The Standard Ice Rink

My girlfriend and I were heading to the Standard for dinner and drinks and unexpectedly saw this adorable ice rink! We couldn’t believe we didn’t know about it! It was so romantic and fun for all ages. I definitely recommend going! We went on the later side-​like 10pm and it was perfect. They even have an outside area under heat lamps and offer hot chocolate! How fun?!

My boyfriend brought our four year old daughter and me to this tiny little ice skating rink at the Standard Hotel in the meatpacking district in NYC. This 3,000 square foot pop-​up rink is located street-​side, between the Standard Grill and the entrance to the Standard Hotel. During the summer this area serves as outdoor dining but during the winter it has been converted to an adorable mini ice skating rink complete with skate rentals and a café that serves boozy hot chocolate.
This outdoor rink is charming, intimate, and free of the tourist crowds that over populate Wollman, Rockefeller and Bryant park rinks. They also have free little penguin ice skating helpers for kids to push around to help them skate. This rink seems to have way fewer restrictions than the larger, more popular rinks. We were even on the ice with a camera and no one hassled us, unlike our experiences elsewhere.
The café area has over-​sized rocking chairs with faux-​fur blankets and lots of ambient space heaters to keep the space toasty. It’s perfect for families but also a cute date spot with it’s late night hours.
Hours through March 6^th:
Mon — Thurs 12pm — 12am
Fri 12pm — 1am
Sat 9am — 1am
Sun 9am — 12am
* The Rink will be closed Fri Jan 22^nd from 3pm. They will re-​open 6:30pm
ADMISSION
Adults $ 13 + $ 4 Skate Rental
Children (Under 12) $ 6 + $ 4 Skate Rental Admission
$ 5 locker rental
Tips:
They do not offer helmet rentals so bring your own.
Sundays are their busiest days.
Bring your own lock and use their lockers for free. When we were there people were just putting their shoes in a corner.
Very limited space for strollers.
Ice quality is acceptable, not the best.
for more family fun ideas check out:

I’ll admit it: I’m a terrible skater. So terrible all I can get myself to do is walk slowly around the rink, never straying from the comfort of the rink walls.
This rink was cute, intimate, and free of tourist crowds. Sure, there were tons of small children whizzing by me, probably wondering why a grown woman was almost in tears and clutching the sides, but this rink was definitely my pace. And there’s boozy hot chocolate… really great, rich, boozy hot chocolate. That helps. A lot.
On this particular visit, my boyfriend decided to propose right on the ice. The little kids still whizzed by, unfazed. It was perfect. Proposal or no proposal, and even though I still suck at skating, I will return… hopefully with less skating fears.

Cute location, though the ice rink is certainly small and caters more toward children. However, there is a concession stand that serves adult beverages including spiked hot chocolate with bourbon, scotch, or vodka. They even make freshly fried doughnuts and occasionally crepes!

i came here for a company outing on a recent friday night. i showed up a little late (10 pm-​ish) so the ice skating rink was practically empty. in my book, that is a good thing and likely rare for rinks in the city. it is pretty tiny but without many people on it that doesnt matter nearly as much.
i actually didnt skate but instead hung out just by the rink under the heat lamps that were enough to keep me warm as long as i kept my coat on as well. i ordered a hot chocolate with baileys which was delicious for a few sips then quickly became cold and was certainly more chocolate than baileys so i put it aside to get into the real thing (it was friday night after all).
overall is probably a great spot for a random late-​ish date night skate adventure. just bring a coat and maybe a flask. or just skate then head over to the beer garden next door for your drinks.

My greek lil bro is quite the adequate ice skater. I, on the other hand, am definitely not. So for our annual ice skating outings, I make it my personal mission to find the newest, most obscure skating rinks in an effort to 1) impress him and 2) limit the potential number of skaters there… thus saving myself from embarrassment.
I was able to do so with the ice rink located at the Standard Hotel. The 3K sq ft ice rink, made from REAL ice, is a pop-​up rink (only in the Winter… obvs), wedged between the Standard Grill and the entrance to the Standard Hotel. The basic logistics are as follows:
Open 12p-​12a on weekdays; 9a-​1a on weekends. $ 12 admission (adults), $ 6 admission (children), $ 3 skate rental, $ 5 locker rental.
FYI — Bring your own lock to save on the rental — OR just throw your shoes anywhere (literally nobody rented a locker… except for us).
The moment we walked up to the rink, one thing was EXCEPTIONALLY obvious — LOTS OF CHILDREN! There were pretty much no adults on the rink that didn’t also have a flailing child next to them. Lilb and I agreed to skate — but not before the much needed double bourbon shot spiked hot chocolate purchased @ the food booth conveniently located there… more than likely catered towards parents. Also on sale were amazing smelling crepes & crispy thin french fries that my dieting lilB may or may not have been drooling over.
The Standard Ice Rink is the perfect rink for beginners — because you’ll either feel like an absolute pro among all the little kids learning… or you’ll actually fit right in with all the little kids learning ;) They also have these amazing penguin ice skating helpers for the little ones to push around! Come check out the Standard Ice Rink when you want a break from the tourists (Wollman’s), exorbitant prices (Rockefeller), or cray long lines (Bryant Park)!