Library Hotel Collection Interview With Influencer Patti Maghamfar of One Road at a Time

Today we are thrilled to share our conversation with Abi and Patti, a dynamic couple that have been travel companions for over 39 years!  In 2011 the couple retired from their careers, sold their home, and bought a bed and breakfast inn called Abigail’s. Patti is the writer and owner of the travel blog, One Road at a Time, where she shares their travel journeys with the hopes of inspiring others. Abi and Patti’s adventures brought them back to New York City and Library Hotel Collection was honored to host them in our four New York Hotels. You can read more about their experiences below:

New York State of Mind
Italy, China, and Casablanca
A Day at the Library
The Hotel Elysee
The Hotel Giraffe

Library Hotel Collection: Tell us about yourself, how did your passion for travel and hotels begin?
Patti Maghamfar: We’ve been traveling through life together for nearly 40 years. We’ve traveled near and far, we’ve rented RV’s, cabins, apartments, etc., but our absolute favorite accommodation is a hotel. There’s just something so comfortable and welcoming about a lovely hotel room.

LHC: How often do you travel and how long have you been an active travel influencer?
PM: We launched our business – oneroadatatime.com – in 2012, but we’ve always traveled, from earned employment weeks to our retirement when we started traveling more frequently. We’ve been active influencers for 4 ½ years.

LHC: Which of our hotels did you stay in?
PM: We stayed in all four of your New York hotels: Hotel Elysee, Hotel Giraffe, Library Hotel, and the Casablanca Hotel.

LHC: How did you hear about our hotels and why did you choose to stay with us?
PM: We read a fellow traveler’s blog post/review about Library Hotel and we just knew we had to stay with the Library Hotel Collection.

LHC: From your experience in our hotels, what makes the experience with us unique?
PM: What makes the Library Hotel Collection unique is the boutique atmosphere. Having stayed in all four of the properties in NYC, we experienced similar amenities but each property was completely different in the ambiance.

LHC: What will you remember most about your stay?
PM: The close proximity of each hotel to anywhere we wanted to be in the city and the exceptional staff at each property. We felt so welcome at each property, the breakfast buffet was a great way to start the day and the evening wine and cheese reception was wonderful after a long day of sightseeing.

LHC: Was there anything in our city that surprised you?
PM:  No, not really. We found NYC to be exactly what we expected, it truly is the city that never sleeps and there are so many experiences around every corner. If anything, I think people may not realize how walkable the city is.

Hotel Elysee Presidential Suite

LHC: Did you experience any favorite restaurants during your stay? What was your favorite local dish?
PM:  We chose to focus on the smaller local neighborhood restaurants such as Lombardi’s Pizza (which was amazing) and Jacob’s Pickles (outstanding) which were two of our favorites.

LHC: Why did you choose to visit our city?
PM:  We chose to visit NYC because it’s an incredible city, and we secured tickets to be in the audience of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Also, the last time we were in NYC was just six weeks before 911 and we wanted to visit the Memorial.

LHC: What was your favorite nearby attraction?
PM:  How to choose? The Woman in Gold at the Neue Gallery was a definite highlight. The New York City Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, to name just a few. There’s just so much to see and do!

They stayed at the Ancient Language Room of the Library Hotel

LHC: What would you recommend someone do to prepare for a trip to our city?
PM:  We would recommend a basic game plan for each day. NYC is massive and one can easily just wander but if there specific places to see, a game plan is a good idea to help stay on track, especially if there are time constraints. The CityPass booklet is a great bargain and a good way to plan each day’s agenda.

LHC: What would you recommend to travelers that they must pack for a trip to our city?
PM:  Comfortable shoes! Other than that, it would be seasonal weather specific. We visited in August and even though the days were quite warm, we took the sunset cruise and we were glad to have a lite sweater while on the boat after the sun went down.

Evening Wine and Cheese Reception at Hotel Giraffe.

LHC: Did you collect any souvenirs from your travels?
PM:  No, we rarely buy souvenirs, we collect memories.

LHC: What’s next on your Travel Bucket List?
PM: We’re gearing up to travel to Europe for an indefinite time frame. We plan to arrive in Portugal in early July, 2017 and then we’ll just see where we find ourselves. It has been a dream to travel without a time frame and we’re now in a position to do so. And, of course, we’re hoping to stay at the Aria in Budapest and Prague!

Follow Abi and Patti’s exciting travel on social media:

www.oneroadatatime.com
www.facebook.com/oneroadatatime
www.instagram.com/oneroadatatime

For a great stay in New York, Budapest, Prague or coming soon in Toronto,
visit www.LibraryHotelCollection.com or follow us on these social media platforms.

www.facebook.com/LibraryHotelCollection
www.instagram.com/libraryhotelcollection
twitter.com/LibraryHotelLHC

Photo Credits to www.oneroadatatime.com