In a city full of world class hotels, it takes something special to stand out. From Upper East Side classics to cool downtown boutique hotels, here is our guide to the best hotels in New York City.
In a city full of world class hotels, it takes something special to stand out. From Upper East Side classics to cool downtown boutique hotels, here is our guide to the best hotels in New York City.
The Greenwich, TriBeCa
Two words come to mind when I think of The Greenwich: privacy and discretion. With the feeling of a private members’ club on the ground floor where guests can relax unnoticed in front of the fire in the drawing room, the hotel feels intimate and personal throughout.
The 88 rooms are all designed differently with chairs with bold patterns sitting next to dark wood furniture and luxurious fabrics.
To be a part of the scene, visit Locanda Verde, one of the most popular restaurants in New York, and to be removed from it all, visit the gorgeous Shibui Spa, which oozes serenity and well being from its core.
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
Sitting between the Financial District and Tribeca on Barclay Street, one block away from the One World Trade, the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown opened in late September 2016.
The hotel offers 189 spacious guest rooms – including 28 suites – designed with warm, soothing interiors. The wood walls and woven metal screens with brushed bronze accents create a sense of understated luxury.
Wolfgang Puck’s Cut steakhouse is located on the ground floor of the hotel and make sure you visit the spa with its gorgeous 75ft lap pool.
Contact us to book the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown with a range of VIP benefits.
The Mark, Upper East Side
The Mark exudes understated luxury, expertly combining traditional elegance with modern design touches.
The rooms are subtly luxurious with muted colours and Art Deco touches, and the bathrooms are beautifully decorated in black and white marble and pastel green, with deep bathtubs and polished nickel fittings.
Super-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten oversees the restaurant, which is one of the hotspots on the Upper East Side.
For the most luxurious experience, check in to the 12,000 square foot five bedroom penthouse with its huge terrace with Manhattan as its backdrop – truly stunning!
The Mark Hotel is the perfect mix of understated glamour, impeccable service and modern design touches making the most of its Upper East Side location.
Four Seasons Hotel New York, Midtown
Towering over 57th Street, between Park and Madison, The Four Seasons New York’s most striking feature is perhaps its commanding lobby with its marble floors, giant pillars and cathedral height ceilings.
Starting from the lobby and filtering all the way through the public spaces and guest rooms, the hotel has a timeless art deco elegance updated to reflect modern times.
With 368 rooms, including 63 suites, with the smallest room being a capacious 500 sq ft, The Four Seasons New York is a giant in all respects.
The rooms are nicely appointed with light woods and cream furnishings, with large windows offer sublime views of the Manhattan skyline, some looking directly over Central Park and beyond.
The Lowell, Upper East Side
Located on a tree-lined residential street between Madison and Park Avenue, The Lowell reflects the timeless elegance of the Upper East Side.
The 47 suites and 27 rooms are designed like understated, elegant townhouse apartments, where many of the suites have wood burning fires, kitchenettes and terraces.
The Lowell is the epitome of Upper East Side elegance and it’s a very special hotel. If you want to feel like you are staying in your own Manhattan apartment on your next visit to New York, The Lowell is the hotel for you.
The Marlton, Greenwich Village
Located in Greenwich Village The Marlton Hotel is a cute, cool hotel, full of personality.
With a feel of a private residence, you enter into a lobby bar area that becomes quite the scene at night, with open fires on either side, with dark woods, low lighting and plush seats creating a homely, chic vibe.
If you want a hotel with spacious rooms, then The Marlton is not for you; the 107 rooms spread over nine floors are bijoux, ranging from 100 to 120 square feet. Despite being compact, bedrooms are charming and do not compromise on style; the bathrooms are particularly cool.
With rooms available from around $300, The Marlton offers an affordable option where you don’t have to compromise on style or quality at all.
Soho Grand Hotel, Soho
It’s hard to believe that the Soho Grand Hotel has been open for 20 years. The stylish, modern and urban hotel that it remains today was a catalyst for the area’s transformation.
With 353 rooms and suites towering 17 stories high, the design at the Soho Grand Hotel mixes industrial metal staircases with heavy velvet drapes and vaulted ceilings – stylish and on-trend without trying too hard to be trendy.
Bedrooms are cool and comfortable, if a little dark, with flat-screen plasma TVs, iPod dock and speakers, and large beds.
The Soho Grand Hotel’s lobby bar and restaurant exude a relaxed hip vibe; glamorous yet casual. For a hotel with so many rooms, it retains a feeling of intimacy where every guest can feel special.
Park Hyatt New York, Midtown
The Park Hyatt New York feels like your (very stylish) home from home, with its residential feel and look that starts with the relaxed checking-in process of being greeted at the entrance, and after a few clicks of an iPad, being escorted directly to your room.
The 118 guest rooms and 92 suites start at a generous 475 sq ft, all with floor to ceiling windows maximising the view of the New York skyline. Muted tones of greys, creams and brown dominate the colour scheme.
The hotel overlooks Carnegie Hall, therefore its location is perfect for music lovers. Jump in the indoor pool to hear an exclusive soundtrack from the venue playing through the underwater speakers!
I would recommend making use of the spa, where 4 of the 6 treatment rooms have private outdoor terraces.
For a residential feel in the heart of Midtown, the Park Hyatt New York is the hotel for you.
The Peninsula New York, Midtown
Epitomising old world elegance with Asian influences, The Peninsula New York’s oriental carpets, marble floors and white glove service makes it one of the finest luxury hotels in New York.
Comfort and tranquillity are the cornerstones of the 235 guest rooms, but I would recommend staying in the deluxe suite, a corner suite with a true New York view over 5th Avenue.
The hotel’s location is a big selling point, so head up to the Salon de Ning on the 23rd floor to see the hotel’s location from a privileged vantage point.
The Peninsula is not for those who like their hotels to be shiny and new; this is a true traditional hotel that combines service, elegance and classic design to stay at the top of its game.
Keep reading our guide to the best hotels in New York…
Baccarat Hotel, Midtown
From the moment you enter the lobby of the Baccarat Hotel and see the dramatic Baccarat chandelier, you feel the opulence all around you.
Almost Gothic in parts, flamboyant and dramatic throughout, the chandeliers are a major theme throughout, reflecting the heritage of the Baccarat brand.
In a welcome contrast, the 114 rooms are pleasantly understated – the Baccarat crystal theme is far more subtle; the rooms are, in fact, rather sedate in contrast, but the quality of the materials and craftsmanship shines through.
The Baccarat Hotel is as plush and sumptuous as you would expect from a brand with such a history.
The NoMad Hotel, Midtown / Flatiron
My first experience of The NoMad was of the restaurant of the same name, where I enjoyed a fabulous dinner in sumptuous and effortlessly cool surroundings, run by the same people behind the much-revered, three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park (the restaurant itself has a well deserved Michelin star).
A return visit to see the rooms made the hotel jump towards the top of my New York Hotel hit list.
Both grand and intimate, the velvet drapes, free-standing baths, leather chairs and hardwood floors add to the character that is intrinsic to the hotel’s success. The NoMad feels unique, cool and really rather special.
The Ludlow Hotel, Lower East Side
The Ludlow is located on the Lower East Side, an area that has long been known for being effortlessly cool in terms of dining, shopping and the arts.
It may be a newcomer on to the New York hotel scene, but the Ludlow feels right at home in one of New York’s hippest areas.
Factory-style casement windows in every room, re-purposed wood beams and a distressed limestone fireplace in the lounge give this hotel its authentic feel.
Rooms are beautifully and cleanly designed. Top tip: the two bedroom Ludlow Double is excellent value for a 2 bedroom room, ideal for friends or a small family.
Crosby Street Hotel, Soho
Adding a more luxurious and elegant alternative to New York’s Soho hotel scene is the Crosby Street Hotel from London-based Firmdale Hotels. Bold colours and fabrics dominate with striking objets d’art in the lobby proving a contrast to the cobbled street of Soho outside.
Rooms continue with the elegant and homely Firmdale style with softer, more subtle colours and the odd design quirk thrown in to mix things up.
Until you enter the bedroom that is: high ceilings and huge metal framed windows with views of loft-style apartments and offices is every inch the New York SoHo experience.
Crosby Street Hotel offers a tranquil, refined experience just a few yards from the busiest streets of one of the most vibrant cities in the world – sometimes you really can have it all.
Viceroy New York, Midtown
Bringing the best of both worlds to Midtown Manhattan on West 57th is the latest hotel from the Viceroy Hotel Group: Viceroy New York.
For a 29-storey hotel with 240 rooms, including 42 suites, the beautifully designed lobby worked with great efficiency and minimal fuss at both check in and check out. The private library creates a chic, homely atmosphere.
My Viceroy Park View Suite offered glorious views of autumnal New York from the bedroom and sitting area, as well as having a maritime themed window in the shower – how refreshing to see the city’s best bits while washing your own.
The design of the rooms mixes retro colours (think dark and light browns, beige and grey), but you’re not in New York to look at your room: head to the rooftop bar to see the Manhattan skyline in all its glory.
The Towers at Lotte New York Palace, Midtown
One of the grande dames of the New York hotel scene, the New York Palace is a true institution.
The hotel is a giant in all respects with 909 newly renovated rooms in total, including 176 rooms in the exclusive ‘Towers’ located on the top 14 floors of the 55 storey hotel.
With its own separate entrance and check-in area, this is the perfect choice for the luxury traveller, whether business guests or those who want to explore the high-end shops in the area.
For the ultimate in luxurious living, book the 5000 square foot triplex Jewel Suite, designed in collaboration with Martin Katz, with its large and impressive terrace providing stunning views of the Manhattan skyline.
Head downstairs to visit Trouble’s Trust for some speciality cocktails, or for true connoisseurs, a visit to Rarities is a must – invited guests can experience exceptional Champagnes, pre-prohibition bottled spirits and very rare wines. A very special experience.
Other New York City Hotels
Other hotels we like include the St Regis New York, the Mandarin Oriental New York, The Standard Highline in the Meatpacking district and the Loews Regency in Midtown.
Book with Bon Vivant
Use Bon Vivant’s free luxury travel service to book your next weekend getaway or business trip to New York with access to the following complimentary VIP Benefits:
- Room upgrade
- Complimentary breakfast
- $100 to spend at the hotel on food and drink or spa services
- Early check-in / late check-out
Access the Virtuoso and preferred partner benefits described above at some of the best hotels in New York including The Mark, Four Seasons New York, Park Hyatt, The Edition, Baccarat Hotel, St Regis New York, New York Palace, Ritz-Carlton, The W, The Chatwal, the Peninsula, The Plaza, The Carlyle, The Surrey and More!
Contact us now to book!
The Best Hotels in New York
If you enjoyed this feature on the best hotels in New York City, try some of our other guides including the best luxury hotels in London, our favourite luxury hotels in Paris, the best boutique hotels in London, the best hotels in the South of France or our guide to Napa Valley hotels and restaurants.
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Disclaimer: None of the hotels have paid to be featured here, this is an article on some of our favourite New York hotels that e wanted to share with our readers. Read our editorial policy here.