If you’re a frequent NYC pop-up attendee, the wildly popular Rosé Mansion from last summer is back and with brand new rooms as well as some newly upgraded fan favorites like the floral bathtub room (there’s now 3 to keep line congestion down!) and an even bigger and fuller champagne ball pit. At first I hesitated when I heard it was coming back because I didn’t want to repeat the same pop-up and walk through. But I was invited back by the pop-up itself so I figured why not? Let’s have some fun and see the difference. (You can read about last year’s experience and photos here.)
So. Let’s cut to the chase, I can honestly say they did a beautiful job with the second rendition. I would definitely say this pop-up is worth the price. A lot of quality work was put into it, they collaborated with many different artists to put the rooms together, and you get your money’s worth with all the tastings as well as plenty of photo ops. I’ve been to a lot of pop-ups that are flops looking like someone’s dorm room decoration and rip-offs for what they charge for admission and this is definitely not one of them. The entire exhibit is actually pretty educational, teaching you about the history and process of making rose wine and all the different kinds around the world. Another con of pop-ups that make me wary of them is the lack of good lighting for optimal photo taking. But again, Rosé actually paid attention to this and placed spotlights in a lot of photo areas, which I noticed and appreciated very much as a big pop-up goer.
So where do we start? You mysteriously enter from the side of the building of the Manhattan mall and queue up for an elevator that transports you to the second floor where your adventure awaits. You walk through a neon tunnel which drops you into the “boarding area.” Here you can seamlessly “check your bag” aka drop off any bags you have so you can walk through the exhibit with just your phone and camera, not having to worry about throwing your belongings off the side to snap a photo at every location. I loved this as this was a nice touch to the flight theme. This room was even modeled like a cute pink boarding area with airport seats, luggage, a boarding gate, old school telephones, and a big sign showing arrivals and departures. There was so many photo opportunities before even signing in to the actual pop-up itself.
Signing in was also easy and seamless. You get scanned in, sign a waiver and then wait about 2-3 minutes before you enter a room with quick instructions on how to move about the pop-up via a cute “in-flight” video, just like you would before taking off. After, you move down two cute tunnels (again, two to help with traffic congestion before moving forward) through a forest of huge purple bouncy balls (to mimic grapes) before arriving at a table where you are given your Rosé Mansion wine glass, which you’re to bring with you through the entire exhibit to receive your rosé samples. There are 8 different wines to try from and each pour is a pretty generous helping, in my opinion. But if you’re a lightweight like me and can’t finish your wine before the next tasting, fear not, every station has a small bucket for you to pour your wine into before getting a new pour. And oh yes, full disclosure, I’m not a big drinker so I was here totally for the Instagrammable experience of the pop-up, not the actual drinking part, but I did partake in sips for actual tasting and my favorite rose would have to be the Cleopatra room.
After given your glass (it’s actually just plastic so don’t worry about dropping and breaking it), you’ll move through a series of different themed rooms with a lab, chairs, painted walls, vanities, a garden, painted optical illusion floor, a floor quiz helping you select what rosé you’ll like best to try, a giant cake to boomerang the perfect confetti pop-up and of course, the ball pit that completes every pop-up. At the end, it drops you into “Roséland” where you can relax for as long as you want before leaving. There’s a rosé bar as well as a taco bar if you’re still thirsty or hungry or both, a picnic area for doing exactly that, and even more Instagrammable opportunities. This is also the “baggage claim” area where you can retrieve any bags you checked in earlier. There are also ample amount of bathrooms located around here and in 2019 fashion, gender neutral and cutely decorated.
The iconic chandelier swing is located near the exit, as well as a similar giant throne chair from last year. There’s also a cute lawn chair photo op and a “Hollywood” Rosé Mansion sign. The space is huge and there’s plenty to do. The only con I really found was the chandelier swing at the end wasn’t being monitored by staff like the rooms in the exhibit were. Everything near the exit after the ball pit is at your leisure and not timed. This was both good and bad. The good is you can possibly take longer to get the right photo/boomerang. The con is so can everyone else. So the line for this can take up to an hour even with just 6 girls in front of you. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own time, but some people take longer than others and some people do get a little rude about it, which is exactly the same problem I had the first year at Rosé Mansion at the bathtub room. I did notice a security guy nearby but his job wasn’t really to facilitate the line. The only thing he would probably do is step in, were an altercation were to occur as tensions arose. Unfortunately due to the line problem during my visit, the chandelier did get quite congested and so I wasn’t able to get a good shot by the chandelier swing, which is probably one of the most coveted money shots of the entire exhibit, hence why there was a line here and not so much at all the other spots around the exit.
Overall though I wouldn’t let missing the chandelier affect my experience. The pop-up alone is huge with much to do so take your time as you walk through. Give yourself two hours if you want optimal gramming, I would say and practice a lot of patience. And definitely come with a friend who has a good eye for photos and knows how to work that boomerang. I love that the space is much bigger than last year’s so you never feel like someone is on top of you. It’s also very well conditioned and comfortable. I take note of this because Candytopia was held here and it was a sauna walking through that pop-up so it got uncomfortable at a certain point, causing you to walk through it pretty quick just to get out of the heat.
So the final verdict. It’s definitely a different experience than last years, which is nice because it doesn’t feel like a carbon copy but an actual sequel to it’s predecessor. Like I didn’t feel like I was walking through the exact same pop-up again is my point. So if you enjoyed the mansion last year, then you’ll love this one too.
For those new to Rosé, or pop-ups in general, my advice would be to bring a friend or two, and encourage your group to dress up! You’ll have a blast. Like all pop-ups, tickets are required to purchase ahead of time and are time-slotted. Prices differ according to the time and day you choose to visit, and range from $35 to $45. I went on a weekend so it was busier so that’s probably my own downfall so I would definitely recommend visiting on a weekday if you can to save money and for optimal photo time when it’s less crowded so you won’t feel rushed. Your photos will come out much nicer this way and your boomerangs will be bomb. And oh yes, you have to be 21+ to enter. Everyone in your party included, whether or not they choose to drink. The new Rose Mansion is located at 111 W32nd St, New York, New York 10001 and you can purchase tickets here.
