Overview

Gaze over Central Park and the Manhattan skyline from the most breathtaking luxury hotel in New York. This award-winning, 5 Star development high above Columbus Circle offers stunning views from every room. In the beating heart of the city, close to the most prestigious areas, Mandarin Oriental, New York has become a byword for New York style.

Accommodations

Located high above Columbus Circle, our 248 stylishly appointed rooms and suites reflect the oriental heritage of Mandarin Oriental while incorporating contemporary elements of New York City. And with every one of them comes a breathtaking view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline, or the scenic Hudson River over which the sun sets. Choose your accommodations and view from the selection below.

Spa

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, New York is a five-star spa offering holistic renewal in a setting of complete tranquility. Facilities including a state-of-the-art fitness center and a 75-foot naturally lit indoor lap pool. Bamboo, stone and gold leaf set the tone for an unforgettable Manhattan spa experience that focuses on the rebalance of the individual, and leaves them with an enhanced sense of well-being.

Dining

The restaurants and bars at Mandarin Oriental, New York offer innovative food & beverage concepts in a city that is renowned throughout the world for its variety of cuisine.

It’s the question that plagues every New Yorker during the summer: to stay or not to stay? But thanks to a new partnership between The Greenwich Hotel and East Hampton Point Resort you don’t have to choose.

The six night package splits your time evenly between both properties, giving you three days in the City and three out east. It begins at The Greenwich Hotel, Robert De Niro‘s 88-room luxury property in Manhattan’s tony Tribeca neighborhood. There you’ll receive a superior room, breakfast for two (daily), Champagne and fruit upon arrival, two “Shibui Toner” spa treatments, and dinner for two in the private, outdoor garden of the critically acclaimed Locanda Verde. Then it’s off to the beach via a Hampton Luxury Liner, where you’ll be put up in one of East Hampton Point’s luxe bungalows. Breakfast comes delivered each morning, courtesy of Mary’s Marvelous in Amagansett, and dinner for two awaits at the resort’s restaurant. To get you through the middle of the day a picnic lunch at Georgica Beach, East Hampton’s prime summer locale, has been arranged (car service to the beach, or passes for those with their own vehicles is also provided). The resort can also schedule tee times, book a private shopper or place a preferred dinner reservation. Now when you’re asked if you’re staying in the City or going to the Hamptons the correct response is, “yes.”

by Michael B. Dougherty Luxist

Banking of the success of its popular Mad46 rooftop bar (set to reopen for the season this week), Manhattan’s grand Roosevelt Hotel has recently unveiled Vander Bar. Taking its name from the Lilliputian avenue that runs parallel to Grand Central Terminal-along the Roosevelt’s backside-Vander Bar makes a serious play for the mid-town clientele who frequent both of these New York City institutions. Whereas Mad46 is meant to compete with stylish downtown al fresco drinking options like those found at the Hudson or Thompson hotels, Vander Bar aims more for the local happy hour crowd, where Hermès ties become loosened before the Metro-North train ride back to Westchester. Offering a fully stocked bar, along with beers on-tap, the property’s small-plates menu of contemporary favorites, such as burger sliders, lobster rolls, and mac and cheese, should provide ample ways to spoil dinner. Of course these days a bar is only as good as its signature drinks, and Vander Bar gives a knowing wink to the neighborhood with a Belvedere black raspberry vodka and lime juice concoction, known as “The BlackBerry.”

by Michael B. Dougherty (RSS feed)

Luxist

The Surrey Hotel, the boutique hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has opened a spectacular private roof garden complete with expansive views of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park. The roof garden features lounge seating amidst seasonal florals, ranging from brilliant purple Salvia East Frieslands to pink, yellow and orange Lantana. There are lovely box trees that are framed by rows of English dwarf lavenders. Located on the Penthouse level of the hotel, the rooftop garden is available seasonally and exclusively to hotel guests.

The 2,200 square foot terrace is a serene escape and can only be compared to a penthouse terrace found on the top of some of the most exclusive apartment buildings in Manhattan. The roof was completely resurfaced, and features Ipe Brazilian decking and trellises, with ivy and box trees growing throughout the garden. It was designed by Lauren Rottet, the renowned interior and architectural designer who spearheaded The Surrey’s recent renovation.

The garden is open daily from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, and offers butler service for beverages and light means, enabling guests to dine any time of the day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. Featured menu items range from the Smoked Salmon Club to the New York Strip Steak Frites. The terrace has bar service with its signature cocktail being the “Muddled Lemonade”—a combination of fresh herbs, fruits and spices mixed with home-made lemonade (available with or without alcohol). The menu also features classic cocktails such as the “Dark and Stormy”. “Moscow Mule” and innovative concoctions including the “Blackberry Mint Margarita” and the “76th Street”, which is made with fresh lime, club soda, orange bitters and Patron Silver.

Guests and selected members of the neighborhood will be invited to themed evening festivities, such as the Backgammon night and Pimm’s night, as well as wine tastings and book readings.

The terrace is a wonderful addition to The Surrey, which recently reopened after a $60 million-plus complete renovation. The hotel, which is located in one of Manhattan’s most exclusive of neighborhoods, is a black, white, cream and sepia space, which melds traditional sophistication with a modern edge. Its high ceilings and archways, limestone walls and marble floors evoke the ambiance of a grand residential townhouse. There’s also a private suite that is available for that is for private functions that rents for $5,000 a night. The suite, which is 1,100 square feet, has a private outdoor terrace, kitchen and wet bar.

The Surrey features 190 well-appointed salons, including 30 one-bedroom suites, a Penthouse and a Presidential Suite, ranging from 350 to 2,127 square feet in size. The hotel is now the destination of choice for well-heeled visitors to New York, ranging from tourists and business travelers to those who are visiting relatives who live in the area.

The Surrey offers a complete luxury experience for hotel guests and Manhattanites alike with its beautiful day spa, “Spa at the Surrey” that is complete with luxurious private therapy rooms as well as a range of customized spa treatments. There’s also a world-class restaurant, Cafe Boulud, which is operated by celebrity chef, Daniel Boulud, offers a contemporary approach to classic French cuisine. Boulud also operates Bar Pleiades, located on the lobby level of the Surrey, an Art Deco-inspired lounge that is quickly becoming the destination of choice for the residents of the Upper East Side.

The hotel’s impressive art collection is also worth checking out. Curated by Rottet, it includes 31 original contemporary works by notable artists such as Chuck Close and Helen Amy Murray, dispersed throughout the private and public spaces. The collection pays homage to the hotel’s impressive Upper East Side location just steps from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the other well-known institutions that make up Museum Mile.

The Surrey Hotel is located at 20 East 76th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue.

by Carrie Coolidge Rss Feed

Luxist

Tequila and Tacos Help Mondays Go Down at 60 Thomson

We already know that overpriced drinks are a lot easier to swallow when perched on a hotel rooftop bar high above the city. But you know what’s also pretty delish from upon high? Tacos. So we’re totally into the new Tacos & Tequila night at 60 Thompson‘s A60. Especially since it’s on a Monday.

Also? You don’t have to be a hotel guest or A60 member to get your Rooftop Mex on—you just have to rock up early. Non-members are welcome ‘when space permits’, so we recommend hitting up the bar as soon as the taco stand opens at 5 p.m.

There are three varieties on the menu, including grilled coriander chicken, flank steak a la plancha and sautéed shrimp in salsa verde, all priced between $10–$14 (there are 3 tacos per order). You can also order chips with salsa or guacamole ($6–$8) and caramel flan with shredded coconut ($5).

Since all of these snacks demand a little (or a lot of) tequila on the side, the drink specials on Monday nights include a T&T Margarita and Ruby Red Chili (Svedka vodka, limoncello, muddled grapefruit and chili) for $10 each, and shots of Cabo Wabo tequila for $7.

If you plan to stay awhile, you may prefer a pitcher of passionfruit margarita or white sangria spiked with tequila and fruit—there are five drinks in a pitcher for $45.

We never thought you’d hear us say this, but … Uh, is it Monday yet?

MsRebecca @ HotelChatter

New York City’s fave “neospeakeasy” has become mainstream to the chagrin of some of its regulars. Besides the amazing drink menu created by Jim Meehan, Please Don’t Tell’s greatest asset is its “secret” entrance inside the hot dog joint Crif Dogs on St. Mark’s Pl. The phone booth entry not only makes patrons feel like they are experiencing something special, it has also filtered out those who weren’t in the know.

Mixologist Jim Meehan has been well known to drink connoisseurs for some time but now he’s bringing his talent, and his secret bar, to the forefront. Jim was recently featured on the Travel Channel and last week he made a high profile appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On the show, Jim spilled all of his secrets, like how to make one of his signature drinks, a Tequila Highball, and where to find his hidden bar.

But all of this publicity has some wishing PDT would stay a secret. One Twitterer recently exclaimed, “Now that @PDTNYC & Jim Meehan have been on Travel Channel and Jimmy Fallon, it should be really awesome to sit next to tourists at the bar!” While another patron pointed out the fact that speakeasies are suppose to be kept on the DL. “What point is it having a “secret” bar that everyone knows about??? They shouldn’t be listed in places like City Search, and they shouldn’t have a website or any other kind of advertising either. It should be simply word of mouth. They didn’t have the internet back in the prohibition years you know!”

If you’re one of those annoying tourists who wants to check out a real, big city speakeasy, make sure you make reservations and call early.  PDT’s 45 seats are usually booked by 4 pm. The only thing that irritates locals more than tourists, are tourists without reservations

-Jaunted