Best Hotels in New York City

The sight (and, it must be said, smell) of carriage horses greets you as you enter this 33-story, limestone-fronted building on the southern edge of Central Park. Transformed from the St. Moritz Hotel in 2002, it has a laid-back, town house feel (tasseled damask curtains, fringed armchairs) and is known for its beyond-the-call-of-duty service. The multilingual staff—which includes bath butlers, a tech butler (for troubleshooting laptop issues), a gemologist, and an award-winning concierge team—will loan you (or your dog) a Burberry trench coat if it's raining, and come evening, the chauffeured house Bentley is at your disposal. The 259 rooms and suites, done up in taupe and pale rose tones, come with damask curtains and four pillow choices; bathrooms are outfitted with deep soaking tubs and Frederic Fekkai amenities. Cap off your stay with drinks at the African-wood Star Lounge, adorned by potted palms and original Samuel Halpert paintings of New York.

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London’s Firmdale Group brings the spirit of Soho to a cobblestoned lane in the other SoHo. The new 86-room Crosby Street Hotel feels very much a part of its vibrant, intimately scaled neighborhood: the restaurant-bar has become a local favorite, and the salon-like lobby is filled from morning to midnight. Kit Kemp’s bold interiors manage to challenge and soothe the eye all at once: austere charcoal-gray wall coverings set off pastel headboards; soft silk curtains frame steel warehouse windows; gritty brick façades background a lush rooftop garden. Check out the tongue-in-cheek flourishes from an oversize white steel Jaume Plensa sculpture in the lobby to portraits of local dogs in the elevators. But it’s the service that will win you over: an umbrella at the ready for impending rain, coffee and a newspaper delivered within minutes of your request, and a proper hot toddy at the bar.

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Of the same vintage as the neighboring St. Regis (both hotels were built between 1904 and 1905), the Peninsula has retained its decorative Beaux-Arts façade—but inside, old-world grandeur meets streamlined modernity. A crystal chandelier dangles in the lobby, illuminating dark-cherry and Carpathian-elm burl woodwork with Art Nouveau carvings; Oriental carpets are spread over white marble floors. The 239 rooms feature sleek chaises, Roman shades, lacquered armoires, mahogany headboards, and goose-feather duvets—as well as high-tech touches like bathroom flat-screen TV’s (might as well keep up with the financial news while you’re soaking in the tub). Afternoon tea service in the Gotham Lounge is a characteristically civilized affair, while the rooftop bar, formerly known as the Pen-Top, is one of the city’s hottest spots for a drink.

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Raising the opulence bar—even for a Four Seasons property—this soaring, sleek, I. M. Pei-designed tower epitomizes the cool high life in this coolest of American cities. The spare stone façade leads to a cavernous marble lobby, where the voices of arriving guests echo among angular stone columns and vaulted skylit ceilings. Fifty-two stories high, the hotel has 364 rooms with views overlooking the midtown skyline (if you’re facing north) and Central Park (to the south); the higher you go, the better and more expensive the vantage point. The average 600-square-foot size is massive by NYC standards, and all rooms are kitted out with clean-lined wood furniture; velvety fabrics in shades of champagne and cream; and spacious marble baths, many with soaking tubs that fill in 60 seconds. The amenities include a spa offering rose-petal foot soaks and the sublime L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant.

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The Palm Court’s famed stained-glass ceiling was re-created pane-for-pane with the help of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Touch-screen AMX systems in the 282 guest rooms deliver on their promise to make easy the tasks of controlling lighting, contacting the concierge, and summoning your white-gloved butler. Unfortunately most of the Central Park views went to the 142 new condos. (Try to score one of the Plaza or Deluxes rooms adjacent to an Edwardian Park Suite—they’re the cheapest ones partially overlooking the park.) Still, for a European-palace-style experience, this is the only game in town.

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Built in 1904, and still gleaming from its 2005 renovation, this Beaux-Arts beauty is a well-polished monument to old New York. The lobby is a model of old-school opulence, with a trompe l’oeil ceiling, Corinthian-capped pilasters, and a king’s ransom in marble and gold trim. In the dark-wood-paneled Cognac Room, the ghosts of brandy-sipping patricians linger beneath the antique paintings; and the mahogany King Cole Bar (birthplace of the Bloody Mary) looks better than ever now that decades of tobacco residue have been scrubbed from its famous mural. The 256 redone rooms all have canopy beds, paisley carpets, and silk wall coverings—and each floor comes with its own tuxedoed 24-hour butler. Alain Ducasse's newest restaurant, Adour, opened on-site to great fanfare.

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This striking, 46-story property is within walking distance of Lower Manhattan neighborhoods such as Greenwich Village and SoHo. Public spaces are dramatically designed: the two-story lobby has Venetian-plaster columns and discreet leather seating. The 391 rooms and suites include automated temperature and light controls along with rich touches like dark, buttoned backboards and heavy curtains framing floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel has a library stocked with Taschen art books, an 11,000-square-foot spa, and a seasonal pool deck. Plus, the 24-hour Trump Attaché room service keeps detailed accounts of guest preferences to provide ideal help for all requests—from dry cleaning to printing personalized stationary.

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One of the few independent hotels left in Manhattan, this 142-room bijou is cherished by Europeans (and savvy celebrities) for its intimacy and attentive staff. Set on a quiet, tree-lined street off Madison Avenue, the hotel entry has a hushed, secret-garden ambience; guests check in while seated at an antique French desk, then pass huge granite urns of cascading flowers on their way to the elevators. Guest rooms are decorated with fanciful elegance—marble bathrooms, fine Italian linens, gold Paul Garnier wall clocks—while architectural drawings add a touch of civility to public spaces. In the afternoons, guests can join well-heeled locals for cocktails or afternoon tea in the dusky, leather-floored Bar Seine.

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