When in New York, Do As New Yorkers: Go to Summer Stage

By R Life, posted Jul 14th 2010 at 10:42AM

People use a lot of words to describe New York City. “Expensive” is one of those words. And sure, this adjective fits the bill. Usually. But one thing travelers often overlook is the abundance of free stuff in New York.

During the summers, concerts at Central Park’s Summer Stage are the fee-free place to be. Make sure you go—especially if you’re staying at Renaissance New York Hotel 57 or Renaissance New York Times Square. Both hotels are within walking distance from the park. Check out the Central Park Summer Stage concert calendar to finalize your plans.

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Looking for a Spa in NYC? Try These.

By R Life, posted Jul 1st 2010 at 11:28AM

When you visit New York City, you will, we promise you, do a lot of walking. Vacationers often find themselves exhausted in the city—feeling the burn of leg muscles they didn’t know they had.  Other travelers just want to get dolled up or pampered in the city that seriously never sleeps. And so, as you can imagine, spas are all over New York. But finding a spa in the city isn’t the hard part—it’s finding a spa that will give you exactly what you’re looking for while here. Whether you’re staying at Renaissance New York Hotel 57 or Renaissance Times Square, these three spas are just a hop, skip, and a traffic-dodging jump away.

Check them out after the jump…

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Friend of Renaissance, Mr. Hudson, Gains Fame with Jay-Z

By R Life, posted May 10th 2010 at 11:33AM

Jay-Z, despite rumored retirement, just came out with a new single and a video to accompany it. “Young Forever” is a twist on the classic “Forever Young”, and the song features breakout artist, Mr. Hudson. But Mr. Hudson isn’t news to us. In fact, Mr. Hudson performed the song, albeit the self-proclaimed best rapper alive, atop Renaissance 57 in New York back in September. And now the star will be appearing with Jay-Z at a series of concerts in England next month.

The pair even performed the hit on SNL this past weekend.  What can we say? Renaissance is just cool like that. Renaissance concert today, best friends with Jay-Z tomorrow.

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Cinco de Mayo’s Origin and Celebratory Drinks

By R Life, posted May 5th 2010 at 1:22PM

Who doesn’t like some strong margaritas and Mexican food? People who don’t celebrate Cinco de Mayo, that’s who. So let’s take a moment and forget about those people because they bring us no joy on this day filled with tasty celebrations. Cinco de Mayo has always been one of favorite holidays, but do you know the holiday’s background? A lot of people don’t. It goes something like this:

The Mexican army wasn’t expected to win the war against the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. But they won anyway! They were the underdogs turned champions and who doesn’t like a good ol’ triumphant war story? Cinco de Mayo is commonly confused with Mexico’s Independence Day, which is September 16. Cinco de Mayo has become a holiday that celebrates all of Mexico’s heritage and pride and often times that celebration manifests itself with tasty drinks.

Which you can get at many Renaissance Hotel bars.

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Just Spotted: Real Housewives of NYC film Renaissance 57

By R Life, posted Apr 30th 2010 at 6:20PM

You know you’ve made it when you’re on T.V., right? Well, we’re just going to go ahead and believe that and brag a little about the most recent Renaissance T.V. appearance. “Real Housewives of NYC” filmed our Renaissance 57 location in Season 3, Episode 7 and we’re pretty excited. I mean, it’s kind of like we’re the celebrities in this edition of Just Spotted. Sure, sure, we’re excited that they came into the hotel and all…but we were on T.V.! We’re going to be famous.

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