The National Arts Club — Attraction in New York

We had such a bizarre encounter with a strangely hostile receptionist. A sign said “Please register,” so we stopped and asked if we needed to register to see the exhibit. She said “No, just go up.” We saw areas roped off with signs saying “members only,” but there was no sign or rope at the stairs, and interesting art on the walls, so we went up some of the stairs to see it. As we were coming down, the receptionist called to us and angrily said the stairs were private and should have been roped off, and “don’t let it happen again!” I didn’t like being spoken to like an unruly child (I am a mild-mannered woman in my 50s and was with two other adults) but politely explained that there was no rope, but now we knew and would stay off them. We were a little offended by her tone, but thought the matter was resolved. Later, as we started to leave, she stopped us again, now raising her voice to say, “I very clearly told you to stay only inside the gallery upstairs, but you went behind the rope….” It’s one thing to be scolded for a misunderstanding, but another to be confronted a second time with a false version of what happened. If she had actually warned us, we would certainly not have set foot on those stairs, and we would never have crossed a rope! We tried to say this, but she cut us off, almost shouting “No! I very clearly told you!” and “I need you to leave now!” as we were walking out the door. In many years as a patron of the arts, I have visited all kinds of exhibit spaces as a member, guest, and speaker, and have never encountered aggression like this. Perhaps she got some satisfaction out of pretending to throw out a group of scofflaws. If you visit,...

This is a public site, which is wonderful, in a beautiful building, but the site is not open to the public entirely. Yes, you are able to see galleries on the lower floor. However, the beautiful rooms up the stairs you see in pictures with stained glass, are not available to the public, except once a month for a fee, which is totally fine (the fee was mentioned by their staff);I would have paid to see the other rooms. I don’t live in NY and was really looking forward to visiting with my daughter, she was disappointed too we couldn’t visit the prettier rooms; this was her first time to NYC. We actually went 2 days because the first day although we got there before 5pm (per closing time on Google), they were having an event and they had closed earlier. But we were so determined to visit we went the next day within opening hours. I’ll also note, that both days we were received in the lobby by people that were somewhat rude. I’m disappointed as this is supposedly a public site, it’s just not completely open...

What a phenomenal venue. The building is absolutely breathtaking with beautiful pieces of art and the architecture is detailed and exquisite. The food menu was updated as they hired a new chef and from what I understand, they offer many more items to choose from. I ordered the beet and whipped goat cheese salad and the braised lamb with vegetables on top of creamy mashed potatoes. It paired well with a Cabernet. For dessert I ordered a berry crisp crumble with gelato and a cappuccino. Everything was delicious and I didn't leave a morsel on the plate. If you have an opportunity to visit, it's definitely worth the 2 hours of traffic for us (since we are coming in from Long Island) and it was a wonderful experience. Take a moment and soak in the decor and the beautiful stained glass dome in the bar area. You will not be...