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Mr & Mrs Smith Hotels

LONDONYC

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Chambers

Chambers

This modernist midtown Manhattan boutique hotel will pull a few surprises out of the bag even for those who think that they have seen the most urban design tricks.

Just when you thought you seen most urban design tricks, this modernist midtown Manhattan boutique hotel pulls a few surprises out of the bag: concrete in the bathrooms, unplastered ceilings and exposed pipes for the fire sprinkler, and desks befitting a graphic designer (pot of sharp coloured pencils and a role of tracing paper to doodle on). But there’s nothing cold about the hotel’s communal areas. The lobby is warm and welcoming, and comes with a modern fireplace, comfy chairs and a cosy bar – where refreshingly chatty barmen mix perfect martinis. The same goes for the bedrooms, where furnishings adhere to a soft palette of aubergine, gentle lime green and muted taupe, and heavy suede curtains block out the outside world. Industrial lamps match the concrete ceiling for contemporary edge, but underfloor heating means that cool urban look never gets chilly.

Eating & Drinking

Eating & Drinking

The hotels restaurant Town serves contemporary Continental cuisine, which has earned it a coveted three stars in The New York Times, and it came 26th out of the top 100 New York restaurants in New York magazine.

Our Favourite Rooms

Our Favourite Rooms

You’ll be spoilt for choice. The Studio Suite is on the 15th floor, with a deep tub in a big bathroom. The 900-square-foot Duplex Suite has a vast terrace with walnut floors and a wow-worthy view.

Worth Getting Up For

Worth Getting Up For

To get you thinking on your feet, Big Onion organizes thematic walking tours that tell you the history of this cosmopolitan city (www.bigonion.com). A gander accross the glorious Brooklyn Bridge is also highly recommended.

Hotel Grace

Hotel Grace

At this cheap-chic boutique hotel the wood panelling and cubic modern furniture have a whisper of chalet about them, but you can still sense that you’re inches from Times Square, in the middle of Manhattan

This cheap-chic boutique hotel is just what you’d expect from that most artful of lodgers, André Balazs. The wood panelling and cubic modern furniture at Hotel Grace have a whisper of chalet about them, but you can still sense that you’re inches from Times Square. Though the bedrooms aren’t huge (after all, this is New York City), the bed is king-size. In fact, half the room is sleepable on. There may not be any bathtub to wallow in, but the fact that there’s a pool in the lobby is good compensation. The best thing about the hotel, though? It won’t leave you financially blistered. Sure, your dollars don’t buy you deluxe in the space department, but what you will get at this hotel is a small but perfectly formed room, smack in the middle of Manhattan. How much more bang could you want from your buck?

Eating & Drinking

Eating & Drinking

The hotel doesn’t boast its own restaurant but a delivery service is available and last orders are 3am in Grace’s bar. Try The Campbell Apartment for a pre-dinner cocktail amid the splendour of Grand Central Station.

Our Favourite Rooms

Our Favourite Rooms

The penthouse studio suites have views of Times Square and lots of natural light. A rooms feature king-size beds and twin bunks. B rooms are as roomy, but without bunks. E rooms are standard queens.

Worth Getting Up For

Worth Getting Up For

Barneys on Madison Avenue at 61st is a one-stop shop for fashionistas, and the jeans bar at its Co-op section is a must-visit. Also worth a visit is the bijou Japanese department store Takashimaya, between 54th and 55th.

Hotel on Rivington

Hotel on Rivington

With floor-to-ceiling windows throughout, and the Rivington’s status as a giant among 19th-century tenements, the views accross the city from this Lower East Side gem are spectacular.

The ideal antidote to a long flight and those first creeping feelings of jetlag – or, maybe, just that energy-sapping drive into New York City – the Hotel on Rivington is sure to blow any cobwebs away. Who could fail to love the red-carpeted entrance to its glass-fronted bar, or even the decadent, theme-continuing red-and-black wallpaper and white cave-like mouldings that backdrop the joyful hubbub of music and conversation inside? The hotel is contemporary, unique, lively and spacious. And it stretches skywards over 21 floors – you’ll no doubt be seduced by the panoramic views of the Financial District through the floor-to-ceiling windows in your room. And, being this far downtown, you can happily leave your curtains open and enjoy that vista, never mind which state of undress you might find yourself in.

Eating & Drinking

Eating & Drinking

In the hotels Thor restaurant there’s a super-trendy scene, with the dining room housed in a lofty glass atrium. The nine-course tasting menu at Thomas Keller’s legendary restaurant ‘Per Se’ is also not to be missed.

Our Favourite Rooms

Our Favourite Rooms

Room 184 is a Unique King with glass walls on two sides, and a huge steam shower with three shower heads. Other rooms have showers with views, or a two-person Japanese soaking tub.

Worth Getting Up For

Worth Getting Up For

Take in the sights – it’s not just the exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum that are worth a look, but also the view over Central Park from the roof terrace. If shopping’s your game, head to Fifth Avenue for all your flagship hankerings.

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