There are many great hotels in the city, but only some are quintessentially New York. These are the places that could never exist anywhere else, and without them the city wouldn't be the same. Whether it’s the people who have stayed there or the history of the buildings, these hotels are as dynamic and vibrant as the city itself.
Check them out below.
The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel
Upper East Side
If it’s not the most famous hotel in all of New York, it’s certainly the most famous hotel on the Upper East Side. The Carlyle Hotel is pure, undiluted essence of old-world Manhattan sophistication, and has been since the days when it was JFK’s “New York White House.” It’s played host to too many famous characters to list; it’s said that Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Steve Jobs once shared an elevator here. When you have a reputation for timeless elegance and faultless professionalism, you don’t worry about innovating — you can leave novelty to the downtown boutiques and focus on classic hospitality.
The Hotel Chelsea
Chelsea
There was never any question the legendary Hotel Chelsea would eventually face a significant update; it’s good for the Chelsea, and for New York, that it fell to Sean MacPherson to do it, along with partners Ira Drukier and Richard Born. MacPherson’s other hotels around town — the Marlton, the Bowery, the Maritime and more — help usher the romance of old New York into the modern era in a way that’s nostalgic but also authentic. And in the Chelsea, in particular, there’s much to be nostalgic about.
Nine Orchard
Lower East Side
Whether or not the phrase Dimes Square means anything to you, you’ll appreciate the mini-neighborhood Nine Orchard calls home. Here, at the east end of Canal Street, where the Lower East Side meets Chinatown, there’s a buzz that’s reminiscent of some of Downtown’s earlier golden ages — and, in Nine Orchard itself, there’s a hotel with enough character and personality to become a proper neighborhood institution.
The Plaza
Midtown
The word “iconic” gets thrown around a fair bit, but if there’s any hotel in New York City that truly deserves the label, this is it. The Plaza stands in one of the city’s most prominent locations, at the southeast corner of Central Park, and its French Renaissance style is immediately recognizable. Its role as the setting for the famous 1955 children’s book Eloise is just one of its many pop-culture connections. Behind the scenes much has changed since its 1907 opening, but its Beaux-Arts atmosphere remains as ornate as ever — and under the steady hand of the Fairmont hotel group, the Plaza is among New York’s finest traditional luxury hotels.
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