Someone Who’s Seen It All
Soar over the city’s sights on a memorable tour through the skies. Liberty Helicopter Tours can charter private rides for as many as seven passengers and will fly wherever you like—over the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, along the East River, or over Central Park. A trip lasts 30 minutes and costs $1,300.
Passionate Foodies
Enroll gourmands in sushi school at Geisha. In the restaurant’s 13-seat Cherry Blossom Room, participants learn about different types of fish, the complexities of sake, and how to make sushi. And no one leaves empty-handed—the $95-per-person session includes a gift bag with a sushi kit. Or take them to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York, where they can go out in the fields and pick parts of their dinner, and enjoy a wine tasting and discussion with a chef.
History Buffs
Go behind the scenes in a tour of New York’s historic Broadway theaters coordinated by the League of American Theatres and Producers. Go inside theaters, like the Virginia Theater, and the St. James Theater, and learn about their lore, and the history of the theater district. Two-hour tours for groups of as many as 30 cost $25 per person. Inquire about a specialized tour that may include a special speaker associated with a particular production. If you want to learn more about the city’s architecture and neighborhoods, the stalwart Municipal Art Society can organize a variety of private treks all over town.
Culture Vultures
Take a day trip to the Storm King Art Center, a vast sculpture garden located amid 500 acres of lawns and woods in the Hudson River Valley that contains works by Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson, and then head to the Culinary Institute of America for a meal in one of their restaurants. Closer to home, New York Gallery Tours can arrange private tours of Chelsea and other art districts. Excursions generally take two hours, and prices begin at $200.
A Stressed-Out Client
Test the waters in the city’s only Watsu massage pool at the new Cornelia Day Resort. Here’s how it works: in the shallow pool, a therapist cradles you in warm water (the temperature matches that of the human body) and performs shiatsu-like movements while the warm water also relaxes you. A one-hour session costs $200. For a healthy dinner later, check out the gourmet raw food—it’s better than it sounds—from chefs Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melgailis at Pure Food & Wine.
Out of Towners
Paris has Père-Lachaise and New York has Green-Wood Cemetery, so skip the Statue of Liberty and show visitors a different side of the city with a private tour of the 478 park-like acres that feature rolling hills, monumental architecture, Victorian lagoons, and the final resting places of some of the city’s most colorful figures, like notorious politico “Boss” Tweed, stained-glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, and composer Leonard Bernstein. For a different kind of soul, a private performance from the Harlem Gospel Choir is an unusual way to welcome guests to town.
Golfers
It’s not too early to start thinking about booking trips to the Emerald Isle for next year’s Ryder Cup. In September 2006 the tournament heads to the K Club in Kildare, Ireland. World Golf Hospitality has an exclusive arrangement with the site of the tournament, and can arrange for accommodations at nearby five-star resorts, the 13th century Barberstown Castle, as well as access to the celebrated European Golf Club. Back in the states, the Trump National Golf Club opened last fall on 525 acres in Bedminster, New Jersey, and features a course designed by Tom Fazio. Becoming a member costs $200,000, and hosting an event there requires sponsorship by a member; the club has no corporate membership program.
Moms and Dads
There are plenty of tech toys for kids and adults at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, which has four floors of interactive exhibits and a 73-seat theater that can be used for screenings. Or, teach kids skills they’ll use the rest of their lives—and give their parents memorable family time—by setting up a private cooking class for 8 to 12 people at the Culinary Center of New York. Costs begin around $120 per person.
A Manly Man
For the thrill of the hunt, head to the woodlands at Griffin & Howe’s shooting school at Hudson Farm. From March through December you can take part in clay target shoots, and duck or pheasant shoots from September through March. And when you’re not out enjoying the sporting life, settle into the comforts of the estate’s 1904 mansion or the property’s guest cottage. The school offers private instruction and programs for novices.
A Sales Team
Get their adrenaline pumping with an exhilarating outdoors experience. Wasatch Adventure Consultants organizes an Alpine Discovery program that can be done in any season and involves a combination of mountain navigation, hiking, and problem-solving. The company takes advantage of the surrounding natural beauty of its Park City, Utah, home, and also travels to other sites throughout the country. Or, for a less outdoorsy take, celebrate a big deal with drinks at the new restaurant and lounge Sugarcane. You can nibble on Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian food, and a private room holds 18.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 05.31.05
Photos: Joann Dost (Trump National Golf Club), Jerry L. Thompson (Alexander Calder's "The Arch" Estate of Alexander Calder/Artists Rights Society)
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Soar over the city’s sights on a memorable tour through the skies. Liberty Helicopter Tours can charter private rides for as many as seven passengers and will fly wherever you like—over the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, along the East River, or over Central Park. A trip lasts 30 minutes and costs $1,300.
Passionate Foodies
Enroll gourmands in sushi school at Geisha. In the restaurant’s 13-seat Cherry Blossom Room, participants learn about different types of fish, the complexities of sake, and how to make sushi. And no one leaves empty-handed—the $95-per-person session includes a gift bag with a sushi kit. Or take them to the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York, where they can go out in the fields and pick parts of their dinner, and enjoy a wine tasting and discussion with a chef.
History Buffs
Go behind the scenes in a tour of New York’s historic Broadway theaters coordinated by the League of American Theatres and Producers. Go inside theaters, like the Virginia Theater, and the St. James Theater, and learn about their lore, and the history of the theater district. Two-hour tours for groups of as many as 30 cost $25 per person. Inquire about a specialized tour that may include a special speaker associated with a particular production. If you want to learn more about the city’s architecture and neighborhoods, the stalwart Municipal Art Society can organize a variety of private treks all over town.
Culture Vultures
Take a day trip to the Storm King Art Center, a vast sculpture garden located amid 500 acres of lawns and woods in the Hudson River Valley that contains works by Alexander Calder and Louise Nevelson, and then head to the Culinary Institute of America for a meal in one of their restaurants. Closer to home, New York Gallery Tours can arrange private tours of Chelsea and other art districts. Excursions generally take two hours, and prices begin at $200.
A Stressed-Out Client
Test the waters in the city’s only Watsu massage pool at the new Cornelia Day Resort. Here’s how it works: in the shallow pool, a therapist cradles you in warm water (the temperature matches that of the human body) and performs shiatsu-like movements while the warm water also relaxes you. A one-hour session costs $200. For a healthy dinner later, check out the gourmet raw food—it’s better than it sounds—from chefs Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melgailis at Pure Food & Wine.
Out of Towners
Paris has Père-Lachaise and New York has Green-Wood Cemetery, so skip the Statue of Liberty and show visitors a different side of the city with a private tour of the 478 park-like acres that feature rolling hills, monumental architecture, Victorian lagoons, and the final resting places of some of the city’s most colorful figures, like notorious politico “Boss” Tweed, stained-glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, and composer Leonard Bernstein. For a different kind of soul, a private performance from the Harlem Gospel Choir is an unusual way to welcome guests to town.
Golfers
It’s not too early to start thinking about booking trips to the Emerald Isle for next year’s Ryder Cup. In September 2006 the tournament heads to the K Club in Kildare, Ireland. World Golf Hospitality has an exclusive arrangement with the site of the tournament, and can arrange for accommodations at nearby five-star resorts, the 13th century Barberstown Castle, as well as access to the celebrated European Golf Club. Back in the states, the Trump National Golf Club opened last fall on 525 acres in Bedminster, New Jersey, and features a course designed by Tom Fazio. Becoming a member costs $200,000, and hosting an event there requires sponsorship by a member; the club has no corporate membership program.
Moms and Dads
There are plenty of tech toys for kids and adults at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, which has four floors of interactive exhibits and a 73-seat theater that can be used for screenings. Or, teach kids skills they’ll use the rest of their lives—and give their parents memorable family time—by setting up a private cooking class for 8 to 12 people at the Culinary Center of New York. Costs begin around $120 per person.
A Manly Man
For the thrill of the hunt, head to the woodlands at Griffin & Howe’s shooting school at Hudson Farm. From March through December you can take part in clay target shoots, and duck or pheasant shoots from September through March. And when you’re not out enjoying the sporting life, settle into the comforts of the estate’s 1904 mansion or the property’s guest cottage. The school offers private instruction and programs for novices.
A Sales Team
Get their adrenaline pumping with an exhilarating outdoors experience. Wasatch Adventure Consultants organizes an Alpine Discovery program that can be done in any season and involves a combination of mountain navigation, hiking, and problem-solving. The company takes advantage of the surrounding natural beauty of its Park City, Utah, home, and also travels to other sites throughout the country. Or, for a less outdoorsy take, celebrate a big deal with drinks at the new restaurant and lounge Sugarcane. You can nibble on Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian food, and a private room holds 18.
—Mark Mavrigian
Posted 05.31.05
Photos: Joann Dost (Trump National Golf Club), Jerry L. Thompson (Alexander Calder's "The Arch" Estate of Alexander Calder/Artists Rights Society)
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Liberty Helicopter Tours
Storm King Art Center
Green-Wood Cemetery
Trump National Golf Club
