.

Main: 72 Hour Braised Short Rib: This meal was straight from mama's kitchen.  Perfectly cooked baby carrots, peas and pearl onions. The mash potatoes was amazingly soft, fluffy and creamy and the short rib was outstandingly juicy!

As it turned out, our last meal of our trip was the best meal of our trip.  It was amazing and the service was once again outstanding.  The best part about Forty Four is that you don't have to be a guest at the hotel to enjoy this goodness.  You can walk right in and enjoy the drinks and food, like so many people we saw during our stay.  If the food doesn't lure you in, then the drinks should.  It is a bit pricey but there is a reason why and as the saying goes, you get what you pay for and we definitely got what we paid for!

HOTEL REVIEW: Royalton Hotel

Trip Date: December 23-27, 2011
Location: New York City, New York

Beach Junkies Rating: (based of 5 stars)
Location: 5 / Service: 5 / Room: 5 / Ambiance: 5

Royalton Hotel NYC

First Impressions: We arrived at the hotel at 9:30 am after taking the train in from Newark Liberty Airport and walking from New York Penn Station (we will have a separate post of different ways you can commute to and from EWR. There were many different forum posts about this but I thought we would compile all our research into one post).  The one thing you have to remember is that Royalton does NOT have the red door that all the other travel sites show.  As you can see from the picture above, it is a sleek black door framed by beautiful columns supported by a gorgeous overhead with a tonal engraving of its name across it.  This is when you know you have booked at a boutique hotel. 


Location: The hotel is conveniently located on 44th between 5th and 6th avenue.  Steps away from tourist attractions such as Bryant Park, Rockerfeller Center, 5th Avenue, Times Square, Magnolia Bakery, MOMA, FAO Schwartz, Central Park and much much more.  It is close enough to all these locations but you don't get the noise, traffic and overall madness that a Midtown hotel normally gets.  The location is just perfect.

Royalton Hotel Lobby

Once we walked in, we were greeted with what we would call dramatics.  The lobby is just stunning.  This is one of the main reasons why we decided to go with this hotel.  To us, it was classic old New York with the dim lighting, fireplace, deep tones of brown and black leather seating accented with hyde and fur upholstered chairs.  Simply put, it was cozy, classy and sexy.

Sit by the cozy fire in the lobby after a long day

Two of the seating sections on the left was split by a huge fireplace (which came in handy after sitting on top of an open double decker tour bus) and just in front of it on your right hand side is the reception desk.

Check In: Since we arrived pretty early, we knew there was a 90% chance our room wouldn't be ready and we were right.  Royalton has a 12:00 pm check out and 3:00 pm check in.  Most travelers should be acquainted with those times since that is pretty much the standard times at most hotels and resorts.  We were quickly processed and asked for one of our cellphone numbers to notify us if our room would be ready earlier.  We handed off our luggage with the bell boy and off we went to explore NYC.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room: We were lucky enough to book a King Loft Suite at the Royalton.  Royalton has several room categories and we were probably at one of the bigger ones.  What many people might not know is that hotel rates in NYC during the Christmas Holidays are amazing and this room was also just that.  AMAZING! Once we walked in, we first noticed the extensive bar on our left hand side.  That is where you will find the electronic safe and iPod / iPhone dock.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Straight ahead was the King Size bed with a total of 6 down pillows and the most comfortable duvet we have ever slept with at a hotel.  Instead of night tables, Royalton had designed two tiered ports holes complete with a night light.  We found this most convenient since "A" loves to sleep with a light on and "M" doesn't.  This is where you will also find the phone and remote for the TV.

Room 602 King Loft Suite

Beside the bed is an extremely long sofa which was so comfortable to lie on after a day of walking.  We used this to relax, read or just to watch TV. Our room had a view of 44th street which wasn't that spectacular but the interior design of the Royalton actually made us forget there was an outside world.  At the end of the couch is the TV which can be pulled from the wall and you can angle it towards the bed if you wanted to watch TV there.

Royalton King Loft Suite Bathroom

The other stunner of this room was the bathroom.  The Loft King Suite came with a 5ft soaker tub with a rain shower head right in the middle.  The sink (left side of pic) and the vanity (right side of pic) was at either side of the tub.  We have to tell you.  This tub was definitely worth it.  Think about walking the streets of NYC all day during the winter.  This helped wear off the wear and tear of the day and made our transition from day to night a whole lot easier.  The only thing we wished was that there was bubble bath that we were able to use but we just bought some bath balms from the Lush store near Herald Square and we were good to go.  The one thing I loved about this bathroom was how they stored the hair dryer.  It was in a white garment bag, hung on a hook.  Simple and clean.  Robes can also be found in the closet and honestly were the most comfortable robes I have ever worn.  We wanted to buy two for us but forgot to ask how to during our stay.  The bathroom is stocked with Malin + Gotez products which were wonderful as well.

King Loft Suite Desk

Just outside the bathroom was the desk which had an iPad on it.  This is where you can browse Royaltons amenities and services that are available to you during your stay.  You can also use this to browse the internet and help you find directions on how to get to the places you want to go to.  On a side note internet is not included but can be purchased at $10/day for each device.

King Loft Suite fireplace at Royalton Hotel

Last but not least is the bedside fireplace.  Yes.  Bedside fireplace.  We highly recommend getting one when visiting NYC during the winter.  It made our nights so cozy.  Honestly we forgot we were in a hotel when it was lit.  A simple call to the front desk and they will bring up the engineer to bring up the log and light the fire for you.  The log lasts for about 3 hours so please don't call and have them light it when you are going to leave for dinner in an hour or two.  It's just a waste.  There is a glass barrier in front of the fire to protect any embers from flying out.

Thank you Royalton!

On our second day, we got a call from room service telling us that there was a plate of cookies that were being delivered to the room.  To our surprise it was a treat from Forty Four (the hotel restaurant) and it came with a note welcoming us to their property.  A simple gesture that went a LONG way with us.  "M" doesn't like cookies and he loved them.  That's how good they were.

Overall, we truly enjoyed our stay at the hotel.  This was the first time we ever stayed at a Morgans Hotel and it definitely won't be our last.  We are already planning a trip back to NYC and with no question, we want to return and stay at this hotel.  It felt like home for us and the staff is just wonderful.  They made our Christmas the most memorable one and for that, we would like to thank you.

Still not convinced?  See what others think here.

NYC Christmas

Here is a video montage on how we spent Christmas this past weekend in New York City.  We are currently working on a review of our AMAZING stay at Royalton Hotel and we will also cover all the restaurants we ate at. For now, please enjoy our  video.


A New York Christmas from BeachJunkies on Vimeo.

Beach In The City

I have some exciting news! If you're a follower of our blog, you will know that we have gone to the Caribbean for Christmas twice in the last 3 years.  This year we thought we would change it up.  "A" has never been to New York City and I thought the most appropriate way to introduce her to NYC is during Christmas!  You've seen it in the movies, how wonderful and magical the city can be during the Holidays and this is what I want her to experience.

The most important decision of this trip was the hotel.  Location is everything in NYC.  Though they have a great public transit system, I find it best just to walk everywhere and experience what the city is all about. There is a certain energy you feel when you walk the streets of NYC and I wanted "A" to have that.

I want to share with you all how we decided on our hotel.  We found that it was a great way to narrow down your hotel options for a city vacation especially when there are so many wonderful hotels to choose from.

• Create a personal google map - you can do this if you have a gmail account.  Simply go to maps, then create maps.
• Mark all the sights, restaurants and shops you want to visit - this can give you an overview of how you want to plan your trip. It will also show you what the most convenient spot is to have your hotel.
• Search hotels - on the map you will find the most convenient hotels that is within the vicinity of your plans.  Once you've done that, go on tripadvisor and do your research.

Our map for Christmas 2011

I know it seems simple enough but it really helped us on narrowing down our options.

Royalton Lobby

With all that said, I am excited to let all of you know that we will be staying at the Royalton New York! This hotel to me SCREAMS New York.  It's a wonderful boutique hotel located right in Midtown Manhattan, steps away from Times Square, Rockerfeller Center, Central Park and 5th Avenue.  To us this was the perfect hotel.  

When we go on city vacations (which is rare) we love staying at boutique hotels mainly because it feels more intimate. I also find the interior decor of these hotels are just par to none.  Royalton is part of the Morgans Hotel Group which also offers the Hudson, Mondrian and Morgans in NYC as well as a few other wonderful looking properties in LA, San Francisco, South Beach and London.

We booked a Standard Room with a soaking tub. What is a Royalton soaking tub you ask?  See below

Royalton Soaking Tub

Isn't that just awesome?  I figured this was a great feature to have.  I mean who would not want to soak in this wonderful tub after a long day of trekking around the city in Winter?  

Another perk that sold us on this hotel other than the location was Forty-Four. Honestly we cannot wait to eat here and of course, have a cocktail or two.

So please stay tuned for our review of the Royalton, Forty-Four and all the other restaurants and sites that we will visit during our Christmas vacation NYC.  

If you can't wait for our review?  Check out this great review of the Royalton by Oyster