Staycation Pro Tip: This Downtown Hotel Has an Entire Movie Theater Attached to It

So far, it has not been a great New York City summer for spending time outdoors. With air-quality alerts badgering picnic plans and constant threats of rain eating up beach weekends, it’s enough to make one want to stay inside and binge Barbenheimer all day. 

But New York’s new tropical climate is no excuse to give up on summer fun. Consider making your indoor plan a hotel staycation, a clever tactic to feel like you’re on vacation without actually going anywhere. And if you’re taking that route, you might as well choose a spot with stellar views for those brief moments of sunshine, as well as one with direct access to one of the city’s most cush movie theaters for when the rains inevitably return. Enter: the Conrad New York Downtown (102 North End Ave.). 

First, there’s the hotel: It has 463 luxury suites with views of the shimmering Hudson River. The lobby alone features 10-story art installations — just footsteps away from a sleek cocktail lounge — but that’s just the start. Keep going through the lobby, and you can access (again, without ever going outside!) one of the finest movie theaters in all of the city. The Regal Battery Park multiplex offers a grand, comfortable experience from the moment you climb the escalators from the hotel lobby and into the cinema.

The auditoriums perfectly complement any cozy staycation: They’ve got big leather recliners with little trays to hold your snacks. Imagine the feeling of visiting a home theater at your insanely rich friend’s house!

The luxury of being able to see a first-run film and then crawl upstairs to your suite can’t be topped. But if you’re craving a nightcap, you still don’t have to leave. The hotel’s Loopy Doopy Rooftop Bar overlooks New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. And it’s got a perfect summer staycation treat: poptails, boozy ice pops served in glasses of bubbly. 

photos: Conrad New York Downtown