Travel

Flatiron

Establishment neighborhood
Flatiron Wine and Spirits
929 Broadway, Flatiron
If you happen to live within a few blocks of the superb Flatiron Wines & Spirits, you can take advantage of free delivery on its full inventory. Its site has a handy “how to buy wine online” section, with tips for both novices and oenophiles, which translates to a full cart in no time. In response to the current crisis, Flatiron Wines has partnered with various California wineries to donate between $10 and $50 per case of certain wines sold to ROAR and the United Sommelier Foundation. If you love restaurants and want to support the chefs and servers who have prepared and served your Saturday suppers over the years, buy a case from this section.
Shape House
34 W. 17th St., Flatiron
This urban sweat lodge has three locations in the city and one in East Hampton, all with the spa’s signature infrared sauna wraps. After putting on the provided uniform—a light cotton top and pants—you’ll be snugly bundled inside an infrared blanket (the material it’s made of feels similar to the bib you wear for x-rays at the dentist) and left to watch Netflix while you seriously sweat. The far infrared waves gently warm the body, increasing the core temperature. You emerge from the cocoon 55 minutes later completely drenched. If that isn’t enough, schedule a consecutive lymphatic drainage session, where you’re wrapped in a full body suit that applies targeted pressure to points on the arms, legs, and waist to encourage circulation and detoxification.
Made Hotel
44 W. 29th St., Flatiron
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.
The James NoMad
22 E. 29th St., Flatiron
Just over a year old, the James’s second location in the city (the first opened in SoHo in 2010) is a Beaux Arts building from 1904. It’s got a hip, modern vibe, which is a great juxtaposition in such an historic building. Rooms are bright and cheerful (if a bit on the small side—this is New York, after all) and have a residential feel thanks to little touches like built-in wooden nightstands, Art Deco–style minibars, and works from local artists on the walls. It’s also home to Scarpetta, a popular high-end Italian restaurant that moved from its Meatpacking location to the hotel last year. The central location—in a rapidly changing, ever-cooler neighborhood—is a big bonus: NoMad is convenient to most parts of the city.
Studio at The Freehand (Closed)
23 Lexington Ave., Flatiron
Although restaurateur Gabe Stulman has five restaurants under his belt in the West Village (including Joseph Leonard and Jeffrey’s Grocery), this is his first venture into hotel dining. Studio is located on the second floor of the cool-kid hangout of the moment, the Freehand (which also has outposts in Miami, Chicago, and L.A.), in the Flatiron district. The theme is an homage to Stulman’s Jewish-Moroccan background, with influences drawn from North Africa and the Middle East. You could make a meal out of the small plates here, and we’d go for the spring pea hummus, served with a side of lamb merguez and pita; the berbere shrimp with fennel and blood orange; and the eggplant mirza with roasted tomato. The space itself resembles a private club more than a traditional restaurant, full of low-slung, sheepskin-covered leather chairs, cozy banquettes, and a soothing palette of warm browns and dark blues.
Tracie Martyn Skin Care Salon
156 5th Ave., Suite 500, Flatiron
Before becoming famous among actresses, models, and music-industry icons for her skin-perfecting red carpet treatments, Tracie Martyn was a makeup artist. The legendary aesthetician continues to play skin whisperer with the firming, sculpting therapies she pioneered, along with new cutting-edge technologies. The Resculpting Facial is her undisputed pièce de résistance—a miracle combination of microcurrent, microdermabrasion, a peptide-enriched oxygen treatment, and an infusion of barrier-restoring nutrients via Martyn’s own incredibly pure skin-care line. If you’re due for a splurge, try the Face and Body Resculpting Fusion—OMG. The studio, a light-filled oasis featuring sparkly chandeliers and a mostly white motif, is that rare balance of chic and chill.
Ellen Weldon
222 Fifth Ave., Flatiron
Ellen Weldon has been creating lavish invitations for New York weddings for close to three decades. And does she know what she’s doing? Let’s put it this way: Estée Lauder was her first client. A specialist in the art of calligraphy, Weldon offers different styles, ranging from the more printed-looking type that is straight caps to the dramatic swirling font that is Venetian. Be sure to allow at least three months, especially if your heart is set on one of Weldon’s custom monograms for the invitations.
Aimee Raupp Beauty
928 Broadway, Flatiron
A facial here involves amazing acupuncture, collagen-infused masks, ghee-powered face oils, and, perhaps most incredibly, face cupping. Practitioner Aimee Raupp, besides waking up your entire face (your whole body feels good after a treatment), can talk to you about diet, hormones, and many other aspects of women’s health—her book on fertility and pregnancy, Yes, You Can Get Pregnant, was a bestseller, and she has a new book on health and autoimmunity coming out next month. Her treatments were a huge hit at the recent In goop Health Summit for a reason—they are absolutely transformative.
Rescue Spa
29 E. 19th St., Flatiron
The duplex spa is enormous and luxurious, with high ceilings, plush couches, and a posh aesthetic that manages to be both modern and comfortable. There’s a hair salon, nail studio, and fourteen treatment rooms where you can get a variety of skin-perfecting therapies like the Fix-It-All facial, an over-the-top combination of micro-current, microdermabrasion, LED therapy, and more to lift, tighten, and smooth. A facial with founder/skin-whisperer Danuta Mieloch is transformative—her touch is exquisite, and you emerge looking beyond glowy.
Fields Good Chicken
44 E. 23rd St., Flatiron
Former financier-turned-pro-cyclist-turned-chicken-enthusiast Fields Failing converted his passion for the most perfectly cooked, crispiest-skinned bird into a business. With five locations across the city all serving up the same four styles of cooked chicken—herb grilled, grilled mojo, pulled bbq, or chicken salad—a good lunch is minutes away no matter where you are. The free-range chickens are sourced from Freebird family farms in Amish country, Pennsylvania, from sustainable farmers Failing has built relationships with. These protein-heavy bowls and salads (Christina's Kale, cobb, mo' miso) are filling, healthy and delicious, the perfect nutritious lunch to pick up on-the-go in the city.