The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue

If the towering structure is any guide — that’s meant rhetorically, by the way, of course it’s a guide — then you could safely expect The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue to be a pretty big deal. And naturally it is. This sixty-story skyscraper joins the Empire State Building on the Midtown skyline, and the architecture, by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, is suitably monumental.

One might wonder if what’s inside quite measures up to what’s outside, but a look at these rich, modern and supremely confident interiors ought to put any worries to rest. To call this one of Manhattan’s more storied neighborhoods would be an understatement — that’s the classic old Tiffany building just across the avenue — but The Langham is more than up to the task. The public spaces don't quite equal the cavernous lobbies of the traditional grand hotels, but if anything that’s a testament to the hotel's residential atmosphere.

The rooms start out large enough, and are realistically apartment-sized once you get into the suites, with their kitchens and soaking tubs. The whole range is stylish, generously lit by full-length windows, and furnished in state-of-the-art Italian designer comfort. The bathrooms themselves come with more than a little bit of spa-like decadence — though the actual spa covers the entire fourth floor, and has some tricks up its sleeve that your bathroom can’t match.

With dinner at Ai Fiori Restaurant and drinks at Bar Fiori it’d be easy to spend a night on the premises and feel like you’d seen the best of New York. Needless to say, though, the Midtown location places you rather in the thick of things.