From legacy luxury idols to design-driven newcomers, the best hotels in New York City prove once again why New York is one of the greatest hotel towns.
As the world starts to welcome back guests, our list of iconic hotels reflects the kinds of properties you longed to visit when you couldn’t travel and the ones you returned to first once you could. Here are some of the best hotels in New York City, according to our readers.
The Whitby
A unique, boutique bolthole from the Firmdale group in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, The Whitby offers a sensorial stay, with eclectic, colourful design and a focus on art, alongside serious luxury and unstuffy service.
The Lowell
This hotel’s restaurant – French-Mediterranean restaurant, Majorelle – has standout food. The small bites as well as cocktails at Jacques Bar are simply divine. However, what really makes the Lowell outstanding establishment among the other Upper East Side hotels is that it’s the absolute perfect place for a quiet stay where you’ll have great service, however you’ll also be left alone.
The hotel is beautifully decorated with really thoughtful details while – at the same time – being cosy. The Lowell is low key and private. In addition, the staff goes above and beyond.
Crosby Street Hotel
Tim and Kit Kemp’s 86-room hotel bursts with style, great design as well as sophistication. It is awash with odd finds and classic details. Every aspect of this Firmdale property really does tell a story. Luxury knows no bounds; however the five-star service lacks pretence and it is remarkably approachable.
The Greenwich Hotel
In an age of the ever-more-exclusive members’ club attracting the black-card-carrying wolf pack, Robert De Niro’s hotel makes privacy feel pleasingly effortless. Built more than a 10 years ago in a cobblestone quarter of Lower Manhattan, it evokes the feeling of stepping into the actor’s own salon.
The lobby is hung with abstract paintings which were painted by De Niro’s late father, and beyond it into a more inner sanctums await: A book-filled drawing room flows into a pocket garden, where topiaries cast an Italianate charm.
Each of the 88 rooms is individually arranged with antique silk rugs, the odd vintage table as well as marble bathtubs, while the TriBeCa Penthouse is earthy and minimalist. However, the enduring revelation is the Shibui Spa, where the lantern-lit pool glimmers under the beams of a 250-year-old Japanese farmhouse.
A festive din still kicks up at Locanda Verde, which serves rustic plates of duck orecchiette, and New York fixtures such as Yoko Ono and Jay-Z go pretty much incognito, but things settle down early. The wolf pack can go elsewhere.
The Benjamin
Denihan’s landmark Beaux Arts hotel exudes elegance from head to toe. This graceful Emery Roth building features sophisticated spaces that feel more like upscale apartments. In-room kitchenettes, exceptional service, and Geoffrey Zakarian’s acclaimed restaurant and bar add to the pied-à-terre experience.
The Pierre
This 41-storey Taj hotel features a superb location in Lenox Hill, luxurious apartment-like rooms as well as suites with sweeping views of Central Park. The on-site restaurant, Perrine, is headed by Chef Ashfer Biju and is unquestionably one of the best you’ll find in the neighbourhood.