You may have seen our tasty slideshow on celebrity chef room service on the Huffington Post — but in case you missed it, eat it up on Oyster Blog!
Want to be served food prepared by a celebrity chef — while in your PJs? A growing number of hotels across New York City are now offering just that. After you’ve doled out a cool $600 for a truly sumptuous room, it can be hard to leave. And when New York City’s world-class cuisine can come right to your door, you don’t have to.
“The trend right now from most luxury hotels is to get a high-end restaurateur that’s known, whether it’s Jean-Georges or maybe some other famous chef, and open one of their restaurants, and also to combine that with private dining service,” Phil Columbo, Asset and Managing Director at Bryant Park Hotel, which offers in-room dining from Koi, says.
So not only is it de rigeur these days for a luxury hotel to have a destination restaurant helmed by a renowned chef, it’s standard practice to offer in-room dining from the same kitchen — often at any hour of the day. Never mind that the economy has caused some hotels to cut back on room service, or eliminate it altogether: In the luxury market, it’s a key competitive aspect.
“To have a chef, to have staff, 24 hours a day, just for the guest who may or may not call, is very expensive. But in a luxury hotel I think people expect that. I know I would,” Columbo says.
Michael Rawson, General Manager of the Mercer Hotel, echoed that sentiment. ” I would argue that you must offer 24 hour room service to be a luxury hotel,” Rawson says. “If a hotel decides they’re not going to provide it, they instantly eliminate themselves from the top of the market.”
So if you’re dreaming of dining on the creations of Jean-Georges Vongerichten or Daniel Boulud while snuggled up watching reruns, you’re in luck. Check out our list of the most decadent room service in New York City.
- Price: $484/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4
- Location: Midtown West, New York City
This sleek and sexy midtown boutique delivers room service from high-end sushi restaurant Koi, the New York outpost of the original L.A. celebrity magnet. The popular, high-design restaurant can get exceptionally loud, but guests can dine on dishes like Kobe-style filet mignon ($56) and miso-bronzed black cod ($30) in the quiet of their rooms.
- Price: $399/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4
- Location: Midtown West, New York City
Between the contemporary art (even in the guest rooms) and the high-design lobby, this lovely Midtown boutique feels as much like a SoHo gallery as a hotel. David Chang’s French-Vietnamese restaurant Má Pêche accentuates the property’s trendy vibe. Dishes like creamed spinach with poached eggs ($18) and rice noodles with spicy pork ($18) are available from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., and guests can also order off of Má Pê che’s full menu during the restaurant’s regular operating hours.
- Price: $650/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4.5
- Location: SoHo, New York City
The Mercer‘s 75 loft-style guest rooms, beautiful staff, stylish lobby/lounge, personalized service, and swanky SoHo location make it a go-to choice for celebrities and other fashionable members of the entertainment industry. Notables who prefer to dine away from prying eyes can order dishes like black truffle and fontina cheese pizza ($18) or lobster sauteed in salted butter ($45) from Jean-George’s Mercer Kitchen 24 hours a day.
- Price: $536/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4.5
- Location: Upper East Side, New York City
The elegant, newly renovated Surrey competes with the best of New York City’s grand dames with a private rooftop with butler service, some of the most comfortable beds in New York, and 24-hour room service from the Michelin-starred Café Boulud. The room service menu is composed mainly of gourmet variations of comfort food, like Peekytoe crab benedict ($19) and prime dry-aged hamburger ($25).
- Price: $577/avg. per night
- Pearls: 5
- Location: TriBeCa, New York City
This 88-room boutique features Italian-inspired rustic design and 24-hour in-room dining from Andrew Carmellini’s acclaimed Italian restaurant, Locanda Verde. Guests can order entrees like spaghetti with tomato, basil and parmesan ($26) or a rib-eye steak ($42), as well as daily pasta and fish specials.
Trump International Hotel & Tower
- Price: $664/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4.5
- Location: Upper West Side, New York City
Dining on Jean-George’s Vongerichten’s cuisine is decadent treat in itself, but the Trump can do you one better: The in-room dining menu prepared by Vongerichten is available 24 hours a day. Menu items from on-site restaurant Nougatine (such as crispy goat cheese fondue; $17) are available during lunch and dinner hours, and the overnight menu has gourmet options as well, like grilled dry aged prime sirloin with herb salad ($65).
- Price: $429/avg. per night
- Pearls: 4.5
- Location: Lower East Side, New York City
Fans of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters are already familiar with the quirky personality and elaborate dishes of finalist Susur Lee. At the trendy Thompson LES boutique on the Lower East Side, Susur’s lively, Asian-fusion restaurant Shang serves room service dishes such as cheeseburger spring rolls with tomato hollandaise ($12) 24 hours a day.
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