29% off (Sale price $179.25, Reg. Price $254.00) :: Hotel at a Glance: Allegria Hotel A glass-encased wine room glitters with rows of wine bottles, light glinting from every surface. This unconventionally sleek wine cellar sits within the Allegria Hotel, which sparkles at night when blue underlighting reflects off dozens of windows. Steps away, Atlantic waves lap the shore. New York City, which lies about 24 miles to the northwest, feels at once close at hand and a world away. Floor-to-ceiling windows in guest rooms offer glimpses of New York’s skyline or the ocean Decor: neutral hues, sapphire blue accents, blond-wood furnishings, and limestone-lined bathrooms Zagat-rated restaurant, Atlantica, serves jumbo shrimps and lamb ribs beneath undulating light fixtures hovering overhead like jellyfish. Nightlife heats up around the chrome-plated fireplace of L’Onda Lounge.Long Beach, New York: Quiet Ocean Retreat near ManhattanAlthough long known as The City by the Sea, Long Beach might be more accurately described as the city in the sea—the ocean surrounds it on all sides, and to the north, a tangled bramble of estuaries and rivulets further separates the narrow beach from its Long Island neighbors. Yet despite Long Beach’s quiet seclusion, the Long Island Rail Road swiftly carries passengers to and from Manhattan, allowing urbanites sandy interludes.On the city’s 2.25-mile boardwalk, which was built in part by elephants during a publicity stunt, bikers and rollerbladers whiz by as others walk above the white sands or rest on wooden benches set parallel to the horizon. Park Avenue’s cheery cafés perk up afternoons, while neon-lit bars and clubs enliven nights.
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