The Surrey

The Upper East Side has had a bit of a vibe shift in the past few years — yes, it’s still New York’s grande dame of old money, but it’s gotten slightly younger, more racially diverse and, yes, significantly cooler as of late. That more TikTok-fluent demographic, however, doesn’t mean the uptown neighborhood has shed any of its old-world charms, cultural prestige or ritzy reputation. And all you have to do is check into The Surrey for sumptuous proof. 

A Corinthia Hotels property, The Surrey occupies one of the area’s most coveted, quiet-luxury addresses, a 16-story  Beaux-Arts building situated on East 76th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, just a leafy half-block stroll over to scenic Central Park. It’s been a fixture of the nabe for a century (it’s welcomed everyone from John F. Kennedy to Bette Davis to Zendaya over the decades) but the place completed a massive, multi-year renovation in fall 2024, with a glamorous spruce-up by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio (The Beekman, The Fifth Avenue Hotel) across the hotel’s 70 guest rooms, 30 suites and 14 private residences.

Emphasis on residential: The digs are still fittingly elegant but also exceedingly comfortable and thoughtfully appointed; there are Antica Farmacista products and deep soaking tubs in those Calacatta-marble bathrooms; Jasper Johns artworks and Robert Maplethorpe snaps carefully set atop the silk wallcoverings; and fresh floral arrangements inspired by the nearby park. 

Speaking of that famed green space, each of the four recently launched signature suites — which range from spacious, 1,200-square-foot king-bed lodgings to indulgent, 2,130-square-foot, two-bedroom accommodations — pay loving homage to Central Park, both in name (rooms are titled the Bethesda, the Greywacke and so on) and architecture. (Ex: Crown moldings custom-designed to mimic the park’s bridges.) 

And that extends beyond the guestrooms: Throughout the property, the hospitality is white-glove service made graciously warm, down to the spa workers (there’s a pair of treatment room as well as a steam room, sauna and salt room, all stocked with Sisley Paris products, on the second floor) and restaurant staff (the sophisticated supper club-esque Casa Tua, a Miami import, is off the lobby). Altogether, The Surrey makes for a stay that lets you cosplay as a well-heeled Upper East Side local à la Blair Underwood — or whatever the 2026 version of her is.

Neighborhood

Rejected by outsiders as boring and elitist, the Upper East Side is home to more than the stereotypical Waspy families to the west of Lexington Avenue and young'uns seeking affordable-for-Manhattan rents to the east. Yes, the residents are polite and cultured, but down-to-earth and welcoming, too. Artistic minds flock to Museum Mile and the myriad galleries, while athletes hit their stride as they jog along the East River or circle the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. And though big-name businesses abound between 59th and 96th Streets, residents will tell you that the best neighborhood spots are still the independent nooks with genial owners, who make customers feel at home. - SB

Nearby

1. Bemelmans Bar: The Carlyle Hotel’s famed piano bar is still a local favorite for its excellently chilled martinis and celebrity sightings.
2. The Frick Collection: Following its 2020 closure for renovations, this museum of great masters reopened in April 2025 with a restored first floor and, excitingly, public access to the Gilded Age mansion’s second floor for the first time ever. 
3. Café Sabarsky: Feast on Austrian delights (goulash soup, smoked salmon, sacher torte) at this elegant Viennese café inside the Neue Galerie.

Time Out tip

If you want to add an extra element of exclusivity to your stay, you can become a Casa Tua member($4,300 annual fee for access to one club; $7,000 for global access) and enjoy the hotel’s intimate private club hidden away on the second floor.