5 stylish new hotels in New York City

Big Apple style: the Gansevoort Park Avenue hotel

By Mark Chesnut

New York hotels are, by nature, designed to appeal to both leisure and business travelers. And the most recent round of New York hotel openings are an excellent example of how the Big Apple combines style, service and location to serve the needs of a variety of travelers. Anyone planning a New York vacation or business trip would do well to check out these new additions.

Aloft Brooklyn
Starwood’s growing Aloft brand — which aims to combine contemporary chic with affordable prices — has debuted in the borough of Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Its xyz Bar and Re:mix Lounge are designed to be social hubs, while the two meeting rooms are ideal for travelers looking to conduct business.

Andaz 5th Avenue
Hyatt’s boutique brand has wowed visitors with its great style and excellent cuisine. The hypo-allergenic rooms are modern, luxurious and comfortable, while the stylish Apartment 2E offers well-designed meeting space, strategically located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, just across the street from the iconic main branch of the New York Public Library.

Dream Downtown
Famed hotelier Vikram Chatwal has brought his Dream hotel brand to Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood with Dream Downtown, a delightfully modernist property with quirky-cool design elements and a rooftop lounge that offers inspiring views of the city.

Gansevoort Park Avenue
This company’s hotel in New York’s Meatpacking district became a hotspot so quickly that was no surprise when the newer Gansevoort Park NYC joined the list of must-see hotels and social venues soon after opening. Sleek and stylish, the Park Avenue location has sumptuous decor, a wonderful rooftop pool, extensive dining options, meeting and event venues for up to 500 people, and a see-and-be-seen bar and lounge.

Nolitan Hotel
Perhaps the newest of all is the 55-room Nolitan, which opens in early August on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a few blocks from the always-fabulous SoHo district. Special perks at this design-conscious boutique hotel include 2 p.m. checkout, free packing and unpacking services and free bicycle, skateboard and laptop rentals. The rooftop will be available for private events as of Sept. 5.

Mark Chesnut is a travel writer, editor and publisher of LatinFlyer.com, which focuses on business and leisure travel to Latin America.

Tagged: Hotels, New York