Soon you can stay at one of New York’s most iconic locations when Airbnb opens a new facility at 75 Rockefeller Plaza, featuring luxury guest rooms and, if you visit during the festive season, views of Rockefeller Centre ice skating rink and New York City’s most famous Christmas tree.
Airbnb plans to operate new vacationrentals from Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Image by Getty
Rockefeller Centre is one of New York’s most iconic complexes, covering 22 acres that stretch between 48th and 51st Streets and across Fifth and Seventh Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan. It’s a “city within a city” where you can sightsee, shop, see TV tapings such as Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and recreate famous movie scenes from Home Alone 2 to Sleepless in Seattle. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it’s the largest privately-held complex of anywhere in the world and houses some of the city’s most recognisable skyscrapers.
The Rockefeller Centre’s famous seasonal ice-rink. Image: ©T.Slack/Shutterstock
Now you could stay right in the heart of all the action as Airbnb is taking over ten floors of one of its towering office buildings, 75 Rockefeller Plaza – with plans to convert them into 200 overnight apartment-style suites. The idea is to combine “all the comforts of home” while providing guests a “curated, authentic NYC experience and sense of community typically reserved for locals,” Airbnb said. The new venture is in partnership with RXR Realty, one of the city’s largest real estate developers.
It will put guests at the centre of the action in New York. Image by Shutterstock
The luxury guest rooms will be on the higher floors of the 32-storey tower, with St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Empire State Building and Radio City Music Hall all just a stone’s throw away. The deal will create a “new category of urban lodging” in New York, both companies said in a joint statement. While RXR will be responsible for the management of the rooms, guests can book stays through the Airbnb platform.
It wouldn’t be Christmas in New York without the Rockefeller Christmas Tree Image by Getty Images
RXR Realty and Airbnb said they hope to open the facility at 75 Rockefeller Plaza in about a year but there’s no word yet on how much an overnight stay will set you back at such a famous address.
It’s not the only landmark location that’s opening up to holidaymakers. Earlier this year, it was announced that part of New York’s Chrysler Building could be converted into a hotel.
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