Either I am the luckiest girl on the planet or the economic downturn has paralyzed the travel industry more than I originally thought or getting an American Express Platinum card was the best decision I have ever made…or some combination of the three. I just checked the mail and within it was a $500 gift certificate to the Gramercy Park Hotel compliments of the hotel and American Express Platinum Travel Service. To understand my excitement, you must first understand:

1. My reverence for genius…and, therefore, Ian Schrager. 

2. My love for Gramercy…and the Gramercy Park Hotel…and their bars. Clearly my first thought when I saw this gift certificate was “Rose Bar, anyone?” Well, there are restrictions. It is applicable only to room night charges, so it will not be paying for my ‘Take Your Girls Out’ bar tab. Ah, well.

3. My excitement for presents of all kinds. Honestly, I’m like a kid in a candy store right now. 

Or perhaps you should just see a photo of the hotel:

But, as a resident of New York City, at least for the time being, I’m not sure what to do with this gift certificate. Use it? Give it away? Sell it on ebay? Who knows. It expires at the end of August, so I suppose I have a bit of time to think about it. 

xo

J. Justine