It is almost impossible to keep up with the pace of hospitality design, and that's even more true of hotels conceived to reflect New York's buzzing atmosphere. They don't call it "the city that never sleeps" for nothing: with dozens of new hotels opening here every year, you're spoilt for choice for a design-forward stay. That's why I have curated a list of 12 designer-approved vacation properties still perfectly in tune with their frenetic surroundings — to help you uncover the best design hotels in New York right now, wherever that might be.
Here, "even a craving for chic interiors can be satisfied 24 hours a day", read a roundup of New York design hotels we published in 2022. As both the American metropolis and the trends game transform continuously, this 2024 edit brings you fresh insights into the New York vacation scene — we've based our list not on how many stars they have, how much they cost, or our own reviews of staying there, these are our favorite hotels with forward-thinking interiors that have stood the test of time, and those currently breaking new ground. Selected with the design-conscious traveler in mind, these urban getaways have everything you could ever ask for: from riotous rooftop bars and vibrant communal spaces to stylishly furnished suites exuding luxe, homeliness, or flamboyance.
Whether championing the work of emerging artists or celebrating the legacy of iconic design figures, their rooms capture the vibrant diversity of New York's cultural scene. Beyond their 24/7 services and delectable international cuisine, it was their homely quirkiness and meticulously curated decor that set them apart. Scroll down to experience it for yourself.
1. The Fifth Avenue Hotel
1 W 28th St, New York, NY 10001
There is something absolutely outstanding about the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Housed in a 1907 Gilded Age mansion once home to a bank recently revived to its original splendor following a 10-years-long renovation, this explosion of textures, shapes, and colors is one of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio's most successful creative endeavors. Unveiled last year, the 5-star property prides itself on pampering "visionaries, artists, disruptors, wanderers, and connoisseurs", inviting them to indulge in the pleasures of a life savored to the fullest. Its genre-bending, uplifting aesthetic makes the perfect addition to the crossroad of cultures and inspirations that is the NoMad district.
With Madison Square Park, Gramercy Park, Chelsea, Union Square, and the High Line all minutes away, this craftsmanship masterpiece is the perfect base to spring into the area's teeming-with-life restaurant and after-hours scenes. Plastered in art from the hotel's in-house collection, its sun-filled, spacious rooms and suites recreate the comfort of home away from home. Characterized by Brudnizki's sensory-pleasing, contemporary reinterpretation of opulence, these juxtapose world-spanning influences such as Murano chandeliers and Carrara marbles, Chinese ceramics, and French upholstery into a lavish stay you won't forget.
Highlight: The marble and chrome glossy finishes of the Fifth Avenue Suite's bathroom make an often overlooked hotel amenity one of the core features of this room, as does the hypnotic, nature-inspired hand-painted mural taking over its walls. Plus, as Livingetc's Style Editor Brigid Kennedy tells me, the hotel's "refined, polo-style bar, the Portrait Bar, is somewhat of a hotspot these days"; you know where the party's at.
Great for: City explorers who want it all.
2. Greenwich Hotel
377 Greenwich St, New York, NY
If there's one thing I have learned while curating this list, it's that New York is not a place for bland, characterless rooms. Take a look at the Greenwich Hotel and tell me if its tall ceilings and impressive mismatch of wooden, tilework, leather, and velvety finishes doesn't remind you of the groundbreaking architectural work of modernism pioneer Frank Lloyd Wright. Standing out for their earthy tones and brilliantly decorated volumes, the 5-star luxury property's 88 rooms were designed as a refuge from the din of the city while incorporating the boisterous melting pot of influences coming together in SoHo's TriBeCa. The fruit of a collaboration between seven different design and architecture studios, including Wabi-Sabi master Axel Vervoordt, who worked on the penthouse suite; Grayling Design, who curated its Locanda Verde restaurant; and Sarah Collum + Hatfield Design LLC, who focused on the interiors, this is possibly my favorite stay in the city.
Highlights: The beautifully curated selection of artworks complementing the heavenly crafted spaces of the Greenwich Hotel turns the accommodation into an artsy itinerary for painting lovers, while the Shibui Spa's radiant, orange-hued atmosphere and organic surfaces make the mindfulness center a destination to die for.
Great for: Tasteful travelers wanting to get the full-luxury treatment surrounded by an intellectually stimulating environment.
3. Warren Street Hotel
86 Warren St, New York, NY 10007
The third New York location to bear the Firmdale Hotels' creative trademark, the Warren Street Hotel is everything you would expect from the London hospitality group, and much more. Meticulously, and ingeniously, developed down to its finest detail by the firm's design director, Minnie Kemp, this luxurious stay oozes with the eccentric aesthetic, textural essence, and sheer cheerfulness that have earned the British a name in the industry. The site shies away from New York City's linear industrial decor to engage guests in a contagious celebration of maximalism. Across both its rooms and seasonal restaurant, contrasting fabrics, patterns, and styles are layered in unique accent solutions that refresh the design world's overly serious prevailing aesthetic. Inaugurated in TriBeCa in February 2024, the Warren Street Hotel has joined its sibling properties in the Big Apple — SoHo's Crosby Street Hotel and Midtown's The Whitby Hotel. Leveraging color, global art, and a rule-breaking approach to contemporary interiors, the group is reinventing traditional hospitality one location at a time.
For Livingetc's Global Brand Director Sarah Spiteri, there's only one place to stay in New York, and that's Warren Street Hotel. "I have lots of great memories of this hotel, but two in particular," she tells me. "Firstly, the light in the rooms — these huge windows allowing classic NYC skyscapes to be enjoyed contrasting brilliantly with a very rich bedroom design. Secondly, the bar and restaurant space downstairs. Warren Street Hotel feels like home in a way no other hotel has done for me."
Highlights: As a rattan and ceramics lover, I am in awe of the totemic installations hanging from the ceiling or else standing across the lobby of the Warren Street Hotel. The layered wooden table captured above is another one of my obsessions; with its multi-strate, pending structure, it completely disrupts the conception of what a table should be and look like.
Great for: Tourists and staycationers who feel recharged and inspired when immersed in colorful, intricate spaces, and families whose children may benefit from their playfully interactive feel.
4. Soho Grand
310 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013
Past and present collide at Soho Grand, one of the hottest New York hotels of the moment. Borrowing both its name and daring aesthetic from the neighborhood it sits in, this 353-room, recently-refurbished destination has personality to spare. Despite rising within one of the city's busiest districts, the accommodation's modern farmhouse interiors channel a sense of serenity that enables travelers to disconnect from urban life. Offering regular rooms, as well as breathtaking terrace suites and penthouse lofts, Soho Grand retraces the neighborhood's multifaceted history in a time-spanning design exploration. Here, the rustic quality of sheepskin rugs and heritage-style headboards are contrasted with a collector-worthy showcase of mid-century and late 1970s leather and chrome furniture pieces, all carefully choreographed by established lead designer William Sofield. In the Wes Anderson-esque Soho Diner, Grand Bar and Salon, and Club Room, a subtle, comforting nostalgia prevails, with Art Deco sconces, sinuous upholstered sofas, and striking palettes setting the tone for an unparalleled night out.
Highlights: A New York local, Livingetc's Style Editor Julia Demer describes the Soho Grand as a trusted institution for both New Yorkers and tourists. "This is where most people stay when visiting the town on particularly busy periods of the year," she adds. As a fashion insider, she recommends keeping an eye on Soho Grand's atmospheric drink locations and those of fellow downtown accommodations, as that's where "brands will host unofficial parties" during NYFW, she says.
Great for: Celebrity-conscious sightseers and art and design-lovers with a love of pop culture. Why? As 1940s and 1950s powerful black-and-white photography is omnipresent in the hotel, which has provided the backdrop to the drama-fueled plots of TV series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Made.
5. Pendry Manhattan West
438 W 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001
Located a 17-minute walk away from the Empire State Building in Midtown, Pendry Manhattan West is a stunningly furnished, 5-star luxury hotel inspired by the vibrancy and natural hues of California cool. Unveiled in 2021, this 23-story design jewel is the brainchild of creative collective Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who worked on its architectural volumes, and Broadway-based studio GACHOT, who oversaw its interiors. Conceived as a curtain, its wavy, glassy outdoor surface has been drawn to let plenty of light and chorographical shadows in throughout the day, while the warmly-hued, wooden wall paneling of its indoors absorbs guests in a much softer atmosphere than you would expect to find in the Big Apple. Filled with Desert Modernism-inspired upholstered furniture, Art Deco suffused lighting, and lush, thriving plants, it is an oasis of peace in the midst of the city.
Highlights: The explosion of colors, textures, and flavors at the heart of Zou Zou's — the modern rustic Eastern Mediterranean restaurant run by Executive Chef Juliana Latif. I love its seafoam green-tiled walls and eclectic energy, but I am just as obsessed with the rose pink marble bar counter of its salon and the arched, textural ceiling of its one-of-a-kind cocktail lounge, Chez Zou.
Great for: Guests requiring accessible facilities that marry functionality and balanced sophistication.
6. Moxy NYC Lower East Side
145 Bowery, New York, NY 10002
Forget anonymously designed hotels — at Moxy NYC Lower East Side, it is all about eclectic playfulism. Sited at the intersection of the eponymous neighborhood and SoHo, the hotel reinterprets the vitality of the area’s long-gone vaudeville theatres and winter gardens, bringing its fun, ever-influential cultural essence inside. The forth Moxy in the city bears the signature of Michaelis Boyd, whose “layered” design vision has birthed a lively stay organically blending Parisienne-style grandeur with a retro-inspired, colorful take on modern glamor. Punctuated by living plant installations, striking textured or floral walls, and large-scale murals, its Japanese restaurant and four bars couldn’t be more diverse, if not for their immersive and proudly maximalist feel. The spectacle continues in the property’s 303 rooms, ranging from Kings and Executive Kings to Double Doubles and Quads, where punchy hues and soulful, symmetric shapes hint at the circuses and old-time menageries that used to animate the hotel’s location.
Highlights: The Hollywood-style, dressing room-inspired lighting of the accommodations and lava stone sinks ingeniously feed into the hotel's evocative storytelling, as does its blues-filled live music bar, the Silver Lining Lounge.
Great for: Culture aficionados valuing compact, yet vibrantly designed, room interiors over penthouse-like accommodation volumes.
7. The Beekman
123 Nassau Street, New York, NY 10038
At first glance, the Beekman might look far too classic for the contemporary style that drives Livingetc, but no real interior design aficionado should overlook Martin Brudnizki Design Studio's ambitious renovation of Temple Court. Housed in one of New York's oldest skyscrapers, first erected in 1883, the former office-turned-sumptuous retreat has a timeless charm to it. Completed in 2016, the Gothic-style hotel has seen its fortune revived in spectacular fashion by the Swedish interior disruptor and its team, who have brought the premise's history center stage, elevating it through a transitional style lens. Today, its original grand skylight, cast-iron balconies, and meticulously decorated atrium are the real showstoppers, offering travelers a peek inside a New York that is no more. A stone's throw from the Brooklyn Bridge, the World Trade Center, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the hotel is an ideal starting point for those keen to explore the city on foot. Its generous, naturally lit 287 rooms include 38 suites and two "Turret" duplex penthouses opening out onto the roof.
Highlights: I like a hotel whose culinary offer is so captivating to convince me to dine in-house, rather than testing my luck in a city I am not familiar with. The Beekman is that kind of destination: head to chef Tom Colicchio's Temple Court restaurant — where the building's past is brought back to life in an eatery adorned with golden chandeliers, aged oak finishes, and mahogany leather plush furnishings — for a terrific five-courses experience unfolding among iridescent stained glass windows. Craving French food? Lyon-born chef Daniel Boulud has got you covered at Le Gratin, which pairs the best of his hometown's cuisine with its high-spirited atmosphere.
Great for: Travelers and stay-cationers in search of a hotel with character.
8. 1 Hotel Central Park
1414 6th Ave, New York, NY 10019
There is a green breathing lung in the heart of New York City, and while located in close proximity to it, you'll be surprised to hear it's not Central Park. Rising two blocks away from the leafy landmark, the 1 Hotel is a 229-room accommodation with one point on the agenda: making travel less deleterious to the planet. Nestled in the bustling Midtown Manhattan, it showcases forward-thinking design by acclaimed studio AvroKO group, whose approach to the project was rooted in the values of sustainability, simplicity, and transparency. Much like the 1 Hotel group's environmental initiatives, which are easily reviewable on their website, the whole property features large, see-through industrial loft-style windows, as if inviting passersby to get a glimpse into a new way of conceiving hospitality. Here, everything has been created to support the surrounding environment — from the post-consumer recycled cardboard hangers and the locally sourced, California-inspired menu of in-house restaurant Jams, to the over 2,000 plants transforming the stay into an urban jungle.
Highlights: Infused with a chic tree house style, all rooms come with sleek reclaimed wood furniture, hemp Keetsa mattresses topped with organic cotton sheets, and a Google Nexus tablet that tracks your carbon footprint. Impressive upcycled details star throughout the hotel, like the fitness center's floor; a re-adaptation of the old University of Wisconsin's basketball court.
Great for: Climate-conscious adventurers striving to minimize the impact of their holiday sojourn without compromising on aesthetics.
9. Freehand
23 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10010
There was a time when affordable New York hotels were synonymous with cookie-cutter bedrooms and communal areas, chain-like decor and, in the worst of all cases, bug infestations. Freehand proves that that time is finally over. Styled by design studio Roman and Williams, this mellow, vintage-looking property is a bona fide budget New York hotel developed with the young creatives in mind. Part of hip, art locale of Flat Iron, it comes with uber-cool, mid-century modern interiors, five dynamic food outlets, and a Lexington Avenue location that can barely be beaten. Most helpful of all are the variable room categories that can accommodate whatever motley crew you've managed to get out there with you. Just the two? Take a cozy Deluxe Corner King. Think three's a crowd? Not here, with rooms specially configured to host the resident gooseberry in your life. Got the whole squad? No problem, take a Premium Bunk room that comfortably sleeps four.
Highlights: High-end design brought to you at an inexpensive price is something to die for everywhere, but especially in coveted New York. Inspired by trailblazing artist Georgia O'Keeffe, the Georgia Room is my favorite part of Freehand: its leather and wood, comfy seating, high stuccoed ceilings, and artworks-filled walls aim "to feel like an artist's home that you were invited to a party at", explains the hotel's team, while its southwestern-inspired decor, vintage palette, and avant-garde disco ball hanging from the ceiling make for a cinematic boogie.
Great for: Numerous groups of friends and families wanting to immerse themselves into New York's cultural buzz on a budget.
10. PUBLIC Hotel
215 Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002
Conveniently positioned in the trendy Lower East Side, with plenty of restaurants, bars, art galleries, and boutiques within reach, PUBLIC Hotel is hotelier Ian Schrager's experiment at fusing luxury and accessibility. Housed in a gleaming, 16-floors skyscraper and desgined by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, it has 376 guest rooms and a globally-inspired Peruvian restaurant, POPULAR, a luncheonette-cum-grocery, multiple cocktail lounges, a gym, landscaped gardens, communal workspaces, and even a dedicated multi-purpose art venue ("like Brooklyn’s Academy of Music, only better," says Schrager). The concept takes online convenience to its ultimate conclusion: there's no check-in desk or room service, as both are accessible via your own device. The bedrooms are sparse, but not spartan, with barely-there furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, and some of the most stunning views of New York you'll ever find around. When the night falls, eating at PUBLIC Hotel is like sitting on the top of one of its skyscrapers, as the vast, Brutalism-inspired dining area dissolves the boundaries between the indoors and the city's coruscating fabric.
Highlights: One of the most sought-after drink locations in town, the rooftop will make you feel like a true New Yorker.
Great for: Tech-savy, luxe-inclined travelers who value privacy over face-to-face customer service.
11. The Williamsburg Hotel
6 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
Located at the crossing of Wythe Ave and North 10th Street in the energetic Brooklyn, the quintessentially New Yorkese Arlo Williamsburg is the go-to destination for industrial interior design lovers. With eight floors and 150 rooms, all encased in brick, glass and weathered steel, the hotel has been designed by Michaelis Boyd to amplify the neighborhood’s heritage. This is particularly evident in its terracotta façade, boasting a replica water tower "built to pay homage to the block's historic, now defunct, wooden water tower factory" and recently turned into a bar. Inside, the brick walls, distressed-wood floors and steel-framed glazing nail the assignment, with double-height ceilings conveying an eclectic, loft-style vibe. Nightlife and entertainment are both key to this inspiring accommodation, whose sleek rooftop pool, bar, and café deliver sweeping views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. This immersion into The Big Apple's panorama extends all the way to the rooms, many of which have their own balcony. Enriched with Michaelis Boyd's and leather design disruptor Bill Amberg's furnishings, the schemes feature bespoke upholstery, brass and marble bathroom fittings, and textured details at every turn.
Highlights: Channeling Palm Springs' timeless aesthetic, the rooftop pool and leisure area are the cherry on top to this industrial style-inspired accommodation, as are the numerous eating, drinking, shopping, and cultural venues in the Brooklyn district.
Great for: Curious wanderers eager to step outside of New York's hyper-central Manhattan to dive into an historic, varied, and fascinating side of town.
12. Times Square EDITION
701 7th Ave, New York, NY 10036
With the feeling of a Bond villain's lair, Times Square EDITION could easily be the setting of a suspense-filled thriller. In the beating heart of Manhattan, its location might not necessarily be as tranquil as traditional holidays require, but the superbly crafted interiors of this elegant hotel have all it takes to persuade you to stay. As the first-ever luxury hotel to grace the frenetic neighborhood, where Times Square EDITION has been active since March 2019, the Yabu Pushelberg-designed property knew how to make its launch worthwhile. Its cream-hued, elegantly-decorated 452 guest rooms prove that, sometimes, less is more, skillfully merging Scandinavian minimalism and modernist influences into luminous, peaceful accommodations. From white-washed oak herringbone floors and ivory leather upholstery to deep soaking tubs and sprawling beds, travelers can expect to leave the hotel feeling as satisfied as restored. This is also thanks to the three culinary experiences offered on-site which, led by Michelin-starred chef John Fraser, draw from classical French, Asian, and Latin fare to restitute a globe-trotting gastronomic journey.
Highlights: The jewel in the hotel's crown, The Paradise Club is an inventive high-production spectacle marrying the sensory essence of Times Square. Infused with a touch of magic by performance-led, Brooklyn nightclub House of Yes, the space plays host to a signature dinner theater experience culminating into an electrifying feast informed by the playful elements of comedy.
Great for: Vacationers happy to cope with — or that thrive off — the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps.
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