New York City never sleeps, and neither does its hotel design scene. With plenty of openings joining in its hospitality extravaganza every year, you can rest assured there will never be a lack of design-forward stays. As to where exactly to find them, well, that's another story. That's why I spent the past ten months looking out for the most anticipated accommodation launches for decor-savvy globetrotters — to ensure you can keep up to date with the city's ever-expanding offering and discover the best hotels in New York right now, wherever they might be.
Here, "even a craving for chic interiors can be satisfied 24 hours a day", read the first New York hotels roundup we published in 2022, but this 2025 curation brings you fresh insights on the best design hotels in the city. Handpicked for their spectacular interpretation of what contemporary interior design is and can be, each of these boutique hotels in New York has either passed our first-hand vibe check or landed on our radar because of the acclaim gathered via fellow style-versed travelers and industry-leading platforms.
Whether standing the test of time as cult New York getaways or only just enjoying their breakthrough, these urban holiday destinations have got everything you could ever ask for, and more: from riotous rooftop bars to soak up on the Big Apple's frenzy late into the night and vibrant communal spaces to imaginatively designed suites for every occasion, taste, and decor state of mind. Planning your next NYC escape? Came here for some sheer holiday inspiration? You're in luck, for our edit of the best New York hotels for interior obsessives brings you the top design ideas via reservations conceived to transport you to another place and time.
The Manner
58 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012, United States
Last autumn, we mentioned The Manner in a listicle exploring the most exciting things to do, see, and look out for in New York City, guest-edited by local design insiders. To bring the recently inaugurated five-star hotel to our attention was Australian-born, New York-based architect and designer Timothy Godbold, whose long-term interest in and commitment to preserving modernist architecture was enough for him to instantly add The Manner to his travel bucket list. Needless to say, his gut feeling was right about it, as this new SoHo stay has already earned itself a name as one of the best New York hotels. Part of the Standard International group, the cult lifestyle portfolio behind some of the most irreverently stylish properties worldwide, the 97-room hotel was crafted to impress by Hannes Peer Architecture. Drawing on the rule-breaking design legacy of the studio's home base, Milan, The Manner breathes new life into the city's 1970s modernism through spectacularly executed environments that bring a slice of Europe to the US. Interior legends like Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass would rejoice at the sight of this hotel's suites, where Memphis Milano's primary colors — think vibrant hues of ochre, red, and emerald green — and contrasting leathery, marble, lacquer, and velvety surfaces sculpt the space into a decor enthusiast's dream.
What else makes The Manner one of the best hotels in New York?
Highlight: With four dazzling F&B destinations tucked under one roof, The Manner is the perfect base for travelers looking to soak in the authentic SoHo glamour and lifestyle. Meanwhile, its thought-provoking contemporary art collection, gathering immersive works by the likes of Nicholas Shurey, Elvira Solana, Alex Proba, and Giovanni de Francesco, makes the sojourn booking-worthy for globetrotters with a soft spot for the arts.
Great for: Travelers who stayed at The Manner have praised the property for its hybrid hotel, residence, and private members' club setup, pairing world-class service and hospitality with the discreetness of a family home. What does it mean exactly? Essentially, that certain areas of the hotel, like The Apartment lounge and The Rooftop bar, are only open to residents and their friends, granting hotel guests an exclusive experience, and that front desk and housekeeping procedures have been made as smoothless as possible to ensure travelers' experience is as comfortable and stress-free as it can be.
Nine Orchard
9 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, United States
There is a patina and a storytelling to Nine Orchard, the 113 residential-inspired-room hotel nestled within the Lower East Side's architectural marvel that is the 1912 Beaux‑Arts Jarmulowsky Bank, that you will hardly find anywhere else in New York. From how the historical sinuously merges with the contemporary across its custom-designed BDDW furniture, appliances, and travel accessories to the state-of-the-art Ojas sound systems incorporated across its grounds and its avantgarde art collection — featuring contributions by the likes of photographer Justine Kurland, visual artist Maria Berrío, and multidisciplinary creative Maia Ruth Lee, among others — and cultural programming, this superb NYC stay fits history, tech innovation, and aesthetic inspiration into one. It is a journey within the journey, as the coffered, ornamental ceiling of its communal areas, largely dressed in pink Tennessee marble floors and Botticino marble walls, contrasts with the hip essence of its animated suites, filled with colorful artworks and curated music frequencies courtesy of Devon Turnbull and DJ Stretch Armstrong: one we wish we had already ticked off our own bucket lists.
What else makes Nine Orchard one of the best New York hotels?
Highlight: The panoramic views guests can catch from the stay's sprawling rooftop (or, for the lucky ones, directly from one of its terrace suites) are, according to our very own Style Editor, Julia Demer, the ultimate treat. Though, for me, it is the Nine Orchard's interdisciplinary lifestyle offering, from the award-winning gastronomic explorations that have characterized the hotel's three F&B venues so far to the design accents making each of its corners into a surprise, and its star-studded calendar of events, that add that special something.
Great for: Culture-savvy globetrotters who can appreciate standout fine dining, artistry, and decor.
Book your stay at Nine Orchard.
Now Now NoHo
338 Bowery, New York, NY 10012, United States
There is a reason why I dedicated an entire feature to Now Now NoHo, one of the coolest hotels in New York to have graced the American metropolis in a long time. As I reported on in my latest travel trends report at the start of the year, solo travel is on the rise. Still, the same can't be said of holiday destinations that ensure even a single party can make their time off about inventive interior design. Luckily for anyone keen to explore the world on their own, this spring local firm Islyn Studio stepped in to say no more. And so it's goodbye unaesthetic hostel dorms, hello sleeper cabin-inspired, dreamy Now Now NoHo bedrooms! Situated in one of the Big Apple's most iconic neighborhoods, a melting pot of stories and cultures that has seen the rise to stardom of era-defining artists, musicians, and more, this jewel box of an hotel has landed to transform every solo exploration of New York into an opportunity for sensory immersion and community exchange that takes creativity to the forefront.
What else makes Now Now NoHo one of the best hotels in New York?
Highlight: Now Now NoHo's welcoming lobby area, furnished with design collectibles by burgeoning creatives and equipped with tech-powered screens for a seamless check-in experience, is in itself worth the hype, as is the playful art collection that features in some of the sojourn's most inventive sleeper cabins.
Great for: Style-versed solo travelers searching for a joyful, detail-oriented, and affordable place to stay, without having to wave goodbye to stunningly crafted interiors.
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-year-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 it 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.
What else makes The Fifth Avenue Hotel one of the best New York hotels
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.
Book your stay at The Fifth Avenue Hotel.
The 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.
What else makes The Greenwich Hotel one of the best hotels in New York?
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.
Book your stay at The Greenwich Hotel.
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 is 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.
What else makes Soho Grand one of the best hotels in New York?
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 during particularly busy periods of the year," she adds. As a fashion insider, she recommends keeping an eye on the 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? Because powerful mid-century photography is omnipresent in the hotel, whose iconic rooms have provided the backdrop to the drama-fueled plots of TV series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, and Made.
Book your stay at the Soho Grand.
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 allow 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."
What else makes Warren Street Hotel one of the best hotels in New York?
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, pendant 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.
Book your stay at the Warren Street Hotel.
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 city.
What else makes Pendry Manhattan West one of the best hotels in New York?
Highlights: The explosion of colors, textures, and flavors at the heart of Zou Zou's, the modern rustic Eastern Mediterranean restaurant helmed 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.
Book your stay at Pendry Manhattan West.
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.
What else makes The Beekman one of the best hotels in New York?
Highlights: I like a hotel whose culinary offer is so captivating that it convinces 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-course 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.
Book your stay at The Beekman.
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 fourth 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 glamour. 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.
What else makes the Moxy NYC Lower East Side one of the best hotels in New York?
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.
Book your stay at the Moxy NYC Lower East Side.
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.
What else makes 1 Hotel Central Park one of the best hotels in New York?
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.
Book your stay at 1 Hotel Central Park.
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.
What else makes Freehand one of the best hotels in New York?
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 in New York's cultural buzz on a budget.
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.
What else makes Public Hotel one of the best hotels in New York?
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-savvy, luxe-inclined travelers who value privacy over face-to-face customer service.
Book your stay at Public Hotel.
The 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.
What else makes The Times Square EDITION one of the best hotels in New York?
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 in 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.
Book your stay at the Times Square EDITION.
FAQs
How Did We Pick the Best New York Hotels?
Gathering a cohesive, style-driven selection of boutique hotels in New York is no easy task, particularly considering the wide number of holiday stays scattered across the city. At Livingetc, we think travel lends itself naturally to the most memorable design explorations. Our edit of the best hotels in New York for decor-addicted globetrotters thus took interior innovation as the foremost criterion to help you distinguish true design gems from the rest. Of equal importance toward the final lineup were our editors' (or trusted third parties') reviews of specific NYC stays, as well as the role that any hotel played in defining the pop culture, collective imaginary, and history of the Big Apple. Some of these New Yorkese holiday getaways might have served as the setting of your favorite TV shows or as the temporary home of your most esteemed art, music, and cinema idols. Others might platform the genius of today's leading creative minds in their collections and design. In every case, these boutique hotels in New York are more than mere rooms — they are a getaway to the city's bohemia, signature style, and timeless decor.
What Is the Best Area of New York to Stay in?
We know how important it is to let the locals speak their own truth about their city, which is why it will be Livingetc's New York-based Style Editor, Julia Demer, to solve this dilemma. When it comes to finding the right area to stay in New York, "it really depends on the kind of trip you're after," she says. "If you're here for tourist classics and don't mind sacrificing charm for convenience, Times Square isn't the worst option — it's central and well-connected by train. That said, no New Yorker would ever choose to stay there, and it's definitely not where the 'real' city happens."
For a more authentic experience, "aim for the west side of Manhattan — Chelsea and anything below (West Village, SoHo, Tribeca) are ideal," Julia adds. "Not only is the subway system simpler on the West Side, but you'll also be much closer to the restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques you've probably saved on TikTok. The Lower East Side has its own gritty, late-night energy and is great if you're planning to walk or rideshare everywhere. Brooklyn can be wonderful, too, but if it's your first time in NYC, Manhattan is a better home base, especially for short stays."
Which Hotel Has the Best View in NYC?
Once again, I am giving the word over to Julia on this. "The PUBLIC Hotel rooftop is iconic (very downtown)," she says. "For something more upscale (and with fabulous Central Park views), the Peninsula never disappoints. If you're after a boutique feel, Nine Orchard and ModernHaus SoHo both have underrated views of the skyline. And in summer, you simply cannot beat the views of the Manhattan Bridge from the Dumbo House pool."
Did this curation of the best hotels in New York put you in the mood for more design escapism? Enjoy our dazzling roundup of the trendiest NYC bars — masterpieces of interiors where world-class artistry, dreamlike ambiance, and sublime mixology come included in the bill.
Should you be looking for an insider's take on all things the Big Apple, glassware disruptor Sophie Lou Jacobsen's guide to New York will fill you in on the coolest independent boutiques, her favorite river-view food and drink spots, hidden away antique dealers, and more.
