‘Shawty got low low low low, low low low low’…

Happy New Year, everybody! Back to the grind…am I right?  We spent half the holiday traveling back east (North Carolina, Philadelphia and New York City) and half of it at home, which made for the perfect balance of hustle, bustle, Netflix and chilling. I am excited to to have my first post of the year be an introduction to the new luxury boutique hotel that became our NYC home this trip…The Ludlow. Let’s dive in, shall we?

As with so much of the new and cool, it’s located on the lower east side, with a 1980s art scene vibe that somehow balances punk with sophistication. I like it. I like it a lot.

The Ludlow is a Smith Hotel, which is pretty much the only seal of approval I need. I have used Mr. and Mrs. Smith for years as hotel research, and if you aren’t familiar…a couple in England started the company after having a really bad boutique hotel experience, so they created a curated collection of luxury boutique hotels that all have their high standards of design, comfort and service. Until this trip, I had only used Smith for research, but I recently acquired a Goldsmith Membership and highly recommend it. I booked the hotel through their knowledgeable concierge, was given a room upgrade upon arrival and a bottle of wine. Essentially, you feel like the VIP you are.

Our room had a great skyline view, beautiful linens and a luxury bathroom with a shower & tub (also with a view—my favorite thing). My one and only gripe was that when they upgraded our room, they downgraded our bed from a king to a queen, but they quickly offered to make the correction (we kept the queen room).

There is something so thrilling & naughty about a giant tub with a view of the city ;). The thing by which all hotel rooms should be judged. 10 outta 10…dontcha think?

I’m obsessed with their bath goodies by Red Flower, a New York based company, all with the intoxicating scent of Moroccan rose. Buy all Red Flower products here>.

Dirty French is the hotel restaurant and, well…we totally behaved.

A continental breakfast was included each morning.

But, let’s get serious.

Do you have something a little, ahem, dirtier?

It was Christmas Eve, and we had just ended our family festivities at a lovely candle light service at the First Baptist Church in Brooklyn. There were still a few hours before Santa would make his way down our chimney, so Dave’s brother and sister joined us in the Ludlow lobby bar for a little champagne & oysters. It had been since August since we had seen them and taken a photo much like the above to commemorate that one night in Paris.

80s music rocked our world while we clinked glasses to “being young and being alive!” And…to the same selfie, different city.

Best Hotels New York Dirty French Hot Restaurants New York City Hotel Bars New York City Lower East Side New York City Ludlow Hotel luxury boutique hotels Mr. and Mrs. Smith New Hotels New York Red Flower Bath Products Smith Hotels