While taxis and chauffeured cars are the rides most commony associated with the the Upper East Side, the neighborhood where the Mark Hotel is situated, the recently-renovated boutique stunner is putting its focus on a different set of wheels.
The Mark now offers bicycles (its fleet totals six) free of charge to guests who’d like to take a spin through nearby Central Park or to pedal to their destinations without setting foot in a car, subway or bus. Of course, the hotel is not providing your average 10-speeds. The two-wheelers, crafted by Republic Bikes, have been designed to echo the hotel’s acclaimed Jacques Grange design, with their monogrammed bells, striped chain cases and baskets, and vanity license plates. Guests can use the handy map, created especially for the Mark, to plan their trips.
And since there’s nothing like riding in style to stoke a person’s appetite, the hotel is also offering picnics-to-go. The packed meals, neatly sized to fit in the bike’s basket, are prepared in the kitchen of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (who presides over the hotel restaurant) and come complete with a blanket, cutlery, glasses and, upon request, a half-bottle of bubbly to toast a turn around the town.
