Luxury New York City Boutique Hotel Highlights Art and Style
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The Gramercy Park Hotel in New York creates the ideal gathering space for Manhattan’s chicest art scenesters – and for aspiring hipsters from around the world.
Situated at the base of Lexington Avenue across from New York City’s only private park, the luxury boutique Gramercy Park Hotel has undergone a startlingly effective transformation under famed hotelier and former Studio 54 impresario Ian Schrager.
While the old Gramercy Park Hotel used to radiate a warm charm of shabby faded gentility in line with the Jamesian overtones of the area’s Belle Epoque mansions and private square, it is now enshrouded in a cloak of unimpeachable chicness, mirroring the updated appeal of the neighborhood.
Gramercy Park Hotel is the latest in line of luxury boutique hotels from hotelier and real estate developer Ian Schrager. This 1925-built hotel that had 500 rooms at one time has been streamlined into 185-roomed one. What this means is that the rooms are now more spacious and more than half of them have been turned into suites. Some of them even provide amazing views of the charming Gramercy Park.
The Gramercy Hotel is located within walking distance of the SoHo neighborhood, Union Square, and the Nolita area where you can find plenty of interesting shops and restaurants. In addition to this, there are Art galleries for those who are culturally inclined and if you are interested in some exciting nightlife, there are several options for that too. Entertainment, dining, and shopping options are virtually within a hop, skip and jump off the hotel.
Accommodation for guests in this hotel is nothing short of luxurious. All the rooms feature mahogany English drinking cabinets that house the minibar and DVD player. There is a lounge chair for you to err….lounge in and the beds are velvet-upholstered and have luxurious bed linens to ensure sweet dreams at night. Bathrooms are generously proportioned and have wood-paneled walls. The rooms are equipped with the latest in technology, from flat-screen TVs and DVD players to iPod docking stations. The floors are original oak wood and the walls are adorned with original 20th-century artworks.
There are two bars in the hotel, Rose Bar & Jade Bar along with a private rooftop lounge, the Roof Club. The last is reserved exclusively for guests of the hotel where they can enjoy a good time while taking in the breathtaking views of the surrounding area. Award-winning restaurateur Danny Meyer of the Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, and Shake Shack fame has recently opened Maialino where Wakiya used to be earlier. Maialino is a representation of Meyer’s love of Italy and it features designs by David Rockwell. It promises to offer its patrons a great culinary experience.
Gramercy Park Hotel, though quite a recent addition to the long list of hotels in New York, is fast climbing the ladder of popularity. It caters to every whim and fancies you may have and aims to deliver the most exemplary service to its patrons. Whether you are planning a business trip, a family holiday or a cozy get together with a special someone, you will find that Gramercy Park Hotel scores on all accounts. Have a good time!
Central Gramercy Park Location
Detached from the touristy bustle of Midtown yet centrally connected to virtually all Manhattan’s principal neighborhoods and features, the Gramercy Park area offers excellent dining and shopping within an attractive, comfortable setting.
At a convenient juncture between Chelsea, Union Square, and the East Village, Gramercy Park is notable not only for its own charms but also for proximity to some of the most exciting artistic centers in the world. With this in mind, Schrager turned to celebrated New York artist Julian Schnabel to imbue his new hotel venture with the creative design of impeccable provenance.
The result is an exciting blend of modern art and contemporary style. Every detail in the Gramercy Park Hotel – right down to the bathroom amenities “curated” by a top fashion magazine beauty editor – promises the guest access to the mythical exclusive enclave of Manhattan’s creative elite. It is fitting that the perks for hotel guests include a key to the gated Gramercy Park, as well as the use of the hotel’s members-only rooftop club.
Top New York City Restaurant
Ian Schrager, who created the ultimate fashionista hotel with 1988’s Phillipe Starck-designed Royalton, has an unerring instinct for what sets the best luxury boutique hotels apart. In a calculated move away from the minimalist aesthetic now predominant in global luxury chic, Schnabel has chosen a rich renaissance palette for the Gramercy Park hotel rooms and furnished them lavishly with unique custom pieces.
The Gramercy Park Hotel recently announced another exclusive feature coming in Autumn 2009: celebrated chef Danny Meyer (Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack) will open what promises to be another top New York City restaurant in the hotel.
Private Art Collection Modern Masterpieces
But the jewel of the Gramercy’s crown lies in its unique original art collection, displayed largely in the hotel’s public spaces: the lobby and two ground floor bars. The grand, fireplace-dominated lobby and the eponymously decorated Rose Bar and Jade Bar showcase rotating works from such pre-eminent modern and contemporary artists as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon, and Damien Hirst.
The paintings are hung in the manner of a private collection rather than a curated, captioned gallery; and the result provides a delightful – and, for most, unparalleled – opportunity to absorb and enjoy modern masterpieces in an intimately low-key setting. The chance to experience this caliber of artwork with such comfortable familiarity is alone worth a trip to the Gramercy Park Hotel.
Gramercy Park Hotel – 2 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10010, (212) 920-3300