Upon realizing that I could buy a resort pass to the Dream Downtown hotel in Chelsea only a few blocks away, I decided to take a staycation there and enjoy catching up on my book group reading by their pool.

To get there from the lobby, one ascends the stairs to the 4-foot-deep pool, which—of course—has drink and food service chairside. Fresh ice water is continually refreshed.

Many others had the same idea, as there wasn’t an unoccupied lounge poolside. I photographed my neighbors’ food and my freshly made guacamole with chips served with chili-dipped triangles of jicama ($19).

My neighbor enjoyed the “chopped” salad ($18) with avocado, queso fresco, pumpkin seeds, jalapeño cilantro ranch dressing and their adobo grilled chicken tacos (two for 16) avocado salsa.

In early August, the sun stayed on the pool area until after 5  pm, when it hid behind the building; later in the month, it disappeared much earlier.

I highly recommend the Dream Downtown for a staycation.

Dream Downtown, by Hyatt
355 W 16th St,
New York, NY 10011
(212) 229-2559
dreamhotels.com/downtown