After arriving latish from Toronto, and perhaps marginally disappointed that while in Toronto, the ice hockey didn't go our way, we slept in.
Of course, the arrival was not without its own problems. The room we were allocated was on the 22nd floor and was quite smallish. Not a surprise, we just needed space for three, and the fold out bed. It was tight but livable.
Except...
We needed the internet to watch the Maple Leafs ice hockey game. We'd arrived in time...
But...
There was no internet. It was everywhere else in the hotel except our floor.
First I went to the front desk and they directed me to call tech support.
Second, we called tech support and they told us that the 22nd-floor router had failed and would get someone to look at it.
When?
It turns out it didn't seem to be a priority to them. Maybe no one else on the floor had complained, whatever the reason,
Thirdly, I went downstairs and discussed the lack in of progress with the night duty manager, expressing disappointment with the lack of progress. I also asked if they could not provide the full services we'd paid for, I would like a room rate reduction or a privilege in its place as compensation.
He said he would check it himself.
Fourthly, after still no progress we called the front desk, there was still no internet, so we were asked if we wanted a room on another floor, where the internet is working. We accepted the offer.
The end result, a slightly larger less cramped room, and the ability to watch the last third of the Maple Leaf's game. Can't remember if we won.
We all went to bed reasonably happy.
After all, we didn't have to get up early to go up or down to breakfast because it was not included in the room rate, a bone of contention considering the cost. I'll be booking with them directly next time, at a somewhat cheaper rate, a thing I find after using a travel wholesaler to book it for me.
As always every morning while Rosemary gets ready, I go out for a walk and check out where we are.
It seems we are practically in the heart of theaterland New York. Walk one way or the other you step on 7th Avenue or Broadway.
Walk uptown and you reach 42nd street and Times Square, little more than a 10-minute leisurely stroll. On the way down Broadway, you pass a number of theatres, some recognizable, some not.
Times Square is still a huge collection of giant television screens advertising everything from confectionary to TV shows on the cable networks.
A short walk along 42nd street takes you to the Avenue of the Americas and tucked away, The Rockefeller Center and its winter ice rink.
A further walk takes you to 5th Avenue and the shops like Saks of Fifth Avenue, shops you could one day hope to buy something.
In the opposite direction, over Broadway and crossing 8th Avenue and beyond that Columbus Circle, is an entrance to Central Park. The approach is not far from what is called the Upper West Side, home to the rich and powerful.
Walk one way which we did in the afternoon, takes you towards the gift shop and back along a labyrinth of laneways to 5th Avenue. It was a cold, but pleasant, stroll looking for the rich and famous, but, also, they were not foolish enough to venture out into the cold.
Before going back to the room, we looked for somewhere to have dinner and ended up in Cassidy's Irish pub. There was a dining room down the back n and we were one of the first to arrive for dinner service. The first surprise, our waitress was from New Zealand.
The second, the quality of the food. I had a dish called Steak Lyonnaise which was, in plain words, a form of mince steak in an elongated patty. It was cooked rare as I like my steak and was perfect. It came with a baked potato. As an entree, we had shrimp, which in our part of the world are prawns, and hot chicken wings, the sauce being hot, and served on the side, for those who are a little wary of how hot that sauce can be.
The beer wasn't bad either. Overall given atmosphere, service, and food, it's a nine out of ten.
It was an excellent way to end the day.
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