Christmas came early: My 3 nights in the 'Elf' suite
Oh, hello, you're probably here about the story.
Sit down, and let me pour you a cup of cocoa with marshmallows and peppermints while we share the tale of the most Christmas-y room in all of New York City.
This is the story of how a young "Elf"-obsessed woman flew all the way to the magical land of New York to experience serious Christmas cheer in the form of the Elf-themed suite at Wyndham Midtown 45 at New York City. (This is Elf as in the 2003 movie starring Will Ferrell as an oversized North Pole elf who comes to the Big Apple. Haven't seen it? Stop reading right now and watch it before you continue with this story. We'll wait.)
The Elf-themed suite was a pretty much guaranteed way to jump-start some holiday cheer. It was only available for a few nights this year and sold out in seconds. However, I kept checking availability, and luck was on my side to ultimately snag three nights that became available.
I prepped for my stay by marathoning the "Elf"movie -- at home, in public, at work, on the plane -- you name it, I watched it, protestations from my family aside.
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The day of my stay finally came, and I passed through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops, and straight through the Lincoln Tunnel into my hotel wonderland.

Related: Guide holiday happenings in NYC
When checking in, we went to the normal check-in line, which was a cotton-headed ninny muggins move since the regular agents were not in the loop on the Elf suite. A woman dressed in elf attire was actually there to check us in and provide some complimentary tickets to both the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center.

As for the room ... it was every inch as amazing as I hoped.
Inside the room there was a decorated tree, wrapped presents, toys, cut-out snowflakes, tinsel, bows, a life-size toy soldier, rolls of cookie dough and more. The Elf suite was "extra" in all the best ways, at least for those who want to live in the world of Buddy the Elf.

In fact, it was almost unbelievable, so we'll let the photos do a bit of the talking.



The kitchen was fully stocked with the four main food groups. As per Buddy the Elf, those food groups consist of candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup. Check, check, check and check.





And although I too share an affinity for elf culture, my attempts to build a gingerbread house were about as successful as Will Ferrell's character Buddy's Etch-A-Sketch building endeavors.

Despite my disastrous attempts at gingerbread construction, I was in high spirits. Why? I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite! Or, at least that's what the mirror said. Honestly, how could you not smile when surrounded by holiday magic?

Of course, the gift bags that were left for us certainly didn't hurt with the high spirits. They were filled with ornaments, Pop-Tarts, and an Etch A Sketch.

And although Walter Hobbs was nowhere to be found during our journey to the Empire State Building, I did get a pretty sweet picture with my service dog at roughly the same altitude where Santa's sleigh flies.

All jokes aside, we heard Santa was coming to Macy's Santaland, so we made reservations to see the big man himself and raced right over.

In total, we spent three magical nights at the Elf Suite among the fluttering paper snowflakes, crunchy debris of our failed gingerbread house attempts and the dulcet tones of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" on vinyl.

The Elf suite wasn't cheap with rates advertised to start at $399 per night, though rates for our nights came in higher. Theoretically, the hotel is bookable for 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points per night.
If you missed out on this suite, here are our other holiday recs in NYC, our favorite points hotels in NYC and some NYC spots to fill your belly for when the syrup and candy canes run out.

Ahhhh ... it's a wonderful life indeed.
Feature photo by Carissa Rawson/The Points Guy.
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| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
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- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
- Top rated mobile app
