11 Howard

SoHo, formerly home to the artists’ lofts that were New York’s 20th-century Downtown signature, has, since around the turn of the millennium, gone steadily upscale — and steadily more international. Both trends find expression in 11 Howard, where contemporary Scandinavian design meets a more inclusive, less ostentatious version of luxury hospitality. It’s the first independent hotel project for architect Anda Andrei, after decades as the designer behind Ian Schrager’s path-breaking boutique-hotel projects. Produced in collaboration with Danish designers Space Copenhagen, 11 Howard avoids the sort of wall-to-wall bling that’s sometimes synonymous with New York hotels. And this one puts a bit of money where its egalitarian ideals are, as well — they call it “conscious hospitality,” which in concrete terms means passing on a share of revenue to charities like the Global Poverty Project.

The Scandinavian vibe imparts a crisp cleanliness to 11 Howard’s interiors, and the local color comes in the form of a pretty formidable art collection, whose highlights include works by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Katie Yang, and Dan Attoe. The rooms are smart and functional, drawing heavily on the cozier currents in Danish design, and the resulting visual identity is a memorable one.

Meanwhile, the location, at Howard and Lafayette, is perfectly placed for shopping, and most of the downtown nightlife haunts are easily enough accessible. The Blond, the cocktail lounge, goes out of its way to prove that you can be glamorous without being militantly elitist, and Le Coucou, the hotel’s French restaurant, was recently awarded its first Michelin star.