I was luckily enough to go on a fantastic educational trip to New York with Travel Counsellors courtesy of Continental Airlines and the Ritz Carlton. I went with 5 of my colleagues and we had the most amazing time.

Firstly we experienced the fantastic Business First seats on Continental Airlines. The seats were so comfortable and spacious. I spent the first hour of the flight messing with all the buttons to see what positions the seat could go in to make you more comfortable. The aircraft offers sleeper seats rather than flat bed at present but this is not a disadvantage at all. I personally preferred not to be flat.

The service was outstanding and the food was very good. It was non stop from there really starting with warm, juicy nuts then on to the starter, and then main meal (I went for steak!!) lovely!. this continued with cheese and deserts. There was also time to take in a movie or two and these are the latest ones out. I managed to get a little sleep and felt very relaxed and I thought the seats were very private. A great experience that I will not forget.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton, Central park. This hotel is fabulous, the views are truly amazing and is the only hotel in new York to have such views. It is well worth upgrading to the Central park view rooms. These rooms are doubles as the Twin rooms only offer courtyard views. We also had the advantage of having access to the Club lounge which offers a great relief from the hustle and bustle of the city. Ths lounge offers again, views overlooking central park, it is location on the 2nd floor of the hotel and is very luxuriously decorated. Conceige is also based here (as well as reception) and is a fantastic service (frederick is your man!!) The lounge offers 3 "presentations" a day. breakfast, lunch, and evening meal with a choice of drinks including non and alcoholic, including champagne. Children up to 12 years eat and drink free, so this is a added bonus and could save some money!!

We went out and about, walking through central park early the next morning as the sleep pattern was a little different, where we saw the ice skating rink. A really big contrast from the City highlights and it is the strangest feeling in the middle of the city there is such beautiful park to include 22 play areas for children and a golf course!

We decided to do the All Loops open top bus tour as this is an excellent way of seeing the major sites and saving the feet a little! In 3 days there is so much to see, so we did for Ground Zero, Statue of liberty ferry, staten island and Times square. This is well worth the money and a nice sunny day which we had the views and sites are fantastic.

We also did Rockefellor Centre on another day and this too was amazing, he views were fantastic although there was cloud at first on the top of the buildings. This was such a view to remember.

We experienced some lovely restaurants to, from cuban to italian, so something for everyone.

Shopping, Shopping, shopping, we first went to Bloomingdales and depending on your finances this may not suit all budgets!! We then went for Macy's , a lot more affordable and great. We spent a fair amount of time in this store as you can imagine, but thought the quality of the store was great. A good tip- go to the customer services desk first to obtain your 11% discount card!

In summary, New York was just as a thought it would be and much more. I really enjoyed the horse and carriage ride around Central park (which is located opposite the Ritz Carlton) Even if the Ritz carlton is not affordable for you then there are plenty of other hotels that are in great location i would also recommend.

AMAZING!!!