Summer Sunday At The Parker Meridien

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed some memorable meals at NYC’s Parker Meridien. Back in 1993, I enjoyed my second lunch with actor and friend A Martinez. In 2004, my then-boyfriend and I scarfed down a delicious meal at the upscale hotel’s legendary Burger Joint.

Yesterday, it was pampering that was on the menu.

Eager to take advantage of sublime weather (upper 70’s, low humidity), I headed to the hotel’s Gravity Fitness & Spa to buy a $100 day pass for the pool. I was delighted to learn that, with the Summer Sunday package, an additional $50 would get me a treatment and access to all of Gravity’s facilities for the afternoon. Believe it or not, $150 for the twin perks of cooling off and indulging in spa relaxation is actually a pretty good deal here in the Big Apple.

Parker Meridien’s rooftop pool: A heavenly oasis 40 stories above Midtown Manhattan

I happily headed upstairs to the Meridien’s penthouse oasis. First up, kicking back in a lounge chair on the Astroturf sundeck with sweeping skyscraper views. Then, a refreshing dip in the atrium rooftop pool – heaven.

Equally sublime was my massage with Rich, a 30-year spa veteran who knows how to work out the kinks and does a good job of explaining what he’s doing along the way. As he kneaded a tight spot in my shoulder, he quipped--

“You’ve got enough energy balled up there to fly to New Orleans. Not California, but definitely New Orleans.”

I laughed. It just so happened that, as he said it, I was thinking about the West Coast and my bid for Murphy-Goode Winery’s lifestyle correspondent gig in Sonoma.

I’ll find out tomorrow if I move beyond the Top 50 shortlist to the Top 10. Could a true blue native New Yorker like me handle life on the left coast? Stay tuned!