The 10 Best Hotels in New York City

The first-ever hotel from the iconic French jewelry brand, which debuted across from the Museum of Modern Art, is truly awe-inspiring. There are more than 15,000 individual crystals throughout the 50-story glass tower, and the 114 refined rooms feature gleaming white marble baths and sexy mini-bars (not to mention a “champagne” button on your in-room telephone—we’ll let you guess what happens when you press it). At the hotel's La Mer spa, the first in the States, you can get precious stone-inspired treatments like a pure powder diamond scrub, or simply lounge by the marble-floored swimming pool. The salon area, done up with Jouffre silk walls and fur chairs, is a gorgeous nook for afternoon tea before light bites at The Bar, where a stylish Euro crowd bellies up to the mirrored counter beneath blood-red chandeliers for champagne and whisky cocktails— plus, delicacies like beef bourguignon tartelettes and crème brulee.

The resurgence of this once seedy industrial neighborhood (now called NoMad), is all thanks to this 1903 Beaux-Arts tower turned gorgeous New York hotel. French-inspired interiors by Jacques Garcia—velvet drapes, sconces dripping with tassels, antique rugs—extend to the 168 rooms and suites, as well as the lauded eponymous restaurant and bar from culinary power duo Daniel Humm and Will Guidara, formerly of Eleven Madison Park. After a drink at the mahogany bar courtesy of mixologist Leo Robitschek (we recommend a Mother’s Little Helper), tuck into one of the dining room’s mohair banquettes and don’t think about ordering anything other than the foie-gras-and-black-truffle-stuffed roast chicken for two.

Many spaces in New York—many hotels, for that matter—channel Manhattan’s glorified Gilded Age, but none transport you back quite like The Beekman. It all comes down to the history. The hotel occupies a landmark 1881 Queen Anne building (which, during its lifetime, acted as a playhouse, a law firm, and a publishing house) and still retains its nine-story, skylight-lit Victorian atrium. The Bar Room is lined with bookshelves, leather club chairs, and author portraits — subtle nods to the space that debuted Shakespeare’s Hamlet and hosted the likes of Edgar Allen Poe. Floors (and the check-in desk, a favorite 'gram post) are piled with Oriental Rugs. Incredible artwork, from photographs to sculptures is everywhere (ask for a booklet at check-in so you can take a self-guided tour). Upstairs, the feel is more modern, with 287 lofty guest rooms with mod lighting and subway-tiled bathrooms.

Never in Brooklyn has a hotel had as much buzz as the 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge (and yes, it might be bigger than The Wythe). Here, you’ll find a certain tranquility often lost in urban hotels, thanks to its waterfront address by Brooklyn Bridge Park. Rooms are luxuriously spacious and bring in the borough’s eco-conscious sensibility with moss gardens, hemp-blend mattresses, a color palette defined by textures and materials rather than paint or wallpaper, and hour-glasses that time your showers. Living walls in the lobby create the ideal retreat from city life, a rooftop bar with fire pits and a lounge pool is the neighborhood’s hottest summer hangout, and floor-to-ceiling window views of the Brooklyn Bridge, the city, and Lady Liberty mean you’ll never have a bad view.

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Ian Schrager and Julian Schnabel revived this Twenties-era icon back in 2006, and it's still a favorite. For the buttoned-up Gramercy neighorhood, Gramercy Park Hotel brings in a serious dose of sexy, from the crimson lobby with its wooden columns and oversize armchairs gathered around a 10-foot fireplace to the 185 jewel-tone rooms decked out with velvet headboards and “drinking cabinets” filled with crystal glassware. In each of the buzzy bars, the Jade and Rose, you’ll find canvases by Warhol, Twombly, and Basquiat, and a sceney crowd gathers at the Italian trattoria from Danny Meyer. The clincher: guests have access to the otherwise residents-only Gramercy Park, just across the street.

This Park Hyatt is as luxurious as they come thanks to an exclusive One57 tower address a block from Central Park and a gorgeous design that leans heavily on rich textiles to give it a timeless feel. All 210 rooms have leather trunks that double as mini-bars and freestanding tubs, which overlook the city. Leave time for a dip in the 25th-floor indoor pool: with its soaring three-story windows and cushy deck chairs, it's is the perfect place to unwind.

A 1909 landmark Metropolitan Life building on Madison Square Park is now home to one of the city’s slickest hotels, courtesy of Ian Schrager. Inside the EDITION, you'll find 273 casually elegant rooms with oak floors, Le Labo bath products, and dazzlingly high windows that look out over the cityscape. Don’t miss dinner at the second-floor Clocktower restaurant, where views of the park set the stage for English staples like Highland venison with spiced kumquats and Berkshire pork chop from British chef Jason Atherton’s. Cap off the evening with a nightcap in the adjacent billiards room or bar, which stays open well into the late hours.

The first stateside outpost from witty British brand Firmdale, the Crosby Street Hotel has made many a top 1o list—but The Whitby, its much-awaited follow-up in upper Midtown, does it one better. Expect the same Firmdale flourishes, from the colorful mash-up of intricate Kit Kemp patterns and paisleys on headboards, walls, armchairs, and rugs (a refreshingly bold departure from the city’s overuse of neutrals) to oh-so-English corners including a drawing room for afternoon tea and a library. There are plenty of indulgent extras, too, including a 130-seat theater and an orangery attached to the restaurant.

More than a century’s worth of history exists inside the walls of the St. Regis New York, right in the center of Midtown on Fifth Avenue. First built in 1904 by John Jacob Astor IV, this Beaux-Arts landmark has served as the archetype for all St. Regis properties worldwide, and has hosted hundred of luminaries throughout the years, including Marilyn Monroe and Salvador Dalí. Here, it’s all about old-world opulence, from the hand-painted trompe l’oeil ceiling murals and Corinthian columns in the lobby to the moodily lit Cognac Room to the famous King Cole Bar, the proclaimed birthplace of the Bloody Mary and a favorite watering hole for Dalí. Guest rooms are equally lavish, with Italian marble baths, silk-covered walls, and 24-hour butlers (now a St. Regis signature)—though the one you might want to book is the Tiffany Suite, awash in crystal walls and—yes—that iconic blue.

What is it about The Plaza that makes it such a universal symbol of hotel luxury? It could be its appearance: a chateau-like tower that rises high above Central Park’s southeast corner, and New York’s ultimate grande dame. Or the fact that over the past century, it’s hosted anyone who was and is anyone. Or the fact that its 282 rooms (all Louis XVI-style interiors, wainscoted walls, and many with views of Fifth Avenue or Central Park) are just the icing on the cake of all there is to discover here, from luxury boutiques to a Todd English food hall, Caudalie Spa, Warren Tricomi Salon, and famous Palm Court, whose afternoon tea service beneath that gorgeous stained-glass ceiling has become one of the city’s top must-dos. It’s a force to be reckoned with, even today.