For the “City That Never Sleeps”, safe places to rest are a rare commodity. New York City is powered by people who work odd hours and tireless lifestyles. Amongst the essential workers, night shift employees, gig economy hustlers, and big-dreaming artists, where does one go to rest in the concrete jungle? A commute home is seldom quick and a poor option for those with limited time between gigs. Parks and other public spaces may not be safe, comfortable or desirable. Hotels provide a secure place with a shower, but they are expensive and make little sense if you only need the room for a few hours.
Nap York was created to address this very need. Nap York’s founder Neil Wong saw the gap in the hospitality industry after witnessing his mom work overnights at the hospital and friends sleeping at McDonald’s waiting for their trains to arrive at Penn Station. In 2017, the Queens native dreamt up the idea of having flexible and affordable accommodation to recharge at any time of the day for any amount of hours needed. Since then it had gone through a true NYC underdog story from its incredible initial success leading to partnerships with Tesla and the New York Police Department, to a dark period courtesy of the Mayor’s office pressing charges, fighting the insanity of Covid and then now, a growing business with four locations, including an expansion in London.
I first learned of Nap York last winter. My sister had a few hours in-between an early morning meeting and an evening engagement. Already exhausted from the previous night, we joked about how it would be great if there was a place for her to just nap. I started google-ing and Nap York came up. Have you ever thought, “Wow, it would be great if this thing existed?” and then find out it actually does? It’s an uncanny sort of joy, a delightful surprise. Its alluring moon logo seemingly signified access to NYC’s most secretive club. While she opted to weather it out in the trenches of Manhattan that day, I kept Nap York and its moon logo in mind since then.
Months later I found myself in a very similar situation. With multiple press events, evening social engagements and lots of prep for the upcoming New York Fashion Week, I was absolutely exhausted just seeing my schedule. With such a packed day I asked myself, where could I go to recharge, get work done, and be in an optimal location to go from my day schedule to evening agenda? This is the prime problem Nap York aims to solve. I last minute ( as in day of ) got the opportunity to finally try out this mysterious service for nappers.
After my morning events were done, I headed to Nap York’s Empire Express sleep station, located conveniently in the heart of midtown. This location is just blocks from Bryant Park, Koreatown and multiple train stations including Penn Station. The grandiose gold doors to the building came with an informative “Nap York” sign indicating your clandestine sleeping quarters lay just inside.
The actual Nap York entrance is not quite “just inside”. Eager nappers need to first go through an elevator to the basement and then a door locked with a number keypad where they input a code provided in their email after making a reservation. I was enamored by the consistent gold and black detailing and secretive, private entrance. Nap York felt like a speakeasy for sleeping, and I was all for it.
Past the locked door is a completely different world. Visitors first enter the preamble space, a small room with dark walls decorated with whimsical pictures. A tea station lies against a wall with a small cushioned bench across from it. Before entering the napping area, there are complimentary ear plugs, eye masks, and face masks. You will also see a glowing pod where your Dream Manager occasionally can be found. The Dream Manager handles reservations, cleaning the pods, and acts as a point of contact during your stay.
The inner chamber is a dimly lit carpeted cavern that is 24/7 peace and quiet. Bed pods lined the walls, the warm glow of lamps seductively exposing perfectly prepared beds. Some pods had their privacy screen pulled down, likely with a resident napper recharging on the other side. As I walked further towards the back where my reserved private cabin awaited me, part of me thought “This is cool”. The other thought “This is creepy”. You would not normally think “Wow, I feel so safe right now” going through a dark hallway that was essentially a dormitory filled with strangers. But once I pulled back the curtain and stepped into my space-pod sleep cabin I felt immediately at home.
The cabin is tight but cozy, with a twin sized bed, small bedside desk, and a lamp. There was space under the bed for my bags and a hook to hang a jacket on. While I intended to get work done, not much typing by lamp-light occurred once I found out how comfortable the bed was. The cabin comes with an adjustable bed and I had a grand ‘ol time taking it out for a test drive by raising my feet and torso to varying degrees until I was satisfied.
Some work did occur, using Nap York’s free Wi-Fi, but most of my reservation was indeed spent napping. The central air blowing provided the perfect white noise to the otherwise quiet space. The curtains kept the space feeling dark and soft. The exhaustion seeped out of me and the bed was there to catch it all as the globulous mess I had become finally had a place to rest in peace. As a woman who often does things solo in the city, this little “room” made me feel safer than many hotel rooms for a portion of the cost. It covered the essentials and if I needed there was laundry and a shower available in the shared bathroom, which was also incredibly stylish with a gold rimmed oval mirror and stone flooring.
I felt incredible leaving my station at Nap York, popping out right in Midtown ready to take on the city after dark. The environment is clearly so intentionally designed to support peace and rest with its quiet hours, dark space, complimentary items, and quality build materials. The privacy screen, curtains, code entry, stationed security cameras and on-site Dream Manager offers safety for all guests. The flexibility for reservations, affordable pricing, and laundry and shower additions reflect Nap York’s mission to recharge the people who power the city that never sleeps. In fact, Nap York offers a discount for any essential worker, a testament to their origins and core.
Nap York is the perfect solution for those traveling between gigs, essential workers, creatives, business people who need a break for the chaos, musicians, writers, night shift workers and basically anyone who could use a place to take a break and rest. If you ever find yourself in New York City seeking somewhere to stop, definitely give Nap York a try.
