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In most households, it's Mom's job to keep track of the family social calendar, but what about scheduling an activity for themselves? Maybe something that would offer an unbroken night's sleep, a spa treatment, lunch with a girlfriend, and that most rare commodity of all, a chance to finish a sentence without interruption. One way to make these dreams come true is to sneak away - preferably with another Mom to share the guilt and expenses—to New York City for a one-night getaway.

The idea is to provide some serious pampering without breaking the bank. Here's how it can work. Weekends—especially Sunday nights—are traditionally the softest nights at big city hotels, and prices tend to be lower. With that in mind, you can stay in a posh hotel for the night for not too much more than a mid-priced property would cost, especially if you split the price of a room with a friend.

One to try is The Peninsula New York, situated on Fifth Ave. and 55th St., which not only has a great location, but features a rooftop spa with views of the city from every angle. The 241-room, 23-story hotel, formerly The Gotham, was built in 1905 and drips with Beaux Art elegance and architectural elements. Rooms that normally sell for $650 a night go for $390 on weekends, space available, and include continental breakfast for two at the hotel's tony Adrienne restaurant.

Since typical check-in times are mid-afternoon—3 PM at The Peninsula—it's a good idea to have a plan in mind upon arrival. One idea is to head straight to the TKTS kiosk on Broadway and 47th for half-price tickets to a theater performance for that day. The kiosk opens at 11 AM, but a cab direct from the earliest shuttle to LaGuardia will put you there at just after 10 a.m., by which time a line will already be forming.

Upon arrival on line, you will be handed a list of Broadway and off-Broadway productions to study, and the trick here is to read the synopses and pump people standing nearby for information on which are the best shows to go for. Realize that not all the shows will be available, so it's a good idea to have several off-Broadway shows in mind, should the blockbusters be sold out. During a recent trip, tickets to Tony-winning Fosse were available for 25% off, or roughly $60, for example, while shows such as Elaine May's Taller Than a Dwarf with Mathew Broderick went for $30 and the popular mystery Perfect Crime was available for $20.

With tickets in hand, you can walk or hop a cab to the hotel, where you can stow your bags if your room isn't ready, and head out to lunch. There are enough interesting restaurants on 55th street that you probably don't have to go too far afield for that first pampering meal. Two to try are located across the street from each other and less than a block from the hotel. The first, Onigashima, is a second-floor Japanese restaurant with a wide range of offerings, from sushi to tempura and California rolls and even—gasp—beer and wine. A lunch special with one drink comes in at about $20 per person. The second, called La Bonne Soupe, is a small, authentic French brasserie with two floors and a tiny second-floor balcony sporting a couple of outdoor tables on sunny days. In addition to homemade soups, you can opt for cheese or chocolate fondue, Croque Monsieur, salade Niçoise, steak frites, and even such delicacies as white asparagus and pâté. A lavish lunch with one drink and an appetizer runs about $30 per person.

As most Sunday matinees begin between 2 and 3 PM, head straight to the theater from the restaurant, after which you and your room will be ready for each other. Since most rooms at The Peninsula have double beds, be sure to specify a twin-bedded room at the time of reservation. Rooms are elegant in the extreme, with Art Nouveau touches, gold linens and dark polished wood, as well as killer views of the city. The hotel, which was refurbished in 1998 to the tune of some $45 million, also offers plenty of high tech amenities such as a bedside panel that controls lighting and temperature, in-room fax machine and even a built-in television over the bathtub. The fax machine is a great way to send a message to the kids, by the way, without the guilt-inducing act of actually having to call and hear how much they miss you. Pampering touches include puffy duvets, down pillows, terry robes and generous toiletries.

The real draw at The Peninsula is the three-story spa, which features a warm in-door lap pool in a glassed-in rooftop setting, a whirlpool, steam room, sauna and exercise facilities. Treatments are available—a half-hour massage runs about $70—but the use of the facilities is complimentary to guests.

If you can pull yourself together to leave the room after your spa session, it's time for dinner out. One hot new restaurant to try in Midtown is Avra, a Greek eatery on East 48th St., which offers boisterously friendly service and a mix of traditional and updated Greek cuisine. Here the adventurous Mom can have octopus with Chilean sea bass while the more cautious Mom might opt for a mixed green salad and grilled lamb chops for upwards of about $50 with wine and dessert.

Energizer Bunny Moms can follow this with a drink at trendy Asia de cuba on Madison Ave.—known as much for its eye-popping décor as its cuisine—but most will likely collapse into that promised night of uninterrupted sleep.

After breakfast the next morning, you might want to take full advantage of the hotel before check-out time at noon. Another hour or two at the spa, for example, will fortify you for the day to come, which will, of course, include the transition to coming home. At check-out, you can stow your bags with the bell man and go shopping or visit the Museum of Modern Art, located around the corner from the hotel on 53rd St.

Moms with younger children whose museum outings have been restricted to hands-on, interactive kid's fare in recent years, will probably not mind the crowds at MOMA, which is exhibiting the works of Arp, Dali, Morandi and Man Ray, among others, through Aug. 22.

Your last bit of indulgence might be a latte and biscotti at Penn Station while waiting for your return flight, train or ride home. And not to feel too guilty for your little getaway. After all, you earned it, and, who knows? Maybe it can be an annual event. Next year, Paris?

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courtesy of the Peninsula Hotel, MOMA, and NYC CVB.

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