#TRAVEL: NEW YORK CITY MET GALA 2025 WITH MR. WILL & BEANIE | BOOKING.COM

So thrilled to partner with BOOKING.COM on our trip to New York for the Met Gala 2025. Fashion’s biggest night isn’t our only main reason to visit – trust me, there are so many reasons to be in the City that never sleeps. Travelling with a globally leading online travel platform makes it so much easier to experience the world as you can book your accommodations, flights, airport taxis, car rentals, attractions, and more, all in one simple place. With over 30 million listings across 30 different types of places to stay – think world-class hotels, boutique hotels, homes, apartments, villas, resorts, B&Bs, farmstays, even houseboats, igloos, and treehouses – in more than 220 countries and territories around the world, Booking.com has the perfect place for everybody.

And visiting an expensive city like New York, you’ll want to take advantage of Booking.com’s free Genius loyalty program. It offers tons of exclusive perks to save you money, like 10-20% discounts on your accommodations, 10-15% discounts on rental cars, free room upgrades, free breakfasts, priority customer service, and more.

For me, Booking.com’s search filters are key as they make it super easy to find the perfect place to stay that caters to your own specific needs. Whether you’re on a specific budget, need air conditioning, parking or even an electric vehicle charging station, want to be near certain landmarks/attractions, have mobility limitations, require an allergy-free room even, Booking.com makes it easy to tailor your results to your exact criteria. You can fine-tune your search results to even show “reading light”, “game console”, “would like complimentary evening snacks and drinks in the executive lounge” (yes, this is a real search filter where available!). Your accommodation wish is their command with Booking.com!

Our needs are very straight-forward. We also want our hotel central to all the action, yet also far enough away from too much bustle. We want all the food and coffee options, we love a chic decor and cleanliness. Most importantly as we travel with our precious princess beanie, we need that “pets allowed” filter and, as we’ve learned over the years, proximity to greenery is so key.

TRAVELLING WITH YOUR PET FROM CANADA

Travelling with your beloved companion is easier than you think. Many airlines allow you to bring them along as a carry-on, so long as your carrier is within their guidelines, and your pet is within a certain weight range. Since August 2024, entry to the U.S. from Canada requires completion of a CDC Form, which will actually last you a few months in case you anticipate additional travel to the U.S. And of course, a visit to your veterinarian to present proof of your companion’s good health and current vaccinations. You will need to present a letter both entering the U.S. and heading back to Canada. Rules change, so always do a bit of research ahead.

MODERNE HOTEL

Moderne Hotel did not disappoint! We prefer boutique hotels as they generally hit another level in quietness and cleanliness. The service feels more personalized and intimate. I know these are subjective claims, but they are my truths from travels.

Recently renovated and still undergoing improvements, Moderne Hotel contains just six floors. Its Pop Art-inspired hallways were quiet, perfect for pets as this means less noise triggers. Lobby staff were so helpful and engaged, asking for ways they could make our stay better. Case in point, I had made some online purchases ahead of my visit (we are actually spoiled in Canada with next day deliveries!) timing them for my arrival. The hotel staff were so kind to stow-away my orders safely, including one which required refrigeration. Off the bat, I was pleased with this level of detailed care and willingness to help. Did we mention they had food and water dishes in the room ready for beanie on arrival too?

Guests also get complimentary breakfast daily (with high quality pastries too!) in the second-floor common room called the Guest Suite. A lovely gesture that not all hotels offer nowadays.

PROXIMITY

My past few visits to New York with beanie have been great, but a nagging concern I have is finding areas with greenery. As is the case in New York, lawns are fenced-in and protected, off limits to dogs, which makes for challenges for beanie who is used to unlimited grass at home in Toronto. We nailed it this time though as Moderne Hotel is only a few blocks south of scenic Central Park.

On the topic of proximity, Moderne Hotel exceeds all expectations here especially. Walk south a few blocks, you are in the thick of Times Square and Broadway District. It is TONY Awards season and we are thrilled to have taken in the superb Sunset Blvd, which got seven nominations! We love the excitement of stage doors and seeing the stars, and were able to do just that! Broadway currently is a hotbed of big stars with the likes of George Clooney, Kieran Culkin, Orville Peck, Nicole Scherzinger, Sarah Snook, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal, and several more, all within reach! You don’t necessarily need to have bought a ticket to see the Musical or Play even to partake in the thrill! What a great City!

Walk a few blocks north of Moderne Hotel, you are in Central Park and Columbus Circle. Go a little further north, uptown, and you are at the heart of where a majority of the stars are for the Met Gala, with landmarks like The Mark and The Carlyle (available too for bookings also on Booking.com) on the first Monday in May! You don’t need an invite from Anna Wintour to see the stars and their extravagant ensembles from the barricades whether it be the hotels or at the actual Gala itself.

The actual Metropolitan Museum of Art is where the Gala is held, has numerous entry options listed on Booking Attractions which you can get tickets for on regular days of operation. An entry ticket with a MET Pre-Orientation tour (and same-day entry to the Met Cloisters in Uptown Manhattan) is available, as are numerous options for guided tours of the museum’s highlights. You can even do a private “art and crime” tour where you’ll learn about the infamous art thefts the museum has seen over the years, from the looting of antiquities to the seizure of paintings right off museum walls!

Don’t forget NYC’s other awesome museums either, like Mercer Labs Museum of Art and Technology and American Museum of Natural History. Another fun option if you’re there for celeb culture is the Central Park Film Spots and Celebrity Homes Pedicab Tour.

Moderne Hotel had us positioned only a few blocks from Hell’s Kitchen one way, and Avenue of the Americas (Radio City Music Hall, 30 Rockefeller Center, tons of shopping) the other way. My greatest surprise this trip was seeing ride share pricing skyrocket from prior years. We literally are up to $25 US to go up and down a few blocks.

My greatest learning lesson this trip was educating myself how to use the subway system. Moderne Hotel being just two blocks from the subway station on 57th and 8th. I made multiple trips to Brooklyn on $3 versus per trip (just tap your credit card), versus the usual $60 US. And beanie could come too in her carrier. I got there just as quickly via the train as I would have using ride share. So you choose what makes more sense! Using the subway over the course of a couple days, I saved about $250 US alone.

DINING

In addition to my deep love of Entertainment and Celebrity, I am equally a lover of Food and Drink. New York City and its diverse boroughs not only are on the cutting edge and cusp of trends, they also do the classics to the highest standard. Some delicious bites included newly-opened Din Tai Fung (first ever location on the East Coast); Maxi’s Noodle (the biggest Wontons I have ever seen!); Dominique Ansel Bakery (Cronuts never get old for us!); L&B Spumoni Gardens (fantastic Pizza and Ice Cream adored by the likes of Jimmy Fallon); and buzzy Win Son Bakery (innovative American-Taiwanese brunches), among others. For coffee, Blue Bottle Coffee (founded by The Weeknd, yet still not in Canada), and Blank Street Coffee hit the mark aesthetically and in taste and have multiple locations around the City.

Many shops are accepting of a quick pop-in with your dog if you are quickly grabbing takeaway. We felt so understood and seen in New York City, as we cannot imagine travelling without our beloved beanie. We wish every other city could have this.

TIPS & THOUGHTS

One key note for visitors: I’d say that with unpredictable spring weather, being able to look out the window to see how heavy the rain downpour is key to planning when to head outside. I mean nobody wants to be stuck in a torrential downpour, especially when walking their dog. Many NYC hotels have room windows facing the brick walls next door, making it tricky to gauge the weather outside.

A couple trips for travelling a little more kindly and consciously. You’ll see much of New York is moving to cashless payment options. That being said, service workers might get left out of gratuities, the more we rely on our cards. It is important to punch-out a bit of cash to have on-hand.

Also, we don’t expect our towels to be cleaned and our room vacuumed daily at home, so a little gesture like staggering the frequency of this could have a positive impact on energy consumption and sustainability. Recent research from Booking.com found that 94% of Canadian travelers say they want to make more sustainable travel choices in 2025 and to some extent have done so (a huge increase that we love to see as, in 2016, similar Booking.com research found that just 39% of Canadian travelers believed they travelled more sustainably!). You can signal to staff that you don’t need your room completely turned over with a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on your door.

THE MET GALA 2025 & TRAVELOG

Now for our Travelog. Come along with beanie and I to see the immense starpower of New York City during Met Gala 2025, themed SUPERFINE: TAILORING BLACK STYLE, honouring Black contributions to Fashion. This, and the gorgeous sights and flavours that are defining New York.

Some memories:

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*screaming* Met Lana Del Rey finally at Met Gala 2025!

♬ Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey

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BOOKING.COM made it all so easy! See you in the Big Apple!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)