Recommendations for luxury hotels in NYC?

March 2, 2008 11:38 AM

Recommendations for luxury hotels in NYC?

I am going to New York City for a week in early May, and much to my luck, I have the chance to stay at whichever hotel at which I am able to obtain reservations. All I know is that I would like to stay in a luxury or boutique hotel, not so much a run-of-the-mill chain. I want my stay to be an aesthetic experience, so I'm more interested in the design and atmosphere of the hotel than the specific amenities it offers (e.g., whether or not it has a spa, or how good its restaurant is).

Any recommendations? I'm not restricted to any particular neighborhood of NYC. I've tried googling, but the sheer number of results that turned up is daunting.

posted by sansgras to travel & transportation (28 comments total)

Previously

Then, as now, I highly recommend the Dylan Hotel, although if budget is of no issue, I am sure there are better options out there.
posted by buddha9090 at 11:42 AM on March 2

Hotel Rivington. REALLY nice hotel and a nice nightlife in the area.
posted by hal_c_on at 11:46 AM on March 2

Waldorf-Astoria
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 11:52 AM on March 2

My parents once stayed in the Gramercy Park Hotel on a visit, and we thought the room was so nice we actually stayed in and watched movies one night. A beautiful, beautiful design throughout the hotel, including the famous Rose Bar. Really, I can't recommend it enough.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:54 AM on March 2

the Four Seasons is pretty cool
posted by matteo at 11:56 AM on March 2

royalton is exactly what you describe - a luxury boutique hotel for the design set. it's a couple block from times square, so it's not a bad location either. i really enjoyed it the couple times i've stayed there.

i haven't stayed in them, but morgans and hudson are in nyc and owned by the same folks with the same vibe. i've been to many of their other places and they are all a pretty spectacular.

the library hotel is not a design-centric, but it's pretty cool.

i've had good luck finding great quirky spots by using tablet hotels, a seach engine & reccomendation service for boutique hotels.
posted by bruceo at 11:57 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]

dude - the gramercy. i wish i could stay there, and i live 20 mins away.
posted by fumbducker at 12:05 PM on March 2

ps... waldorf - no way.
posted by fumbducker at 12:06 PM on March 2

As someone who used to work in the Waldorf-Astoria, I can say that the building is beautiful and the rooms are quite nice. The big drawback is the location. Anything that I would consider interesting is downtown or in Brooklyn. Guests would occasionally ask me where to eat in the area, and I'd just give them a nice, polite blank look, and then suggest something out of the neighborhood.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:16 PM on March 2

I stayed at Chambers for a couple of nights, and it was nice and modern with interesting artwork throughout.
posted by kitty teeth at 12:24 PM on March 2

W Times Square. The neighbourhood is over the top, but the design is too.
posted by girlpublisher at 12:33 PM on March 2

Whatever you do, stay away from Hotel Carter in Times Square
posted by seawallrunner at 12:35 PM on March 2

I stayed in the Gramercy Park Hotel in 2000 and it was one of the worst places I've been. Make sure they've renovated it if you look into staying there. Everything was shabby and smelled of rodent pee. Including the manager.
posted by Addlepated at 12:37 PM on March 2

Check the website I linked to up there, Addlepated. It was renovated two years ago -- and I promise, no pee smells of any kind.
posted by Bookhouse at 12:45 PM on March 2

We love the Elysee.
posted by capcuervo at 12:53 PM on March 2

I've stayed at Four Seasons all over the planet, and generally prefer these hotels to others in the same class, but last May I took my girl friend at the time (now wife) to New York for a week and we couldn't get a room, so we took a suite The Peninsula.

Totally positive experience. In fact so very nice we'll be back in New York in April and will stay there another week.

I stayed at the Waldorf in 2005 and it was a disaster. So bad that when the Manager heard my litany of complaints at check out (well, he did ask how our stay was, and I tend to write stuff down - I think he thought I was planning to write a letter which, of course, I was) we got two nights out of seven for free The Waldorf is no doubt a classic name but in my view that's all they're trading on these days ...pity, as I lived in New York for thirteen years and frequently walked by thinking to myself how nice it must be to stay there.
posted by Mutant at 1:06 PM on March 2

I've heard good things about 60 Thompson and from the lobby it certainly looks fantastic. Well-located, too.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 1:08 PM on March 2

Posted too fast - the bank I work for always puts me up at The Soho Grand; I've never had a bad stay there, folks are friendly and accommodating. Probably woud suit your aesthetic requirements more, and location would be more interesting as well.
posted by Mutant at 1:10 PM on March 2

Vikram Chatwal's hotels have a love 'em or hate 'em style:

Dream, Time, Night
posted by dzot at 1:15 PM on March 2

If price is really no object, Robert DeNiro's new Greenwich Hotel should be open by then -- the lobby bar was furnished as of last week. I live nearby and have watched it being built, brick by handmade artisan brick, and it's absolutely one of the most stunning pieces of hotel design I've ever seen. Make sure you mean "price is no object" though...
posted by The Bellman at 1:17 PM on March 2

The Tribeca Grand is by all accounts excellent.
posted by patricio at 2:29 PM on March 2

My wife and I really enjoyed staying at the Maritime Hotel.
posted by skwm at 6:16 PM on March 2

I can't vouch for the rooms, but as a lighting designer who's either worked on or visited most of the hotels on this list, I have to second the incredible Hudson Hotel. It's absolutely stunning work by Philippe Starck. Even if you don't wind up staying there, I highly recommend going for a drink at the bar and wandering over to the library room.
posted by Thin Lizzy at 7:24 PM on March 2

Hotel Gansevoort might fit the bill.
posted by stonefruit at 7:31 PM on March 2

Also, if price is honest-to-god no object, the Plaza Hotel just reopened yesterday after a $400 million, 2 year renovation. Rooms start at $1000 per night, but it would be an unforgettable aesthetic experience.
posted by Thin Lizzy at 9:12 PM on March 2

We really enjoyed our stay at the awkwardly named W New York - The Court (next door is the Tuscany, which is probably interchangeable but with slightly different views), but it's definitely Not For Everyone (it's a very comfortable sort of cool, but some rooms are apparently not as well kept as others). If you can get one of the "spectacular" rooms you'll be quite happy. Furnishings, linens, etc are all very nice.

Most recently we had a lovely stay at the new Hilton Times Square, which is a very nice new facility. We got upgraded at check-in to a deluxe corner room, the staff was great (we made a lot of use of the concierge), and the space itself is quite nice (don't let the fact it's a Hilton get you down).

New York is in a bit of a hotel building boom (recent NYT piece on an architect who's getting a lot of that work) so indeed it's not like it'll be hard to find a nice hotel in an interesting building. Be wary of some of the boutique hotels because you could easily find yourself in a tiny room -- even for New York.
posted by fedward at 9:31 PM on March 2

Seconding the Hotel Rivington. It is hip and modern. They have really cool tall square-ish bathtubs and a great restaurant (Thor) downstairs. Also, my favorite restaurant, Suba, is right around the corner.
posted by rmless at 9:02 AM on March 3

We stayed at the Royalton as a result of responses to our previous AskMe, and it was lovely. Really loved the bar area and the modern, soothing decor, and the circular spa tubs were a hoot. Very dim corridors, but whatever. If you can splurge for better, bigger views with better views, you will likely be even more impressed than we were. But, one thing the Royalton doesn't have is the sort of huge "wow" factor you might get from others when you first open the door and walk into a huge marble atrium or interior garden or whatever. Their lobby is lovely and modern, but not a giant WOW.
posted by onlyconnect at 10:02 AM on March 3