It Sure Gets Sunny On The Peninsula's Sun Terrace

September 14, 2011 at 9:25 AM | by ASchechter | Comments (2)

Last week, we were invited to check out the newly-refurbished Sun Terrace on the twenty-first floor of the Peninsula New York. Well, this was a no-brainer. A private patio perched over Fifth Avenue that has been designed for the sole purpose of sunbathing? Why, yes, we'd love to.

The deck wraps around three sides of the Peninsula building, and at around 1pm (when we were there), the direct sun can be a little intense. We'd recommend visiting later in the day�but definitely go before it gets dark, as the views here are simply not to be missed. Technically, you have to be either a guest of the hotel or the spa to enjoy the terrace, but for the sheer experience of it, we'd happily sign up for the $285 "Summer Splendour" massage-facial-lunch combo. As long as it's not overcast, that's money well spent.

Enter through the spa, ascend the wooden spiral staircase, and emerge on the north side of the terrace. While we loved the long row of lounge chairs that stretches glamorously along the east side, they are all mostly obscured from the sun by an overhanging ledge. For optimal tanning, your best bet is the seating area at the south end of the deck. Alternatively, for tea-drinking and magazine-browsing (as many are wont to do after a lengthy sesh at the spa), there are several coffee table-and-chair configurations to choose from.

Seriously, though, if you walk up and down the terrace a few times, the right spot will call out to you.

Folks at the Peninsula recently renovated the entire terrace�most importantly, adding a slew of new patio furniture (sun loungers, coffee tables and black wicker armchairs) that make for even more ideal city-gazing. For the fitness-oriented, the hotel has even started offering 7am sunrise yoga classes three times a week. So after you work up that sweat you can really feel like you deserve that three-hour-long lounging session.

If you read the fine print for the Summer Splendour package, you'll see that $285 gets you 60 minutes of a holistic massage, intensive facial or a sunless tanning treatment; plus a 15-minute "deeper relaxation" treatment; plus lunch on the terrace; plus use of the pool and fitness center; plus a $30 spa gift certificate. Not bad!

[Photo: HotelChatter]

Comments (2)

Return to » It Sure Gets Sunny On The Peninsula's Sun Terrace

That sounds lovely but if we get too hot is there a pool? I seem to remember one indoors?

Yes, the pool that we featured in our story from July ("Last Chance To Strip Down At These 7 NYC Rooftop Pools") is actually inside the Peninsula's spa, not on the roof. All the treatment rooms/pool area/tea lounge are located off of the main spa entrance on the 21st floor, and most of the treatments (basically anything longer than an hour) include access to both the pool and the sun terrace.

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