The Best Boutique Hotels in New York City

Located between SoHo and Tribeca in a structure that recalls the Flatiron Building, this 201-room hotel feels straight out of a Golden Age movie set. The lobby opens into a chambered triangular atrium surrounded by rooms on all three sides, which means guests are constantly connected to the restaurant and bar scene below. The playful nods to the past are seen in the retro décor of the basic but comfortable rooms and extend to the well-curated jazz club The Django, a vintage-style Joey Silvestera-backed hair salon, and the independent movie theater, which specializes in 35mm classics. Rooms from $255.

This newcomer opened north of Madison Square Park last fall and quickly became a contender with its neighbors, the Ace and Nomad hotels, for bringing something new to the table: it’s contemporary and bright, with a focus on craftsmanship and natural materials. The 108 rooms are furnished to look like a well-curated apartment, while the lobby café (centered around a communal table) and rooftop bar Good Behavior have become neighborhood hangouts. Rooms from $350.

Whimsical touches like Persian rugs and ornate headboards, worn patina, and claw-foot bathtubs in the bedroom make this 168-room hotel one of the city’s most romantic. Designer Jacques Garcia reportedly modeled the interiors after his childhood apartment in Paris, which includes the intimate but opulent lobby, bi-level Library bar, and of course, the stellar restaurant from chef Daniel Humm. Rooms from $395.

The fact that that this 60-room hotel inhabits a 19th-century Gothic building that was formerly a seminary makes for some oddly shaped rooms, but there’s something novel about staying in, say, a turret. For guests, the hotel is more about the location (directly across from the High Line in Chelsea) and its nostalgic ambiance than it is about the vintage-styled rooms (dark wood trims and velvet drapes), which show some wear. The lobby’s Intelligentsia bar is a favorite hangout both day and night when it turns into a bar, and The Golden Hour restaurant features one of the most charming outdoor dining spaces in the city. Rooms from $440.

Located on a residential block in the vibrant Nolita neighborhood, this hotel’s design and service have a way of making guests feel like a local. Its 55 rooms mimic the industrial feel of its surroundings, with surfaces of unfinished concrete, worn leather, and untreated woods. Opening this month is The Usual, a new restaurant from Alvin Cailan, the popular Los Angeles chef behind Eggslut and Amboy. Rooms from $500.

The 189 large, residential-style rooms at The Surrey could be mistaken for the interiors of any of the elegant townhouses that line the Upper East Side street where it’s located. As the city’s only Relais & Châteaux property, it goes beyond elegantly-appointed rooms and superb service, offering 24-hour room service from the downstairs Café Boulud, as well as access to one of the city’s prettiest rooftops, which is only available to guests and members of its by-referral Patrons Club. Rooms from $675.

With its velvet-clad surfaces, wrought-iron fixtures, and quirky vintage touches (old-school keys with tassels hang behind reception), The Bowery feels very New York, although its design, according to owner Sean Macpherson, was based off the Overlook, the fictional hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining. (Another nod to Kubrick: the bellman uniforms were inspired by the “droogs” in A Clockwork Orange.) Opt for the one-bedroom suites, which come with terraces, though you can’t go wrong with any room, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows that offer some of the best views of the city. Rooms from $395.