New York City Hotels

You know Baccarat, the lavish, storied crystal maker. But do you know Baccarat, the lavish, storied hotel in the heart of Midtown? The building it’s housed in is, unsurprisingly, looks like an ice cube. Inside, once you get up the elevators, it’s all cascading chandeliers, fairytale-looking wallpaper, slick marble, and sexy dim lighting. Speaking of marble, the indoor pool has a checkerboard bottom, which combines with the semi-private cabanas, has a way of transporting you to France the second you dip your toe. Maybe it’s the tufted fainting couches, maybe it’s the four-poster beds and crisp white sheets, but the rooms and suites are somehow minimal and over-the-top at the same time. And the spa? Yeah, it’s La Mer.

The rooms at this recently-renovated Soho hotel are decorated smartly and elegantly with plenty of comfort and flair. People flock here for the scene-y rooftop pool, and incredible views of Manhattan from the gym, the sky bar, and many of the rooms. Images courtesy of Nikolas Koenig.

The TWA Hotel at JFK is the kind of spot you stay at for the experience. In this case, the experience of sleeping in an airport hotel that was once a real-life terminal. Finnish industrial designer Eero Saarinen was responsible for the original mid-century modern structure that operated as a terminal until 2002, and the whole space still smacks of golden-age-of-air-travel novelty. While TWA functions fine as an airport hotel, it’s the details like the bar (designed to mimic a ’60s cocktail lounge inside an airplane cabin), guest rooms that would look at home on the set of Mad Men, mid-century terrazzo bathrooms, and Paris Café—helmed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten—that has curious travelers flocking in.

Efficient is the best word to describe Sister City, the new hotel from the Ace Hotel Group located in the Lower East Side. Enter through a narrow courtyard into a pristine, light-wood-filled lobby complete with hipster restaurants and self-check-in kiosks. And as all great hotels should, it has a rooftop bar with spectacular views of the city skyline. A little Finnish, a little Japanese, and a little college dorm, the rooms have just what you need (and little else). Images courtesy of Adrian Gaut.

We recently stayed at the new Hoxton in Williamsburg and were sorely tempted to play hooky from the office and work from the lobby instead. Communal tables, rich velvet sofas (nab a seat by the fire), dependable Wi-Fi, and floods of natural light make the space a freelancer’s dream. As for the guest rooms, they are labeled as “cozy” or “roomy.” But size really doesn’t matter when you can lie in an insanely comfortable bed piled with pillows and stare at the Manhattan skyline (while devouring the chia puddings delivered every morning). An unexpected delight was the dining scene: The food at the Hoxton's two restaurants is absolutely top-notch. You cannot go wrong with the blistered chicken and a bowl of ridiculously indulgent cacio e pepe with a side of roasted cauliflower, eaten sprawled out in the plush, textural lobby with a friend as we did—made better only by a few glasses of Beaujolais. We also love to frequent the other, equally thoughtful and beautifully turned-out Hoxton properties in London, Amsterdam, Paris, and—the most recent addition—Portland.

In its former life as the home to America's first professional theatrical club, the Lambs, this Midtown hotel was a hangout for the entertainment world’s brightest stars, like Irving Berlin and Fred Astaire, to name a couple. Today, it’s The Chatwal, a Luxury Collection Hotel—one of Manhattan’s under-the-radar gems, where its relatively small size (just seventy-six guest rooms) makes it a good choice for visitors who are turned off by the busyness of the megahotels nearby. The interior is an ode to its Art Deco history, which has the delightful feel of a glamorous ocean liner, and we love the fun little details (like backgammon sets, playing cards, and copies of The Great Gatsby) in the rooms.

A Queen Anne building which dates back to the Gilded Age as well as being one of the city's first skyscrapers, The Beekman has good bones.

The rooms all have floor-to-ceiling windows—the best of which come with private balconies and views of the Manhattan skyline.

Tucked away on an unassuming side street in the Flatiron district, Made is right in the thick of Manhattan’s gorgeous sprawl, showcased beautifully via floor-to-ceiling windows in all 108 rooms. Inside, exposed bronze-shelving with a sleek, industrial-ish vibe plays off the beds’ colorful, hand-woven headboards; the bathrooms have hand-painted Japanese tiles and deep limestone sinks. Good Behavior, the hot-house rooftop bar, is filled with plants, many hanging whimsically from the ceiling. Sipping on a Toki Toddy (Japanese whisky mixed with turmeric tea and pressed ginger) and lounging on one of the sofas (indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather) surrounded by the hazy glow of towering buildings is as New York as it gets: the view is epic. Paper, the coffee bar in the lobby serves dynamite coffee, lattes, and tea, pastries, and come dusk, excellent cocktails; the Lobby Bar specializes in small plates, and Debajo is the hotel’s new sleek, delight of a tapas restaurant.

In the past few years, Midtown has undergone a subtle evolution from the land of corporate offices and tourists to a neighborhood New Yorkers actually want to hang out in.