The Art of Hospitality. Join the conversation.
Yesterday was Pedro’s last day after being the face of the Gardens NYC for 30 years! He is embarking on a new exciting journey to Houston, Texas with his family. We celebrated with the best food New York has to offer, pizza! Thank you Pedro for all of the years you dedicated to making sure our guest were happy!
Last week we bid adieu to one of our Room Attendants at the Gardens NYC. Gina Consiglieri dedicated 19 years to our wonderful hotel. We wished her all the best and a very happy and relaxing retirement!
Congratulations to all the winners at the Gardens!
Revenue Game Changer – Anne Marie Lachmeyer
Behind the scenes game changer – Nadia Rodriguez
Customer Hero – Kris Krol
Team Player – Elvira Kim
Train the Trainer – Elvira Kim
MVP – Nigel Bradshaw
“Love is the silent saying and saying of a single name.” ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960.
Every year Boutique Design Magazine in conjunction with BDNY (Boutique Design New York) holds The Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design. It is the industry’s oldest and most prestigious awards program, and this past November Gardens Suites Hotel was a finalist in The Best Room Midscale Category. As always it is so nice to be nominated and be a finalist in the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony.
Next Up The Shelburne….
The Gardens team enjoyed a delicious Italian lunch to celebrate Christmas and all upcoming holidays! We also raffled off many great prizes including gift cards, hotel stays, a TV and many more. Everyone was happy and appreciated having one last family meal before the new year!
Potlucks are literally the best. No one has to do too much, no one has to do it all. The Gardens enjoyed their Thanksgiving Potluck this Tuesday, with an assortment of so many delicious foods.
We celebrated our 3rd Quarter Values Champion at the Gardens with a delcious sandwich spread and desserts. The winner this quarter was Charles Boakye Yiadom! Charles is pleasant to work with and always has a big smile on his face, whether it is during interactions with guest or simply sitting in the cafeteria amongst coworkers. He is a great team player and truly deserved the honor of Values Champion!
The Gardens hotel enjoyed a great Housekeeping Week! They started the week with their favorite Donuts and Coffee, the following day that had a delicious spread of Mediterranean Cuisine. On Wednesday they all enjoyed a do it yourself Sundae bar. Sparkling water Thursday was a nice way to cool down the humidity of the week. We ended all festivities with a hearty breakfast of champs for our Team! They all received a Thank you bag and a water bottle as well! Thanks for the support Gardens housekeeping team!
The Gardens was featured on a CNN segment: Better food & more options where culinary professionals share different ways some hotels are improving the quality of foods for their guests. The segment was filmed with Gardens partner Meisterdish, which offers an easy way to prepare a gourmet meal in 10 minutes with Fresh ingredients while on the road. The CNN segment is played in a loop at Major NYC airports.
Check out the link below!
https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2018/06/08/better-food-more-options.cnn
The Gardens team celebrated the completion of the renovation project with a fiesta! Big thank you to the entire team for keeping spirits high and taking wonderful care of our guests throughout it all.
We celebrated our 1st Quarter Values Champion along with our April birthdays in one of the spacious penthouse suites the Gardens has to offer. Congratulations to Sal Khalil for winning the honor! Without associates like you going above and beyond for our guests as well as greeting and assisting guests as soon as they walk through our door the Gardens wouldn’t be the warm and friendly place many have come to enjoy! Also, a happy birthday to everyone that celebrates in April!
It’s official! Gardens’ new suites finally made their debut this month. And with that, we hosted an Open House for our corporate, Hospital, Fit, and Consortia clients to get a feel for the new design. At the event we had food catered by Grace’s Market, Wine, Beer, and Prosecco to sip, florals in each of the four show rooms from our new hotel partner Ode a la ROSE, a live cooking demo by another partner, MiesterDish, and fun giveaways like one night stays, gift certificates for each of our partners including a Fishs Eddy dish set, and more!
The new suites, especially the 180-degree powered recliners, were well received. We’re pleased to announce that there was positive feedback, excitement and a nice time had by all.
Thank you to all those who could make this event possible on property and at corporate!
Gardens NYC was feeling lucky during the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. We decorated the our lobby with four leaf clovers, leprechaun hats and caldrons filled with chocolate gold coins to get our guests excited and feeling just as lucky as we are.
To make this an extra fun event, we changed up our social sips where guests could enjoyed beer bread, St. Patty’s Day themed cupcakes, Guinness and a special contest to liven up our guests and lobby space. With that, we’re excited to announce the winners of our #StPatricksDay Week giveaway at Gardens NYC. One lucky family found the leprechaun’s hidden treasure and won a $50 AmEx card to spend during their stay in NYC. It’s the little things that surprise and wow our guests. 🙂
And, with the help of James La Russo posting on @AffiniaHotels Instagram story, our social sips saw a little more action than we would typically see! Thanks, James! Let’s keep them coming! Wine Wednesday, anyone?
Gardens NYC’s first photo shoot of the newly redesigned suites was a success this week. Thank you to all involved for their efforts! We cannot wait to see and share the final shots, here is a sneak peak…
The Contact Center enjoyed customized personal pizzas and time off of the phones as a thank you from Gardens NYC for booking over $400K in revenue for the month of November! What better representation of NYC than pizza from a fire truck, happy they enjoyed!
Thank you to all at the Corporate Office for attending the #GardensGetsRefreshed wine hour on Thursday, February 15th. The time was spent chatting about the project and for the team to share in the excitement of the new product coming on line so very soon!
Chocolates and donuts were enjoyed by the Gardens team for Valentine’s Day!
We hosted an open house in our model rooms for the staff to kick off the renovation! We enjoyed sweet treats and sweet drinks along with testing out the new furniture first hand!
The teams at Gardens NYC and Shelburne NYC teamed up to host a fun holiday party! There was lots of delicious food and many prizes to go around! Pictured are some of the winners of the raffle. A special thank you to those that came to celebrate and General Managers Julie Torres (Gardens) and Jenn Baldwin (Shelburne) for making it all come together!
Full Time Concierge
Joseph Colon – Gardens NYC
Gina Bianco – The Benjamin
Full Time Door Person
Michael Sicinski – Gardens NYC
Rome Jefferson – Fifty NYC
Greg Rieke – Surrey Hotel
Miguel Ureta – The James New York – NoMad
Jimmy Healy – The James New York – Soho
Angelo Roa – The Benjamin
Full Time Hourly with Guest Contact
Frank Boateng – Gardens NYC
Kristy Rosado – Fifty NYC
Michelle Manon – Shelburne NYC
Yuko Urakami – Surry Hotel
Philip Huie– The James New York – NoMad
Brian Morr – The James New York – Soho
Stephanie Arscott – The Benjamin
Full Time Hourly without Guest Contact
Henry Cabrera – Gardens NYC
Vladimir Shteynberg – Fifty NYC
Yevsey Katsnelson – Shelburne NYC
Festus Walker– The James New York – NoMad
Brian Stanton – The James New York – Soho
Abu Shardow – The Benjamin
Full Time Room Attendant
Teresa Kardaszewska – Gardens NYC
Khamawattie Prashad – Fifty NYC
Visa Nitu – Shelburne NYC
Rosa Corona – Surrey Hotel
Mireille Joseph– The James New York – NoMad
Celia Garcia – The James New York – Soho
Martha Felipe – The Benjamin
Managerial below GM
Elvira Kim – Gardens NYC
Angela Castro – Fifty NYC
Didier Ambroise – Shelburne NYC
Emmanuel Asa-Ntow – The James New York – NoMad
Elmo Wells – – The James New York – Soho
Slavka Kmec – The Benjamin
Gardens NYC sent a thank you to the contact center for booking $340K in July, looks like they had a blast!
The Gardens NYC Management team took a moment out of the afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather on one of our outdoor spaces for some craft therapy. Thanks to the team for a great summer and showing our creativity!
On behalf of Julie Torres
The team celebrated Ice water day with flavored water to keep cool and hydrated in this summer heat!
Gardens NYC celebrated Mardi Gras and February Birthdays with traditional Kings Cake and what are the odds that Anna J got the good luck baby again this year, along with Henry!
Happy Mardi Gras!!!
On Monday, Julie, Nadia and Carla served up a delicious catered Thanksgiving Lunch for our amazing Gardens NYC Team! We are thankful everyday for you and everything you do 🙂
Congratulations to the Denihan 2016 Big Apple Stars Nominees!
Full-Time Door Concierge
Gina Bianco – The Benjamin
Purnima Tiwari – Shelburne NYC
Full-Time Door Person
Canton Hago – The Benjamin
Manuel Pitre – Carlton Hotel
Carlos Santos – Dumont NYC
Samuel Asfaw – Fifty NYC
Salman Khalil – Gardens NYC
Marceau Duplan – Manhattan NYC
Dennis Harrow – Shelburne NYC
Full-Time Hourly w/ Guest Contact
Pronab Dutta – The Benjamin
Hector Rivera – The Carlton Hotel
Kevin Mejia – Dumont NYC
Terrance Carpenter – Fifty NYC
Christopher Freeman – Gardens NYC
Julio Quijada – The James NY **Finalist**
Kodjo Dom Tete Adayi – Manhattan NYC
Richard Jimenez – Shelburne NYC
Full-Time Room Attendant
Paola Sandy – The Benjamin
Genive Bristol – The Carlton Hotel
Marie Pierre – Dumont NYC
Angela Capellan – Fifty NYC
Anna Walendziuk – Gardens NYC
Maria Torres – The James NY
Danuta Partyka – Manhattan NYC
Bibi Rasheed – Shelburne NYC
Full-Time Hourly w/o Guest Contact
Braulio De Jesus – The Benjamin
Ebenzer Owusu – The Carlton Hotel
Thumptan Sherab – Dumont NYC
Igor Vasko – Fifty NYC
Anokye Wilson – Gardens NYC
Edwin Santis – The James NY
Adam Petricki – Manhattan NYC
Avudulla Shehu – Shelburne NYC
Manager Below General Manager
Andria Vlahos – The Benjamin
Mariorara Sfera – The Carlton Hotel
Amy Betances – Dumont NYC **Finalist**
Ruth Pino – Fifty NYC
Hazel Minaya – The James NY
Trang Phan – Manhattan NYC
On Monday October 31st, Gardens NYC hosted a Fall Festival Celebration. Julie with a license to grill, cooked up delicious steak, peppers and onions and hot dogs for our feast. During the celebration, we announced our winner of the Pumpkin Carving Contest, Value Champion, and Big Apple Star Nominees. On Friday October 28th, the departments displayed their pumpkins for our guests to vote on their favorite. The winner was Housekeeping.
Gardens NYC 2016 Big Apple Star Nominees are: Christopher Freeman, Salman Khalol, Anaoke Wilson, Anna Walendziuk.
Value Champion: Teresa Kardaszewska
Today we communicated the following information to our team: Property Updates including revenue, service, events, projects and our 2016 AOS Scores.
In honor of World Smile Day, each associate received a smiley bracelet.
“Little acts of kindness can bring a shining smile to someone who has otherwise had a terrible day, and it can change everything that follows. Whether it’s just a simple compliment, a cheery hello, or a gift of something small to help brighten their day, World Smile Day encourages you to take action to bring a few more smiles into the world.”
Quick impromptu thank you to the team and to celebrate the start of Autumn at the Gardens! We enjoyed some sweet mini apple pie pops, HAPPY AUTUMN!
Wrapping up Housekeeping Week, Gardens NYC enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Domo Tacos while continuing some friendly competition in our Towel Stacking Contest! Congrats Emma!!
What’s the perfect end to a week filled with fun, laughs and camaraderie? A TIKI PARTY of course 🙂 Our team had a blast taking in the beautiful afternoon in our Penthouse, where there was no shortage of love and gratitude. Thank you Chris Horn and Phil Dailey for hanging out with us! And a special thanks to our AMAZING Housekeeping Team, Gardens NYC love you!
Gardens NYC had a little friendly competition, showing off their skills at shooting hoops and bed making… And the winner is….. Stay tuned…
Nothing like a home cooked breakfast made with A LOT of LOVE to start the day! Huge thank you to our amazing Director of Housekeeping,Nadia Rodriguez,for making this a truly memorable experience
Thank you Gardens Housekeeping Team you’re all superstars 🙂
Gardens NYC Team welcomed the summer upon the HornBlower Cruise last week. We enjoyed delicious food and cocktails.. but it was all about the dancing for this crew! Happy Summer 🙂
The Gardens NYC team gathered to review their Q2 performance along with Hotel and Denihan Updates, while enjoying some delicious treat!
Gardens NYC is ready and excited for Q3!
It was a bitter sweet moment the day Joan DiSanza announced her retirement. Joan has been a loyal and beloved member of The Denihan Family for over 26 years. At some point in our lives she’s been a leader, mentor, mother, sister or friend. We can only wish as her career comes to an end, she knows that her influence carries on. Countless lives have been impacted through the knowledge she has imparted. Cheers to Joan’s retirement being everything she’s ever dreamed it could be.
Gardens NYC took a moment to share some laughs and margaritas, celebrating 5 De Mayo!
We also took the time to celebrate our dearest Vasylyna as she starts her new venture as Front Desk Manager at The James New York! Thanks for everything Vasylyna best of luck! Special shout out to her delicious tiramisu 🙂
In celebration of our beautiful planet Earth, our Room Attendants left Forget Me Not seed packets in all our guestrooms with a TA card, we also had some delicious chocolate covered oreos for the team!
Love the Earth every day!
Gardens’ Managers exercised our artistic sides last night with our Paint and Sip event at Baker Street Pub. We enjoyed the evening sipping on delicious Sangrias and Painted some awesome Owls. There was a lot of laughter and amazement with outcome of our paintings.
Definitely an outing we will never forget!
The GARDENS NYC Front Office team came together last week to enjoy a night out in solving a detective mystery at Mystery Room NYC! Though the mystery was not solved in time, everyone worked as a detective team. The night concluded at The Crooked Knife where a well deserved dinner and drinks were enjoyed by all.
The team celebrated with a pot of gold (or green).
King cakes are a holiday tradition around the world, including the celebration of Twelfth Night and Carnival. Each community has its own recipe variations and symbolic interpretations. In the United States, a plastic baby is baked inside of the cake, and the person who receives the slice with the baby in it is said to have good luck. The cake is topped with icing and three colored sugars that represent justice (purple), faith (green), and power (gold).
On December 16th Gardens NYC hosted their 2015 Holiday luncheon. The event was filled with Italian cuisine, laughter, fun and prizes. It was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.
From Gardens NYC: Warmest thoughts and Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and a very Happy New Year!
The Gardens NYC team took up a competitive game of Putt-Putt at Randall’s Island yesterday. We enjoyed 36 holes of Mini Golf, Bean Bag Toss, Giant Connect-Four and Jenga!
The team relaxed and enjoyed the weather with fabulous food and pitchers of beer!
We even had 6 hole-in-ones!
Nigel Pedro, Michael, John, and Johanna Take a Swing
Team #1 vs. Team #2
Regina, Deanna, Nigel, Vasylyna, Caprice, Kris, Michael, Joan, Pedro and Eddie!
Kris, Nigel, Nino and Vasylyna Take a Swing
Jenga and Connect Four get Competitive
Check out the decor at Gardens NYC on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
Your moments to yourself are invaluable, whether indoors with creature comforts or outdoors in nature. A bedroom is the pinnacle of relaxation, but sometimes there’s nothing better than a walk through a silent birch forest. This season, the Gardens NYC combines its tranquil suites and hideaway feel with snowy white décor. Come relax with us.
Posted on behalf of Christian Betheuil
Step by step, experience by experience, the Affinia properties are changing from the inside out. A new Collection flag here, a new property specific key card there, they are starting to embrace their individuality and place within the Collection.
In this new chapter, Affinia is taking a step back to let the property be the center of attention. In technical terms, we are transitioning from a Brand model to a Collection model. Over the summer, Affinia hotels
left behind their brand look without losing the Affinia soul – a great bed, a warm, fully appointed hotel room, a friendly staff.
While the transition is subtle, each of the small steps we take add up. Different messaging, property specific colors, and new creative on key cards all add up to bring the customer experience to the next level. This week, new DND signs have started to appear at select properties. We trust you to find and discover those touches. Similar to an impressionist painting (yes, we take ourselves seriously!), where considering a touch of paint by itself does not make sense, while taking a step back, you realize what you are looking at. The properties are building their little touches, so a whole new picture appears. Stay tuned for more communication on this evolution, especially if you are at one of the Affinia properties.
Long Live the Affinia Hotel Collection.