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Shopping the American way
If you go down to the 'Woods' today, quite frankly you're in for a rather large shopping experience with massive discounts...
"A quick dip in the indoor pool before heading out for a fresh fish dinner only reminds you how shopping will never be the same again"
The US can be anything to anybody. You want casinos? Visit Las Vegas. You want coffee bars? Visit Seattle. You want designer labels, visit er, Woodbury Common? The principle sounds familiar; gather hundreds of brand names and sell them at knock-down prices from an outlet centre away from a busy metropolis. However, if this idea conjures up images of end-of-line goods, piled high in a space akin to a Blue Peter bring and buy sale, then you have obviously never been to Woodbury Common. Welcome to Wonderland; a place that should be at the top of your winter must-dos this season.
If you are planning on splashing out on new clothes, a few gadgets and a hamper-full of presents then, quick..grab your passport, empty a suitcase and take your hard earned English pounds on a four-day break. After all, you may as well enjoy shopping surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Catskill Mountains.
With its 220 premium shops, all guaranteeing additional daily discounts of between 25 to 65 per cent, ranging from Armani and Banana Republic to Ralph Lauren and Sony, a visit to Woodbury Common is the ultimate shopping trip, not to mention a day or so in the Big Apple.
And it’s all so simple to do.
Having arrived in New York the day before, taking advantage of one of American Airlines’ six scheduled flights a day from Heathrow to JFK, I checked into the newly opened Carlton Hotel situated on Madison Avenue. You get the feeling it’s a bit special because it comes complete with sweeping staircases and an impressive waterfall down one wall. And that’s just the lobby.
A bite to eat at the bistro Les Halles a short walk away helped me settle into the cosmopolitan mix of NY life. Fusing traditional French cuisine with an American twist, not only is Les Halles on the same site as the infamous café in the 1976 film Taxi Diver, it’s also inspiration for executive chef, Anthony Bourdain’s bestselling book and TV show, Kitchen Confidential.
But don’t allow yourself to settle too much, because the next morning you’ll need to be up early to buy tickets from the Port Authority in order to catch the Shortline Coach upstate. When in Manhattan, what’s most surprising is just how swiftly you can leave; swapping concrete and sidewalks for the low-lying foothills of the Catskill Mountains takes just under an hour and before you know it, you’ve arrived.
Despite welcoming around 11 million visitors every year, Woodbury Common is like a small village where the visitor feels neither crowded nor confused. To fully appreciate all the place has to offer you really need two days, even though it’s open from 10am until 9pm everyday; the first to research and source your bargains, the second to purchase them and fill your empty suitcase.
The night in between is best spent a few miles away at the Holiday Inn at Suffern which is reached by taking Woodbury Common’s convenient shuttle tram. A quick dip in the indoor pool before heading out to Torches on the Hudson for a fresh fish dinner only reminds you how shopping will never be the same again. Maybe the fact that this thought crosses your mind as you sit at your candle lit table overlooking the Hudson River seems strange; but cross your mind it will.
The next morning, after brunch at Thyme to Eat, filling up on coffee and genuine homemade muffins, it was full steam ahead as the real shopping began. And with bargains ranging from $1,000 off Versace suits, to Bose iPod Sound Dock digital music systems at almost half the price than in the UK, you’ll soon see your flight and accommodation paid for in savings.
Shopping finally over, and after the return journey to New York by Shortline Coach, I checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the United Nations. After all, hundreds of pounds have been saved while shopping, so dinner at Aureole on 34 East 61st Street, one of New York’s finest restaurants, is also a deserved treat. But a note of advice: book ahead because a seat at this sophisticated venue is in serious demand.
The beauty of getting a flight back to the UK late in the afternoon on a fourth day extended weekend means you can take advantage of the $7 travel card (£3.80) that lets you ride the subway and buses to explore the Big Apple. What’s more, with shopping out of the way, you can take your time to see the sights or just hang out in one of the many coffee bars that make up Chelsea, New York’s trendy gay district. Just make sure you wear those brand new glad rags, because boy, you’re gonna need to show those threads off soon!
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