The Best Hotels in New York

The Best Hotels in New York

Last Updated 3rd April 2019 | Main image: The William Vale

The City might never sleep, but when you’re over there, at some point, you’ll have to.

So behold, our list of the best places to bed down in the Big Apple…

 

The Ludlow | Lower East Side

In the heart of the Lower East Side sits The Ludlow. Hotelier Sean MacPherson says of his creation, “we’d like it to function as a living room for the neighbourhood”. It’s a pretty vibrant area, so getting the neighbours round for a drink would be a serious event. Luckily the lobby can cater. A limestone gas fireplace, oversized chandeliers, and plentiful sofa space ensures that this place is keeping up with the Joneses. Out the back is its quaint and upcycled garden space, a nice nod to the more industrial tenement feel of the area. The rooms, like many boutique hotels in the city, aim for a loft-style aesthetic and the large windows, custom Indo-Peruvian beds, and silk rugs are all very much on point. Also located within the hotel is French bistro, Dirty French, which offers guests priority booking on reservations – something you’ll need due to its immense popularity. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 8/10
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The William Vale | Williamsburg

There’s a lot to see in Manhattan. But undoubtedly the best way to see all of it at once is from your own personal hotel room balcony, craft cocktail from the minibar in one hand and a donuts from the hotel’s own donutterie in the other. Or, of course, the swimming pool terrace – the largest in New York. But every single room in The William Vale has a balcony, either overlooking the iconic skyline, or the sprawling streets of Brooklyn; the views are astonishing all round. It’s a stone’s throw from a huge number of great restaurants; quirky, independent stores; and excellent nightlife (the Brooklyn Brewery is literally on your doorstep, and they run free tours). But best of all is the hotel’s rooftop bar Westlight, with panoramic views and killer drinks… READ MORE

Price ££ | Amenities 9/10 | Location 8/10
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Hôtel Americano | Chelsea

Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge a hotel by its name, because Hôtel Americano is unpredictably, a chic and zen urban ryokan. The focus here is firmly on pared-back, urban architecture and design. Located in the trendy Chelsea district, the interior offers warm lighting, smooth concrete surfaces, and wooden platform beds, while the restaurant serves up French food with a Latin flair, and includes a cutting edge dining patio. There’s also a Mexican grill providing coastal creations and a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline. To cap it all off? A rooftop pool during the summer months. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 9/10 | Location 8/10
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The Standard High Line | Meatpacking District

Sitting atop a former elevated train line, The Standard High Line offers exceptional views of the surrounding area. Located in New York’s Meatpacking District, every room boasts floor to ceiling windows that take in the Manhattan skyline on one side and The Hudson on the other. On the ground level public plaza they have a German Biergarten, a pop up restaurant, numerous art installations, and an ice rink in the winter. Up the other end is the legendary Top of the Standard where you can take tea in the afternoon as the sun sets, then relax with live jazz under the stars. There’s also a penthouse nightclub which sports a plunge pool on the dance floor in the summer months. Standard. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 9/10 | Location 7/10
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Hotel On Rivington | Lower East Side

High up on Rivington Street overlooking Little Italy and East Village stands Hotel On Rivington. With floor to ceiling windows in each of its rooms (which are more spacious than the average – something they are keen to let you know), the views of the city are pretty breathtaking. These views, along with their urban aesthetic, have earned them the colloquial title of ‘sexiest hotel in NY’. Now as we know, there’s nothing sexier than good amenities and Hotel On Rivington has them in bucketloads. On the ground floor there’s the beautiful Cafe Medi serving up dishes from the Mediterranean Coast, whilst one floor up the S’zen operates as a mixology lounge and art gallery. Best of all, hidden away behind a discreet graffiti door is their 1930s Shanghai-themed lounge, JIA. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££ | Amenities 8/10 | Location 8/10
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The Bowery | Lower East Side

Nestled away in the Lower East Side, The Bowery is a cosy joint with a lobby so good, your lobby wants to go there on holiday – if you had one. The rooms are smart and offer great views of the metropole, but it’s the communal areas where this place really comes to life. Antique velvet armchairs, hand woven Usak carpets, period paintings, and a large communal fireplace combine to create a living room even Sherlock Holmes would be jealous of. The restaurant’s not bad either. She goes by the name Gemma, and serves up top notch Italian cuisine at all hours. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 8/10
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The Mercer | SoHo

They call them lofts, we call them attics. We dump last year’s Christmas decorations in them, they renovate, upgrade and live in theirs. And, as it turns out, with good reason: they’re excellent. The Mercer, which sits in a reclaimed Romanesque building in the city’s SoHo district, provides guests with a quintessential New York “loft living” experience and Parisian designer Christian Liaigre’s combination of African wenge furniture, dark wooden floors, and understated lighting creates an elegant and spacious feel which will put your upstairs to shame. The downstairs probably will as well, because there you’ll find the Mercer Kitchen, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten creation serving up a seriously good American menu. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 8/10
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The Refinery | Midtown

An old hat factory in Midtown’s garment district, this luxury hotel will certainly turn a few heads and, unsurprisingly, its best feature is on its head. The Rooftop Bar here offers unrivalled views of the Empire State Building and expert cocktails from mixologists In Good Company, while their food offering comes in the form of Parker & Quinn, a stylish, retro American eatery with booth style seating, wood-panelled walls and a heavy serving of shellfish and steak. There’s also a jazz bar within the heart of the hotel lobby that takes its inspiration from the hotel’s history as a prohibition “tea” room, and, not to be outdone, they also have their own gallery space, The Hatbox, where designers and local shops exhibit work and run pop ups. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 9/10
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Soho House | Meatpacking District

We all know of its UK creations, and Soho House’s New York counterpart does not disappoint. A Cowshed spa, an opulent dining room bedecked with chandeliers, and a rooftop pool are among the impressive roster of amenities that await you as a guest – not to mention you can act like a fully fledged member as you swan about the place. There are 30 bedrooms each uniquely designed, and resting your head in the meatpacking district means you’ll have a whole host of restaurants, cafes and bars on your doorstep. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 10/10 | Location 8/10
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Crosby Street Hotel | SoHo

Located in the vibrant SoHo neighbourhood, Crosby Street Hotel is a luxury hotel with a fresh and contemporary feel. Designed by Kit Kemp, the bar stretches the entire length of the property and serves up sophisticated fare at all hours. It backs onto the terrace which, unsurprisingly, is a leafy patio for outside dining. For an even quieter spot you can curl up in the Drawing Room, complete with French sandstone fireplace or the Sculpture Garden, an exclusive sanctuary for guests and their guests. On the 12th floor they even have their own kitchen garden, an urban fruit and vegetable patch managed by the hotel’s head chef Anthony Paris that includes a Tudor style chicken coop with four Araucana chickens that produce unique pale blue eggs. Naturally. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££££ | Amenities 8/10 | Location 8/10
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The Roxy | Tribeca

With a cinema, live music and art on offer, The Roxy feels like a one man band – with a touch more class. Located in the Tribeca neighbourhood, The Roxy’s architecture is a modern twist on its Art Deco roots. The onsite cinema screens a variety of films in 35mm, while the hotel bar has nightly live music set against its downtown lounge aesthetic of brick walls and leather sofas. If you’re after a more relaxing vibe, they also cater. There’s a subterranean jazz club and oyster bar to be discovered below stairs, and a silver service cocktail lounge higher up. All that indulging in art (and cocktails) can be tiring though, so The Roxy has a special relationship with nearby Aire, a 16,000 sq ft spa sanctuary on Franklin Street with several pools, a flotarium, a salt-water pool and a steam room. Once you’re finally ready to leave the neighbourhood they even provide their own bicycles for hire. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££ | Amenities 10/10 | Location 8/10
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NoMad | NoMad

Nestled inside a gorgeous turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts building on the corner of Broadway and 28th, NoMad serves up a decidedly Parisian feel to its guests. The designer, Jacques Garcia, took inspiration from his own childhood apartments – which, based on the evidence, must have been a pretty opulent upbringing, because most of the rooms are kitted out with mahogany writing desks, handmade vintage Heriz rugs and freestanding clawfoot bathtubs. For class, the restaurant matches the hotel. A number of individually styled rooms border a glass enclosed atrium and serve up creations from chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara of triple Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park fame. And for nightcaps? Pop into the hotel bar, which currently stands at no. 4 on the World’s Best Bars list. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££££ | Amenities 8/10 | Location 9/10
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The Greenwich Hotel | Tribeca

Housed in the Tribeca neighbourhood, The Greenwich is a real luxury abode – which you’d expect, being half-owned by Robert De Niro. Its rooms are individually designed, but your furnishings are likely to include Moroccan tiles, Tibetan rugs and repurposed Japanese lumber. In fact, the whole place has a worldwide feel to it – the private Drawing Room & Courtyard impressively blend the unconventional bedfellows of Chinese and Mediterranean design, but the jewel in the crown, however, is the Shibui Spa. Housed within a 250-year old Japanese wooden farmhouse, you’ll be zen in no time with its authentic soaking baths, relaxation lounge and lantern lit swimming pool. And in a quaint touch, all the artwork in the lobby was done by the late Robert De Niro Snr. Just don’t ask the portraits if they’re talking to you. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££££ | Amenities 10/10 | Location 9/10
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The Jane | Meatpacking District

Inspired by luxury cruise lines and train cabins, The Jane has a real sense of adventure about it. It’s a quirky blend of Wes Anderson, Agatha Christie and the Titanic – don’t fret though, so far they’ve had no iceberg collisions. First completed in 1908, it was originally a stop off for sailors, and actually housed many of the survivors of the Titanic back in 1912. Come 2008, to mark its centenary, it was renovated and restored with a heady mix of wood panelling, wingback sofas and antique furnishings. And while the rooms are a little cabin-sized, the ballroom and rooftop bar give you all the space and views of a cruise liner – without the accompanying seasickness. FIND OUT MORE

Price £ | Amenities 6/10 | Location 6/10
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Library Hotel | Midtown

We all enjoy a bedtime story, and the Library Hotel has over 6000 of them. Every floor of this, ahem, novel hotel is themed to a different genre of literature and each of the 60 rooms acts as its own private library – thankfully minus the crusty librarian telling you to keep the noise down. Slap bang in the middle of the city, it offers residents everything you’d expect from a top hotel, but it’s the extras that’ll have you turning the pages. The DVD library contains all of the American Film Institute’s 100 Films of the 20th Century, and every afternoon the hotel’s Reading Room provides a complimentary cheese and wine reception. For three hours. Meanwhile, up on the top shelf sits the Writer’s Den & Poetry Garden, where you can while away the hours with the sights of the city in the background and, of course, a literary themed cocktail in your hand. FIND OUT MORE

Price £££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 9/10
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The Marlton | Greenwich Village

Snuggled up between 5th and 6th Avenue, The Marlton has an impressive literary history. A favourite haunt of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac even drafted manuscripts for On The Road, Tristessa and The Subterraneans during his many visits there. The wood panelled lobby, kitted out with leather chairs and copies of beat literature, is a nod to its past but following a recent renovation, owner Sean Macpherson took inspiration from another literary icon, F. Scott Fitzgerald. As a result, Parisian surrealism has found its way into the more classical decor. It has been described as a “baby grand hotel”. That’s pretty accurate. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££ | Amenities 7/10 | Location 8/10
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The Night Hotel | Theater District

When the bright lights of Broadway get too overwhelming for you, The Night Hotel is ready to step in and save the day – and night. Its entire design is monochrome, and you’ll be amazed at the variety that can be found in a palette of just black and white. It’s set right in the heart of Manhattan and while the amenities aren’t quite as plentiful as some of the other offerings here, considering its location, there’s everything you’ll need on your doorstep. FIND OUT MORE

Price £ | Amenities 6/10 | Location 9/10
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The Pierre | Central Park

Five star luxury at its best. If you’re willing to splash out, New York hospitality doesn’t get much better than this. Overlooking Central Park, The Pierre is a Big Apple classic. Each room is beautifully traditionally decorated, many of them with park-facing windows. For food, the restaurant’s own Perrine serves up French-American cuisine and offers outdoor seating with views over the park. There’s also the opulent Rotunda, recently redesigned by architect Daniel Romualdez where you can lunch and supper in a Ritz-style colosseum that would put the Romans to shame. FIND OUT MORE

Price ££££ | Amenities 8/10 | Location 10/10
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