Even when we don’t consider the frustrating AUD to USD exchange rate, New York City ain’t cheap. But when Qantas’ direct flight from Sydney to New York set to launch next year, the city will have never been more accessible for Australian tourists. So you’re going to have even more reason to make the trip…
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Visiting New York City is expensive, and it doesn’t look like prices will be dropping anytime soon. Food? Sure. You can eat well in New York City on a budget. If you’re staying in Manhattan, walk over to Adele’s Famous Halal Truck on the Avenue of the Americas for one of the best value meals…
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Around 800 cherry blossom trees wither over the water in the hip, canal-centric neighbourhood of Nakameguro in Tokyo; their spines ain’t what they used to be. From mid-to-late March, the canal is dressed as its festive best, the cherry blossom trees shedding over the narrow 3.8-km stretch, floating in the water to create a memorable…
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While I was in the USA last year I had a few changes to my itinerary. It was ambitious, I was darting from coast to coast to Canada and back again, but not everything was locked in. I spent most of the time in New York City and planned to gradually make my way over…
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Counting just how many hotels there are scattered across New York City would be an impressive undertaking. New properties are popping up from some of the world’s best hotel companies almost every month. I spent a decent amount of time travelling around New York City in mid-2024 so I could bring AU Review’s readers a…
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Luxury with such heart, cinematic appeal and playfulness is rare. Amid all the showiness and exclusivity of a snooty five-star in Manhattan, there can be a real sense of disconnection as the soullessness of it all starts to take hold and that all-important sense of place drops off. That’s why feeling a deep sense of…
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Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of? The now immortal phrase refers to New York City’s most distinctive visuals, where bright, vivid colours of nature snake through the urban sprawl like a dystopian fever dream. Few places in the world are as symbolic of biophilic design, which is why it works having two properties from…
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“There are 200 million sandwiches eaten a day in America”, according to Australia’s Ben Gollan. One might say he’s a sandwich aficionado, and he’s not shy to admit it, remarking on a beautiful New York autumn afternoon, “the Sandwich is a global dish that beings people together, which is why I do this tour and…
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When The Phantom of the Opera closed last year, after almost 14,000 performances, it ended its reign as the longest running production on Broadway. While it technically still holds the crown as Broadway’s longest running show (of all time), the move passed the mantle of longest running productions currently on Broadway to the 1996 revival…
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On a recent visit to Buffalo in New York, right by Niagara Falls, I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in a historic 1898 mansion, InnBuffalo. This building is now a quaint Bed and Breakfast (or “BnB”) that sits within Buffalo’s vibrant Elmwood Village. It was as typical a BnB as you could expect…
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According to the Hilton website, the company has around 68 hotels in New York City. As per Google, there are around 700 hotels in New York City (from 2021 – that number would have increased by then). Based on those numbers, just under 10% of the hotels in New York City are branded under Hilton….
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Last month I was lucky enough to visit Buffalo, New York for the first time since 2019. A lot has changed in this city since my last visit, but today I want to talk about a restaurant that opened up in August 2023 – Southern Junction. From the outside it looks like a typical Texan…
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If you’re going to have a restaurant in one of the most highly contested areas of Manhattan, you’re going to need a strong offering. Thankfully, Fasano Restaurant is well up-to-task with spritely, classic service and a sense of grandeur that’s a little bit of Rome and 90s New York rolled into one. The thing you’ll…
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I hate the word “best”. It always feels so… tacky and insincere, ruined by SEO agencies and influencers alike with an incessant need for engagement. And yet, “best” is all I can say when I take my first sip of each high-concept cocktail in The Bar at The Baccarat Hotel. The beautiful, lavish, grand, unforgettable…
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The Aussie BBQ returns to Central Park in New York this Saturday, 17th June 2023. The free event, now in its third year, showcases iconic and rising stars of the Australian music scene. Ranging in genres from pop, soul, alt-rock to cutting-edge hip hop, the lineup includes 1300, Amy Shark, Budjerah, L-FRESH The LION, Peach…
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Towards the end of last year, as the leaves on the trees of New York were filling up the gutters, and the sights of Halloween peppered the sidewalks of small towns, I ventured north of NYC for the first time ever to the beautiful Hudson Valley Region. It’s a place so beautiful, and filled with…
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If you haven’t travelled to the city since the pandemic, you may have not yet heard of New York’s newest observation deck. Nonetheless, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, set in the city’s fourth tallest building, right next to Grand Central Station, saw some 1.4 million visitors walk through its doors in the year following its grand opening…
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When travelling to a new city, you’ll often find bundle ticket offers that help tourists visit many of the main attractions in that region for a discounted rate. These sightseeing passes can be great ways to save money, and even visit some attractions you may not have considered otherwise. In recent trips to the Big…
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One of the most recent attractions to open its doors at the Intrepid Air & Space Museum on the waters of Manhattan in New York City, is an updated experience for one of the 20 Concorde jets built in the 70s and retired in 2003. The British Airways jet – a record breaking Concorde Alpha…
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There’s always something new to experience in New York’s Times Square. And this year has been no exception, with new museums, hotels and Broadway shows opening every month. So what are some of the best new(ish) things to do in the heart of the Big Apple? I headed over earlier this month to get a…
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Many will know the Hard Rock brand for having delivered music themed cafes/restaurants around the world for the last 50 years – including recently closed locations in Sydney* and on the Gold Coast. However, the brand’s true star power these days is found in their hotel & casino brand. With locations from Sentosa Island in…
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Having opened in September 2019, the Moxy East Village sits as one of the newer hotels in the ever-booming Manhattan – and the most recent of the four Moxy by Marriott hotels to open in the city. For those unfamiliar with the Moxy Hotels brand, they are designed around being playful and affordable, with carefully,…
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Not far from Grand Central Station in New York City sits a striking, tall and thin 35 floor building with four distinct colour strips on it. This is EVEN Hotel’s New York Midtown East location, one of four IHG have for the growing brand in New York. You enter on the ground floor and are…
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Keeping travel dreams alive and setting goals has never felt more important. We can all agree that 2020 has been an unfortunate year so far, and almost every facet of daily life has been wrought by this ongoing global pandemic, the start of which now feels like forever ago. The arts has been one of…
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There are a few buildings around the world that everyone and their dog are familiar with; so ingrained in popular culture that we feel like we know it intimately. The Eiffel Tower. The Sydney Opera House. Big Ben. And the Empire State Building. And the truth is, we all know a little bit about all…
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On Friday, 13th March, the AU review is throwing a party in New York City as part of The New Colossus Festival. And we’re thrilled to announce that we just added another Australian act to our lineup. Set to join Tia Gostelow and Wolfjay, is Brisbane based artist Jaguar Jonze, fresh from competing for a…
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Before Moulin Rouge! premiered at New York’s Al Hirshfeld Theatre on July 25th, 2019, a theatre where Kinky Boots had called a home for the 6 years prior, the producers did something quite surprising: so sure they were of its popularity, they announced it would tour out of New York – including a 2021 run…
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We’re thrilled to announce that our first party in New York since the final CMJ in 2015 will be taking place on Friday the 13th of March at Lola (169 Avenue A), as part of the 2nd annual festival The New Colossus. The showcase event and conference is a well curated mix of the hottest…
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New York City’s famed Broadway Collection isn’t slowing down for 2020, with five new productions set to open throughout the year. From a musical based on cult comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, to an ambitious show tracking the creative process and indelible work of Michael Jackson, these five are well worth paying attention to for those planning…
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The Richardson Hotel (fka Hotel Henry) in Buffalo, New York, sits inside a building with an inauspicious history: for a century, and dating back to 1870, it was the site of an insane asylum as part of the Richardson Olmsted Complex. The hotel opened in May 2017 following a decade long restoration project that is…
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