Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
The best of New York straight to your inbox
We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities. Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
Sometimes when you’re planning a trip to NYC, you just want a classic New York experience. You want a hotel that you step into and think to yourself: “Yes—I am at a luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan that feels like a luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan.” The Peninsula New York is that hotel. That’s due, in large part, to a winning combination of its landmarked 1905 Beaux Arts building and a new state-of-the-art renovation. On a recent stay at the property, I had a lovely experience that felt both worlds away from the hectic streets outside and also physically (and spiritually) never far from Fifth Avenue.
Why stay at The Peninsula New York?
The Peninsula Hotels is an international chain of luxury hotels operated by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. Founded in 1928 by the Kadoorie family, the hotel group now has operations around the world—including properties in NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago. The Peninsula New York is the U.S. flagship property of the group. The historic building that it occupies originally opened as the Gotham Hotel in 1905 with a striking limestone and granite facade meant to complement the nearby University Club. After going through a few different incarnations, it opened as The Peninsula New York in 1988.
You can sense those layers of history as you move through the hotel—especially when you first walk in and encounter the grand, marble double-staircase that brings you to check-in and the hotel’s restaurants and bars. In addition to the elevated surroundings,...
This internationally acclaimed business traveler's paradise has five stars for a reason: The scene, the service and the spa make up the trifecta that sets the 244-room Mandarin Oriental a cut above the rest.
The height of luxury, this chic five-star hotel boasts stunning views, including many rooms with views of Central Park. The elevated experience starts from its 35th-floor lobby decorated with Dale Chihuly glass art. The upscale vibe continues in all the guest rooms, from standard king rooms to its suites.Â
The Hudson River Suite, for example, measures in at 800 square feet, including a spacious living room, a dining/working area, a bedroom, a full bathroom and a powder room. Prices per-night for this suite range from $2,100 to $4,595. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer unparalled views of the skyline and the Hudson River below.Â
Inside the 14,500 square-foot Mandarin Oriental Spa, treatments include massages, facials, Thai foot therapy and special treatments. A 75-foot indoor lap pool is on-site for hotel guests who want to get some exercise or for families with kids who want to splash around.
No matter how packed your schedule may be, you’ll definitely want to make time for lunch at MO Lounge, where you’ll revel in panoramic daylight views of the park below. Also at the lounge, you can book afternoon tea service featuring savory sandwiches, scones and a collection of sweets.
The little details here and the attention to the guest experience set this hotel apart from the...
At the Plaza Hotel, all that glitters is gold. Literally. From chair legs and mirror frames to the bathrooms of each guest room and suite, the details are gilded with 24-carat gold plating. It’s classy and opulent and reminiscent of another time—but then again, it’s the Plaza. The midtown hotel has been a New York icon, offering first-rate lodging since 1907. Throughout the years and after many renovations, the National Historic Landmark’s guest list has been a who’s who of celebs, from the Beatles to Christian Dior, and the backdrop for many cultural works like The Great Gatsby and Eloise at the Plaza.
As soon as you enter the main doors, the fresh scent of gardenias takes you far away from the all-too-close scent of Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages. A friendly staff is waiting to greet you in the main lobby under a magnificent crystal chandelier. Head toward check-in and pass the stairs that ascend to the moody Rose Club lounge, where you can enjoy an expertly crafted cocktail, like the King Basil ($24)—which combines the herb with cucumber, gin, lillet and orange bitters—on a burgundy tufted-velvet couch. Stay on the ground floor for the lobby-adjacent Champagne Bar, where you can sip elegant bubbles and delight in caviar while taking in the regal atmosphere. The Palm Court, also on the main floor, is well known for its high-tea service, but the restaurant cheekily undersells its evening-fare menu by placing the petite three pages of food behind an extensive drinks...
Wall Street doesn’t usually conjure up images of comfort. If anything, the mere phrase makes us think of ringing bells, bond indexes and Leonardo DiCaprio on quaaludes, none of which feel especially relaxing. But the Wall Street Hotel does a tremendous job of tweaking what you may think about the buttoned-up Financial District, allowing yourself to loosen your collar and—gasp!—turn off from work for a bit.
Not that the boutique hotel has fully turned its back on the neighborhood’s banking bonafides: the 180-room accommodations stand on the site of the original Tontine Coffee House, the beaux-arts building that housed the O.G. New York Stock Exchange in the late 18th-century. (Hence the name of the hotel’s scenic rooftop, Bar Tontine.) Where stockbrokers once met to talk trade and transactions 200 years ago, now stylish travelers gather in the double-height, lobby-level Lounge on Pearl to gab over equally well-dressed oysters and brine-splashed martinis.Â
Speaking of bivalves, the historic space was transformed and opened as a hotel in 2022 by the Paspaleys, the family behind Australia’s oldest pearling company. Nods to that nacre past beautifully abound throughout the warmly luxurious property, from the rare pearl jewelry showcased in the lobby to the scallop-edged barstools in the lounge to the oyster-inspired watercolors that hang above the Frette-sheeted beds in each guest room.Â
Soothing soft blues and seafoam greens wash over the spacious staterooms—ranging in size...
The Pierre, a Taj Hotel, is everything you want in a classic New York City stay, from sweeping views of Central Park to top-notch service that makes you feel special.
This classic, five-star hotel sits right on the southeastern edge of Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 61st Street and is by far the best hotel stay I’ve had in the city. Its understated elegance is felt as soon as you walk into the lobby, which plays host to myriad lavish events throughout the year.
Opened in 1930, the 41-story hotel with 189 small dog-friendly rooms and 76 apartments was modeled after Versailles by famed architects Schultze and Weaver (who also designed the Waldorf-Astoria) and boasts neo-Georgian accents, checkered marble floors, incredible ballroom spaces with grand staircases and a rotunda with murals hand-painted by American artist Edward Melcarth in 1976—one of the most romantic rooms I’ve seen in NYC.
After my stay here, I can see why it’s been featured in films like First Wives Club, Meet Joe Black and Oceans 8. It’s also hosted luminaries like Coco Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Andy Warhol, Hubert de Givenchy, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Yves Saint Laurent, Barbra Streisand, Joan Collins (and many UN delegations) over the many decades and you can see them represented in the hotel’s incredible candid photos by Ron Galella that line its main hallway.
But where The Pierre really shines is in the details, which make it feel like home.
Check-in was a breeze with staff who welcomed me...
Like many here in the States, I never spent much time thinking about Turks & Caicos—a tiny chain of islands just north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Now, my time there is all I can think about.
That's in no small part thanks to where I stayed: Villa Cielo, a massive ivory house that feels like a movie set. For starters, the house faces an inlet with glimmering turquois waters and has its own private beach with palm trees, a volleyball court and hammocks. The massive windows in the main living area flood the entire house with that distinctly bright Carribean sunlight. There are five bedrooms for up to 10 people, each with it's own private bathroom. There's also a pool with a deck; a jacuzzi upstairs on its own private terrace; an outdoor home theater; an open kitchen; and a gym in one of the bedrooms downstairs.Â
Even in all of the house's splendor, my favorite part was the service. The chef brought us the ingredients and made all the food for us fresh, whether it was jerk chicken, curried shrimp or giant chocolate chip cookies.Â
We spent the days paddle boarding and kayaking on glass-bottomed kayaks across the quiet inlet. I was there in November, and never saw anyone besides the people who were staying in our villa. Each evening we were able to enjoy the sunset, conveniently located directly across from the house, in absolute peace.Â
Neighborhood
I never left the house, and you're not really inclined to do so if you stay at Villa Cielo. It's just a 15- to...
A hidden place within the elegant avenues of New York's Upper East Side is currently in the spotlight. The Lowell Hotel is a serene establishment that is tucked away within a residential block and surrounded by some of the top fashion stores in the world. This 74-room hotel is 17 floors full of creature comforts, refined artwork and posh furnishings, and is consistently named one of the best hotels in the world.
The minute you walk into the lobby of the Lowell Hotel you are immediately hit with the smell of fresh orchids and hydrangeas. The enticing scent only gets better with the complimentary hot chocolate and cookies offered to guests while checking in (best way to beat off the New York winter chills). The Italian marble lobby is currently under renovation but is still quite extravagant, with no expense spared by the current owners. This boutique hotel has been decorated by famed interior designer, Michael Smith. He is best known for decorating the Obama’s private residences in the White House and being BFF’s with the family.
When you get up to your private residence, be thankful you don’t have to deal with the typical flimsy hotel key card; you actually get an wrought iron key to unlock your oasis. One also may luck out and get one of the few rooms with an actual wood burning fireplace, a rarity in NYC. Just make sure to call down to the front desk to have them light it, while you are lounging in your sitting room, drinking fresh made Keurig coffee and wrapped in your...
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!