Rediscovering my Dominican roots in Washington Heights: A overview of the brand new Radio Hotel in NYC

Getting there

Booking details

When booking my stay, I debated between a standard studio and a king suite. Ultimately, I decided to go with the standard studio, which went for $211.31 a night, as opposed to $340 a night for the king suite. The only real difference seemed to be the size of the bed.

Standout features

• The exterior is quite colorful; you cannot miss it. The building is decked out in red, yellow and blue with a large Radio Hotel banner on the top.
• The lobby has an amazing Dominican art collection, with sculptures and glasswork all handmade by local Dominican American artists.
• The staff is very friendly, and for those who only speak Spanish, no need to fret. All the front desk staff members speak fluent Spanish. In fact, I barely spoke a word of English during my stay.
• The outdoor courtyard is an amazing area to hang out, get some work done, or simply get some much-needed fresh air. Surprisingly, it was very quiet there for being right on a busy street.

Drawbacks

• I saw on the website that there was a private rooftop, which I was eager to check out. However, I was disappointed to learn that the rooftop was open exclusively for private events.
• The room itself had no closet but rather underbed storage and a little rack with a couple of hangers. There was very limited space to put my bag and toiletries.
• The shower amenities were a bit hard to use. The full-size bottles, which were attached to the wall, were the type that you squeeze to pump out product. I had to fight with the bottles a little bit in order to get the contents.
• The desk in the room wasn’t the most remote-work friendly. The desk chair was more of a bar stool, so if you’re looking for a place to do some work, I suggest going downstairs to the courtyard or lobby instead.

The vibe

From the outside, you can’t miss it. Looking like a stack of multicolored Legos, the exterior was modern and utilitarian, but with a colorful twist.

Inside, I saw a wide variety of people. There were families with kids, business travelers and some couples who, based on overheard conversations, I assumed were on a staycation. The majority of the people staying there had one thing in common: Spanish was the lingua franca of choice. While everyone on the staff spoke fluent English, it was nice to use my native tongue, something that I don’t often get to do.

The room

I got lost finding my room in the long, maze-like hallway, but once I finally opened the door, a motion-sensor light turned on and I was greeted with the sight of royal blue tiles on the wall.

Across from the brightly colored tiles, the bathroom, which had an open layout with a heavy sliding door, was modest in size. The shower, which was a sizable upgrade from my ridiculously small lower Manhattan shower, took up a large part of the bathroom.

Inside the shower were squeeze tubes of full-size aloe-scented Bath & Body Works products. I did struggle a bit with these products as they weren’t the easiest to get out; however, they did the job just fine. Not to mention, the clean and refreshing smell of aloe was quite enjoyable and strong enough to feel clean but also light enough that it wasn’t overpowering.

Right in the center of the room, the bed was placed on top of a wooden, canopy-like frame, nestled by the window. The TV was located within the bed frame, which made it ideal for a late-night TV binge.

A small desk in the room was big enough for my 16-inch MacBook Pro; however, when I opened it, the space was a bit cramped. The desk chair — or stool, I should say — wasn’t the most practical for doing extended amounts of work. Over time I experienced minor neck pain and, because of this, I wasn’t able to do as much work in my room as I would’ve liked and resorted to going downstairs to the lobby.

The room didn’t have a typical closet or wardrobe to hang my items or store my clothes, but it did have a small rod, which came with a couple of hangers for some coats, and storage under the bed where I put my duffle bag. There was also a safe located under the bed.

There wasn’t much in terms of the design that enticed me to lounge around in my room. In fact, it was quite the opposite: The room’s minimalist design encouraged me to go outside and explore the neighborhood — but maybe that’s intentional considering the hotel’s dynamic locale.

Don’t get me wrong, the bed was absolutely comfortable and the TV’s placement was by far the best of the best, especially at 10:30 at night after a really heavy meal. All in all, the room was definitely cozy; however, I wouldn’t want to spend too much time in there when there’s a whole neighborhood to explore just right outside.

Food and drink

One of the standout features of the Radio Hotel is Jalao, a Dominican restaurant with a “culinary twist,” named for a standard dessert made with coconuts and honey. I’ll be trustworthy, I’m fairly skeptical after I hear the time period “culinary twist,” particularly with interpretations of meals I’ve grown up consuming.

As I made my method to the restaurant, which is conveniently positioned proper throughout from the foyer, sounds of bachata music and laughter obtained louder and louder. At the hostess stand, I used to be greeted in Spanish and escorted with my buddy to our desk.

The restaurant is designed to resemble the fashionable eating places of cosmopolitan Santo Domingo, that means Spanish-influenced arches within the doorway, plenty of brightly coloured art work and, most significantly, the colourful sounds of bachata blasting at full quantity.

We began with the tart however refreshing Mercado Margarita ($18), made utilizing silver tequila and keenness fruit juice and topped with a rosemary-hibiscus foam.

Another drink that struck me was a tackle a very fashionable Dominican beverage referred to as a Morir Sonando ($15), which interprets to “die dreaming.” A standard Morir Sonando is made with orange juice, Dominican vanilla extract and evaporated milk. The distinction between Jalao’s take and the unique is that Jalao’s model is adult-friendly, with a pleasant splash of Tito’s vodka, which added a pleasant kick to the normal childhood drink. However, you’ll be able to and completely ought to strive it with out alcohol when you’re on the lookout for one thing to fulfill a candy tooth craving.

As an appetizer, I selected the Bombones de Yuca ($13), or little yuca-based croquettes crammed with cheddar cheese and topped off with a chipotle-pineapple criolla sauce. These little croquettes pack an actual candy and savory punch with a minor hit of spice.

For my predominant course, I ordered a standard Dominican stew dish referred to as Sancocho ($26), normally made utilizing completely different cuts of meat, carrots and corn in a wealthy cilantro-based broth and served with a facet of white rice and freshly ripened avocado. Dipping my rice into the broth, I may nearly think about my grandmother’s betrayal if I advised her how shut this was to the actual deal.

The richness and daring flavors of the meat together with the bottom of the white rice and avocado made the within of my mouth dance alongside to the fast-paced merengue beat surrounding me.

When it got here time to dessert, I made a decision that as my ultimate check of figuring out whether or not Jalao’s “culinary twist” was as much as my private requirements, I’d strive the 5 Leches Dominicana ($13), Jalao’s tackle the normal tres leches, my favourite dessert of all time. I attempted to order a cafecito on the facet to accompany my dessert, very like my grandfather would all the time do, however sadly, my server advised me that the espresso machine wasn’t working, so I settled on a Coca-Cola ($3). The dessert itself was wealthy and creamy, with the style of Dominican vanilla extract together with hints of what I assumed to be rum.

Overall, I used to be past thrilled with Jalao. The ambiance, which jogged my memory of being at a energetic restaurant within the Dominican Republic, invoked candy nostalgic reminiscences — to not point out the meals itself. I’ve to say, I’m glad I used to be fallacious in being skeptical in regards to the so-called culinary twist, and I’ll admit it: I truly actually appreciated the enjoyable interpretations of conventional meals and drinks.

Amenities and repair

While there was no spa or swimming pool, the resort did provide a small however decently geared up gymnasium.

The nicest components of my keep have been the interactions I had with the very pleasant workers, from the entrance desk employees to the hostess at Jalao and the housekeepers. In reality, when chatting with one of many housekeepers we came upon we had a mutual distant cousin from again within the Dominican Republic. It actually goes to point out that the group up within the Heights can generally be actually, actually small.

Out and about

Radio Hotel’s design and theme actually encourage friends to exit and expertise the neighborhood and close by areas.

Just a couple of stops north on the A practice, you’ll end up within the neighborhood of Inwood, which is on the very tiptop of Manhattan. There, you’ll discover loads of energetic eating places, bars, nightclubs and lounges. Not to say, for any sports activities followers, you’re only some stops away from Yankee Stadium, so when you’re trying to catch a recreation, you’ll be proper close to the motion.

With the resort’s location, you actually do get the very best of each worlds. Not solely are you proper in the course of the hustle and bustle of New York, however you’re additionally in shut proximity to a number of the pure points of interest town has to supply. Fort Tryon Park is just two stops away on the uptown A or No. 1 practice, the place you’ll be able to hike alongside the southern Hudson Valley and get not just some breathtaking views but in addition a pleasant break from town noise.

If you’re on the lookout for some arts and tradition, Washington Heights is residence to the United Palace theater, host of the 2023 Tony Awards. And only one cease away, the Met Cloisters is residence to an expansive assortment of art work from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You’ll discover relics, uncommon artifacts and breathtaking artwork all positioned inside an 18th-century Romanesque-style monastery.

Accessibility

While Radio Hotel presents Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant rooms upon request, I discovered that some points of the resort might be tough to navigate. In order to get to my room, I needed to navigate a dimly lit, labyrinth-like hallway with restricted, tiny indicators pointing towards room numbers. Inside the room, house was minimal however hopefully a lot bigger in accessible rooms.

Inside the bathe, I had a little bit of issue getting a number of the lavatory merchandise out of full-size squeeze tubes. It would’ve been higher if the bottles had a pump, as soapy palms and enormous squeeze bottles aren’t essentially the very best mixture.

Checking out

Looking again at my keep, I’ve to say that total it was an actual deal with. Going into this I had excessive hopes when it got here to the Radio Hotel — and, for essentially the most half, it exceeded my expectations.

Although there have been some minor hiccups alongside the best way, I felt that for a brand-new resort, particularly one which’s not related to any massive chain, Radio has one thing enjoyable and distinctive to supply. You is probably not within the middle of the motion as you’d be at different lodges, however you do get the chance to actually immerse your self inside the tradition of the encircling space and be part of the group that I name my residence away from residence.