These hotels are the most fashionable, stylish, trendy, and the all-around best Vogue-esque vibe you can get.
Donald Trump's first hotel in downtown New York has the attention to detail and hands-on service you'd expect from a Trump property, but the slightly hipper vibe and great SoHo location cater to a younger set. The exclusive, celebrity-filled Kastel bar, pricey Quattro restaurant, luxurious spa, and seasonally open pool are the hotel's main features.
The Mandarin Oriental, located across Columbus Circle from Central Park, offers a dizzying array of modern luxuries — a 75-foot pool, one of the city’s best spas, sweeping views from nearly every common area, and superb on-site fine-dining options, to name a few — even as it upholds traditional values and outstanding service.
This virtually flawless 88-room TriBeCa newcomer (opened in 2008 by Robert de Niro, among others) offers large, homey rooms, breathtaking design, and very attentive service. Even better: free Wi-Fi; free minibar snacks; and free Wii video games by request. Better still: an underground pool; Shibui Spa; premier gym; and the new Locanda Verderestaurant. Even if you’re not famous, you’ll feel famous in the super-private lobby, drawing room, and courtyard. Non-guests aren’t permitted and no photos are allowed, so anyone, famous or not, can be discreet and feel at home beyond just their rooms.
Hilton New York Fashion District Hotel
The hotel actually gets its name from its location — on 26th Street near Fashion Avenue (a section of Seventh Avenue that’s the main artery for the Garment District), and a block away from the Fashion Institute of Technology. The hotel draws its design inspiration from its location as well; the wooden slats behind the front desk, for example, are meant to resemble the weave of a piece of fabric. This 280-room Wyndham in northern Chelsea shines with well-appointed rooms (Frette linens, 37-inch flat-screens, iPod docks), an excellent restaurant (Rare Bar & Grill), a rooftop bar, and 24-hour room service.
Opened in October 2009 on a quiet, cobblestoned street in SoHo, the 86-room Crosby Street Hotel offers spacious, impeccably furnished rooms to a sophisticated set who can afford the sky-high rates. The hotel manages to be both lavish and welcoming, especially at the restaurant and in the vibrant public spaces. The Crosby Street is the first property outside of London for Firmdale Hotels, a small boutique chain that’s privately owned by husband-and-wife team Tim and Kit Kemp. The hotel is beautiful, and manages to feel both sophisticated and accessible — you can actually sit on the velvet tuxedo-style sofa in the “drawing room” without feeling like you’re violating some kind of design etiquette.
The lobby of the Bowery Hotel is like a pair of pre-distressed jeans on a well-heeled hipster: Sure, the look is a bit contrived, but the pants are very flattering — and damn if the overall effect isn’t almost … perfect. With 135 flawlessly appointed rooms, a super-hip bar tucked away in the nostalgic, velvet-filled lobby, 24-hour room service, free Wi-Fi, and bike rentals, the Bowery Hotel redefines class in a gentrified downtown neighborhood where punk rock and squalor once ruled.
With spacious rooms, a lively lounge scene, and the occasional star-studded film screening, the Tribeca Grand is still a cool and comfortable place to grab a slice of urban hipsterism. Thanks to the its long-time association with New York’s independent film scene, plus themovie theater in the basement, the hotel sees a fair number of celebs come through the doors for special film screenings and local premieres.
Hovering above the High Line on concrete pillars, this one-of-a-kind Meatpacking District hotel offers 337 light-flooded, ultra-mod rooms with panoramic views of the city; one restaurant, several popular bars; and excellent service. It might just be the hippest hotel in New York City. To capitalize on the popular, elevated High Line park that opened in the summer of 2009, Standard hotelier Andre Balazs pulled off a design feat: He propped his 337-room hotel up on huge concrete stilts so that it straddles, and hovers above, the park. For this, the Standard has garnered the praise of architecture critics, who marvel at how, from inside the building, one seems to be floating in the air. The interior design is just as striking as the architecture. Hip, compact furniture references the mid-20th-century designs of Eero Saarinen. Open bathrooms with deep soaking tubs or huge rainfall showers, surrounded by clear glass panes instead of shower curtains, create the impression of bathing beside the Hudson River. There’s no artwork or vintage photos of the city hanging on the walls because there’s no need — the floor-to-ceiling windows offer stunning views of the the real thing. (The windows also offer views from the outside in, making for some interesting exhibitionism.)
A 100-room boutique with an inventive design, attentive service, a chic restaurant, and an exclusive rooftop bar, 60 Thompson epitomizes swank, SoHo hip. Its location amidst prime shopping, dining, and all-night debauchery helps keep it at the top of the cool meter. The hotel attracts a young, well-heeled crowd. In a city in which the hottest new club or restaurant is lucky to have a six-month shelf life before reinvention is necessary, 60 Thompson has managed to stay relevant for more than seven years through discreet, accommodating service, stylish (but never flashy) rooms, and a restaurant and two bars that are able to back up their attitude and exclusivity with high-quality products.
The Mark, an historic hotel built in 1927, re-opened in 2009 as one of the best contemporary luxury hotels in New York. The hotel’s stunning interiors by France’s premier designer are colorful and bold rather than gilded and stuffy, and there’s a restaurant and bar from one of New York’s most famous chefs. Comfortable, high-tech rooms and personalized service make it a great option for anyone who can afford it. As you enter into a lobby with a black-and-white striped floor and furniture that’s gold and bright pink, you know you’re not in your typical luxury hotel. The Mark is one of the top hotels in New York, and yet you won’t find any crystal chandeliers or gilded sconces like you might at the St. Regis or The Plaza.
Hotel Gansevoort — Meatpacking
This 187-room Meatpacking District hotel is more than its lauded rooftop pool — guests also score luxe 400-thread-count bedding and cool Cutler toiletries, plus free Wiis, HBO, and Wi-Fi. The proximity to so many excellent restaurants and bars is hard to beat.
Opened in February 2011, this stylish 270-room hotel is located right on the southern border of chic SoHo. It has small, beautiful rooms with white-and-blue decor, high-tech amenities — like large flat-screen TVs and iPads — and floor-to-ceiling windows, many with jaw-dropping views. The trendy Imperial No. 9 restaurant, by Chef Sam Talbot, serves sustainable seafood, and has a lovely garden room with cool glass decor and a greenhouse-inspired feel.
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