As soon as I decided to attend the reception, I contacted one of the event planners and asked him if he could recommend a hotel within walking distance of the event. Gordon had chosen, as I expected him to, a restaurant for our private group dinner very close to the event. I didn’t want to leave my punctuality for both these important occasions up to the whims and chances of Manhattan traffic! I love to walk, so ten city blocks poses no problem for me.

Steven recommended two, but the one that stood out for me was the Wyndham Garden Chelsea on West 27th between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The Mondrian-like front of it won me over immediately. A room was neither too expensive ($800 a night and up for some showplace like the Sheraton is standard) nor suspiciously cheap. Since I was only staying two nights, I was sold.

Location is key in other ways if you’re going to New York for pleasure. With its central location, the Wyndham Garden is ideal for easy jaunts uptown or downtown or in the Chelsea neighborhood itself. This particular block of West 27th itself is rather charmless. The idea is to go out! Also there’s a gym around the corner. As I was waiting for the Supershuttle on Tuesday morning, I saw several people go there for their morning workouts.

My modest-sized room was extremely comfortable with an oak cabinet for hanging up clothes, a little work desk with free Wi Fi and computer plugs, a computerized temperature control so the issue of the room being too cold or too hot, which I’ve had at some of the big hotels, wasn’t a problem, a cute little coffeemaker with Wolfgang Puck coffee, which isn’t very strong but I liked it, and a wall-mounted TV of course. The clean, comfortable bathroom had shampoo, conditioner, soap, and body lotion, and a magnifying, lighted mirror. My window looked out at the building next door, its fire escape, brick façade, and what apparently were architectural offices. This isn’t a view hotel but the bed and pillows were some of the most comfortable I’ve ever slept on ever.

A restaurant, Tre Stelle, is located right next door and handles all room service, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dinner service is available until 11:00 p.m. My salmon dinner was superb, together with the Pinot Grigio.

Checking in and out was a breeze. When my Supershuttle was late, the concierge got on the phone with them and kept me informed. Another concierge helped me log onto my email so I could pick up and print out my required United Boarding Pass and check in online. This is an important amenity to check out at any hotel so you don’t waste time at the airport.

So there you have it, my friends. I gave Wyndham Garden five stars on TripAdvisor.com. A completely enjoyable experience. Considering I was about to go out and take care of serious career business, I didn’t want to have to worry about my hotel!

Next: My dinner with the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction folks and the SFWA Reception.

From the author of Summer Of Love, A Time Travel (a Philip K. Dick Award Finalist and San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book) on BarnesandNoble, US Kindle, Canada Kindle, UK Kindle, Smashwords, Apple, and Kobo.
Summer of Love, A Time Travel is also on Amazon.com in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, India, Mexico, and Australia..

The Gilded Age, A Time Travel on BarnesandNoble, US Kindle, Canada Kindle, UK Kindle, Apple, Kobo, and Smashwords.
The Gilded Age, A Time Travel is also on Amazon.com in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and India.

The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series, “Fun and enjoyable urban fantasy,” on BarnesandNoble, US Kindle, Canada Kindle, UK Kindle, Apple, Kobo, and Smashwords.
The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series, is also on Amazon.com in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and India.

Celestial Girl, The Omnibus Edition (A Lily Modjeska Mystery) includes all four books. On Nook, US Kindle, Canada Kindle, UK Kindle, Smashwords, Apple, and Kobo;
Celestial Girl, The Omnibus Edition (A Lily Modjeska Mystery) is also on Amazon.com in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and India.

Strange Ladies: 7 Stories, five-star rated, “A fantastic collection,” on Nook, US Kindle, Canada Kindle, UK Kindle, Smashwords, Apple, Kobo, and Sony.
Strange Ladies: 7 Stories is also on Amazon.com in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and India.

My Charlotte: Patty’s Story on Barnes and Noble, US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle, Australia Kindle, Smashwords, Apple, and Kobo;
My Charlotte: Patty’s Story is also on Amazon.com worldwide in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico.

Visit me at Lisa Mason’s Official Website for books, ebooks, stories, and screenplays, reviews, interviews, and blogs, adorable pet pictures, forthcoming projects, fine art and bespoke jewelry by my husband Tom Robinson, worldwide links, and more!

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