The 25 Best Boutique Hotels in NYC

Location: Upper East Side
Top amenities: 300-thread-count Frette sheets, fresh flowers by your bed, in-room fireplaces 
Best for: A trip to the city with an upscale, residential feel

At the Lowell, where the bathrooms are marble, the service is discreet, and the flower centerpieces probably cost more than your outfit, five-star hospitality is tasteful and low-key. The timeless restaurant Majorelle explodes with flower arrangements and serves French and Moroccan Cuisine. A block away from Central Park, the hotel's location on East 63rd Street is like a snapshot from a New York City postcard. The 74-room hotel is focused, forgoing extras like a spa.

Location: Times Square
Top amenities: Infinity saltwater lap pool, personal butler services on request, wellness center, pets allowed
Best for: Being in the middle of the action—while getting to escape it at a moment's notice

In the heart of Midtown’s Theater District, the Chatwal is a sleek, luxury boutique hotel with an Art Deco aesthetic. The 76 rooms, inspired by early 20th century travel, feature custom furniture designed by Despont, suede upholstered walls, tinted floor-to-ceiling mirrors, rain showers, and in-room wardrobes and vanities that evoke vintage luggage. Historically, the building was the Lamb's Club—a social club for New York City's theater crowd that originated in 1874. Now, the hotel has an 80-seat restaurant of the same name.

Location: Chelsea
Top amenities: Intelligentsia coffee bar, gem of a private garden, oversized beds, locally sourced furniture
Best for: A birthday weekend, a city staycation

The sixty-room High Line Hotel is a slice of the past within Chelsea's of-the-moment gallery district—the gothic red brick building it occupies was a cloistered Collegiate Gothic Seminary built in 1895, and where Clement C Moore penned The Night Before Christmas. Rooms look out onto the city's decade-old elevated park, the High Line, and are outfitted estate-style, with gothic moldings, hardwood floors, and antiques. Guests are encouraged to borrow the hotel's bicycles to get around.

Location: Midtown Manhattan
Top amenities: Award-winning chef, house car, individual butler service?
Best for: Over-the-top opulence and white glove service

Opened in late 2023, Arati Menon—Condé Nast Traveler’s global digital director—went on the ground earlier this year to scope out the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It landed a spot on the 2024 Hot List, our select cut of the best hotel openings in the world. Menon reported favorably on the hotel’s white glove service—which includes made-to-order martini room service from 5-7 p.m.—as well as on the spacious bathtubs, state-of-the-art in-room tech, and sumptuous interiors. The building itself has an interesting story, too. Located on the former estate of Gilded Age socialite Charlotte Goodridge, the property is housed between her then-mansion and a 24-story glass tower next door. At 28th Street and Fifth Avenue, the address is at a crossroad of Midtown neighborhoods, including vibrant Koreatown, NoMad, and more.

Location: Chelsea
Top amenities: Legendary El Quijote restaurant, lobby bar, marble bathroom, rainfall shower, select rooms with soaking tubs and balconies
Best for: Wishing you were there, then

The Hotel Chelsea, of Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan fame, reopened in 2022 after an 11-year closure. New digs include the lobby bar, renovated rooms, and a new food and beverage program. A rooftop spa, fitness center, and French-American restaurant, Café Chelsea, have since opened, too. Although the legendary creatives of its past are gone, an edginess remains, as do a handful of permanent residents who were grandfathered into their apartments, some of whom may actually have been, you know, there. In her memoir, Just Kids, Patti Smith poetically wrote, “The Chelsea was like a dollhouse in the Twilight Zone, with a hundred rooms, each a small universe.” Even today, you might feel the presence of ghosts in the halls.

Location: Midtown
Top amenities: Mini bars stocked with Casamigos, BeautyRest Beds, stand-alone tubs
Best for: Art lovers looking to stay in the middle of things

For an art-centric trip to the city that includes hours upon hours spent at the MoMA (a short walk away) and the Met, you can't do much better than the Whitby. A vivid, artsy, design-forward aesthetic characterizes the interiors—and whip out your smartphone because they photograph really, really well. The hotel even brings the art inside its doors. The Firmdale Art Tour and Workshop takes place this year on December 12, 2022, and includes a tour of the hotel's own art collection, a complimentary glass of wine, and an exclusive drawing class. Another delight of the Whitby is its Champagne afternoon tea—where scones, macarons, finger sandwiches, and house-made jams emerge from the drawing room on triple-tiered tea stands. They also have a small theater that screens films, and hold negroni and jazz nights on Fridays at the Whitby Bar.

Location: Long Island City
Top amenities: Library with books from famed bookstore the Strand and a newsstand, fitness center, dry cleaning
Best for: Sleek business travelers

Our pick for a boutique hotel in Queens, the Boro Hotel stands out from the rest thanks to its rooftop bar with spectacular views of the city and negronis on tap, lobby cafe that's made for co-working and socializing, and convenient location, just a hop over the river to Midtown via the 7 train. Guests of the Boro Hotel can easily enjoy Queens attractions like MoMA PS1 (the James Turrell Light and Space room, where visitors can lay back staring at a cut-out of the sky, is a secret NYC must-see) and Socrates Sculpture Park. Back when the hotel opened in 2015, Traveler contributor Lilit Marcus wrote, “The neighborhood's proximity to LaGuardia Airport has meant plenty of hotel development in the past few years, but most of them are impersonal mega-chains. The Boro, however, is a boutique hotel that would be just as well placed in Manhattan or Brooklyn.”

Location: Rockaway Beach, Queens
Top amenities: Balconies, ocean views, complimentary bikes
Best for: Beach-vacay, but make it in the five boroughs

Turns out, you don’t have to leave the state, or even New York City, to book yourself a true beach vacation, thanks to the Rockaway Hotel. Centrally located on one of the main drags of Queens’ bustling Rockaway Beach—where you’ll find hot dogs, surfers, skaters, and good sand and waves—the hotel is situated smack-between the ocean on one side and a ferry stop on the other. Inside, we love the fresh and colorful design, the balconies, the swimming pool, the rooftop dining, and so much more. This is how you leave the city without leaving the city.

Location: East Village
Top amenities: 24-hour room service, concierge, and fitness center; complimentary New York Times and New York Post; in-room spa services upon request
Best for: Staying in an energy-packed, creative neighborhood—and in a hotel that's integral to it

The 17-story, old world-inspired hotel at 335 Bowery, full of dark wood and velvet and Oriental rugs, has serious pull, and not just for booking one of the 135 rooms—just try to get a seat in the lobby or outdoor terrace for a drink and see. The many A-listers who've stayed overnight include Jennifer Lopez (she threw Marc Anthony's 40th birthday party here in 2008), Liv Tyler, Kate Hudson, Blake Lively, Jonah Hill, David Beckham, and Kristen Stewart. Fun fact: The founder of the Bowery Hotel, Eric Goode, is the director and producer of Tiger King.

Location: Financial District
Top amenities: Afternoon tea, in-room terraces with gardens, iconic skyscraper views
Best for: An authentic neighborhood feel with a special factor

The only other New York City hotel that made this year’s Hot List is the Warren Street Hotel, this time scouted by Condé Nast Traveler articles director and Women Who Travel podcast host Lale Arikoglu. She lauded the boutique hotel’s visual appeal, with artistic and original interiors, its stylish in-room kitchenettes and tech, and its vibey restaurant. “Kit Kemp loyalists and design obsessives will have already bookmarked this hotel for its eclectic interiors and extensive art collection,” she writes, “but anyone who wants to find a quiet moment amid the mayhem of Manhattan—without losing any of its color—will find their needs met here.” Located between Tribeca and the Financial District, the hotel is at a peaceful cross-section of downtown, but also highly accessible to the main arteries of the city.

Location: Financial District
Top amenities: Luxury house car, two-level fitness center, morning lobby coffee service, valet parking
Best for: Eavesdropping in the the Bar Room

Opened in 2016, The Beekman has had eyes on it from the beginning, and continues to be one of the Financial District's most popular and special hotels. The 1880 landmark building it occupies was one of New York City's original skyscrapers, and it is cut through the center with a sparkling nine-story kaleidoscopic atrium. The light-reflecting showstopper is a source of awe. The classic vibes continue into the dim, luxurious bar room, where deals are made and rare bourbon is drank. Rooms have vintage furniture, beds with distressed leather headboards, gourmet mini bars with cocktail tables, in-room dining, and turndown service.

Location: SoHo
Top amenities: Crosby Bar, private garden, 99-seat screening room, fully-equipped gym
Best for: A dedicated weekend of shopping in the city

On cobbled Crosby Street, a quiet side street tucked into the heart of bustling, walkable SoHo, where leggy models, local indie rockstars, and tourists mingle on the same sidewalks, lies the visually delightful Crosby Street Hotel. The whimsical decor, with splashes of color, pops of fresh flowers, and inventive light fixtures, is total eye-candy, and more photographable than the sheep's milk agnolotti you ordered and Instagrammed at Lilia. The rooms look like works of art. Natural light pours in through generous windows, and the colorful, contemporary, floral design scheme continues. Inside, you'll also find heated towel racks, fluffy Frette bathrobes, vintage side tables, and Tivoli radios.

Location: Tribeca
Top amenities: Restaurant led by Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire, Biologique Recherche spa, white marble indoor pool, gym
Best for: Francophiles

Timeless Paris meets ritzy, celebrity-populated Tribeca in this new property from French hospitality group Lucien Barrière. After much anticipation, it opened its doors in September 2022. Walk inside, and the powdery palette of sage and mint greens and barely-there pinks look like they were pulled straight from a case of macarons, while the wallpaper patterned with pigeons flying off with baguettes playfully winks at both NYC and Paris. The hotel's French restaurant is helmed by Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire nd has already received attention. Condé Nast Traveler's  destinations editor, Shannon McMahon, got a first look at Fouquet's and reviewed the hotel upon its debut. For the Boston–based editor, Fouquet was a fit for an elevated trip to the city. “Fouquet’s makes the perfect place to post up for a weekend getaway (or longer) in a cozy and iconic corner of New York’s downtown,” she writes.

Location: Tribeca
Top amenities: Exemplary spa, Swedish Duxiana mattresses, mini fridges stocked with complimentary Mexican Coca-Cola
Best for: 5-star treatment

Owned by Robert De Niro, the 88-room, eight-story Greenwich Hotel occupies the cobblestone Tribeca corner where Greenwich Street and North Monroe Street meet, next to the Tribeca Film Center. During the famed film festival, as well as New York Fashion Week, you can expect rooms here to be occupied by A-listers. The five-star hotel has a reputation for being top-of-the-line—a former Traveler editor, John Wogan, reviewed the hotel and asserts that the swimming pool might be the very best in New York City, and says the same of the spa.

Location: West SoHo
Top amenities: Glass-enclosed popular rooftop bar, cute coffee shop, spacious desks 
Best for: West Side shenanigans

Luxe Hotel Hugo, right by the Hudson River, is conveniently bound by the West Village to the north, SoHo to the east, and Tribeca to the south, positioning it well for bopping around a fun chunk of Manhattan in multiple capacities: nightlife, dining, shopping, people-watching, quiet strolls, and just about anything else you can think of. Guests can kick their night off, before potentially venturing out, at Azul Rooftop or Bar Hugo Rooftops, fraternizing with young New Yorkers. There are tacos, frozen drinks, and unobstructed river views. And when the night is through, you'll come back to a room full of midcentury modern furnishings, walnut lacquered wood, and black-and-white photographs.

Location: SoHo
Top amenities: On-site gym by appointment, Mercer Kitchen restaurant
Best for: People-watching, outfit inspiration

Recognizable to anyone who has roamed the neighborhood, on the corner of Mercer and Prince Street in an 1890 Romanesque Revival building with on-street café seating, you'll find SoHo's fashion crowd hotel circa 1997: the Mercer. The intimate, luxury boutique hotel is being serviced by its iconic neighboring restaurant Lure Fish Bar until its new on-site restaurant Sartiano’s opens in the spring.

Location: SoHo
Top amenities: Rooftop pool, spa, soundproof rooms, Frette linens
Best for: Staying in Manhattan without sacrificing comfort

Outdoor space is a rarity in this city, but even more so in bustling SoHo, where the streets are narrow and the vast majority of apartments are dollhouse sized—but at ModernHaus (formerly the James), there are 11,000 square feet of it. It comes in the form of abundant greenery and a well-appointed, comfortable rooftop pool and pool bar, Jimmy. That's not the 114-room hotel's only distinction among the Lower Manhattan boutique hotel landscape, though: Its coveted art collection is gallery-worthy, featuring the futuristic, towering mouse sculptures by Kaws, paintings by kinetic artist Alexander Calder, and an impressive painting by George Condo. Before guests are greeted by that art when they head out of the hotel in the morning, they wake up in rooms that are quiet and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows, vast views of SoHo, and rainfall showers.

Location: Financial district
Top amenities: Complimentary house car, fitness center with Technogym equipment, kids' program
Best for: Families seeking out a child-friendly stay that's still sophisticated

For those looking for a laid-back yet high-end residential hotel experience in NYC, the quieter neighborhood and vibe of 33 Hotel fits the bill. The service is white-glove, the river and skyline views are spectacular, and the Italian food and wine is refined. For kids, the Little C program is stand-out, and comes with treats like coloring books and homemade cookies topped with Nutella. Rooms are secluded, outfitted with Italian-made furniture and linens, and have views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge, or Manhattan skyline, with select ones having wraparound terraces, verandas, and outdoor spaces.

Location: Lower East Side
Top amenities: 40-seat bar serving bistro fare; cocktail lounge in the lobby; mini bar with Tony’s chocolate and Kings County Distillery Brooklyn–made bourbon; custom speaker system
Best for: Cool grown-ups

Formerly the century-old Jarmulowsky bank building, Nine Orchard is a piece of living history on New York City's Lower East Side, where the crowd is young and the roots are deep. Walk inside, where the restored vaulted ceilings will impress even the least basic of guests, then make your way past reception to the main event: the Lobby Lounge. This is downtown glamour. An original clock hangs above it all at the center of the stately, symmetrically-designed bar space, where a list of 20 cocktails and martini service are on offer. The waitlist for the reservation-less is long. And the rooms? Warm, like home, and inspired by New York City apartments. There are 116 of them.

Location: Meatpacking District
Top amenities: Rooftop pool with al fresco dining, Marshall vintage speakers, full cocktail kit (cutting board, knife, shaker, limes, lemons, Grey Goose, Patron, Bombay Sapphire)
Best for: Feeling elite and exclusive

Good news: Even if you're not a member of Soho House, you can live like one in one of the private members club's 24 NYC hotel rooms. (For full-price rates, compared to what members pay.) Guests will be in the mix with international Soho House members—the original location is in London, and there are 28 others in cities around the world. Rooms have full-sized Cowshed products, a hair dryer, and a flat iron to get all done up up before hitting the town.

Location: Williamsburg
Top amenities: Le Crocodile restaurant, Davines bath products, screening room with soft red seats
Best for: In-the-know business travelers

As you stroll through North Williamsburg, you can't miss industrial-chic boutique hotel the Wythe—it stands out on the corner of North 11th Street and Wythe Avenue on the waterfront, with its retro, cherry red glowing letters, vertically spelling out “hotel” on the former factory's brick facade. Its French restaurant, Le Crocodile, is a local mainstay, serving escargots and Burgundy duck with pear and pancetta. The light-filled rooms are luxurious, unobstructed by tower views (most Manhattan spaces can't say the same), and have heated concrete floors. Some have two levels.

Location: Brooklyn Heights
Top amenities: Harriet’s Rooftop & Lounge, rooftop pool, five-time Readers’ Choice Award winner
Best for: The most iconic Manhattan skyline views in the five boroughs

If you’re considering staying in Brooklyn, One Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is an excellent option. The biggest draw here is the show-stealing skyline view, the best you’ll find anywhere. Visible from many of the rooms, as well as at the swanky rooftop bar, Harriet’s, the shimmering mosaic of skyscrapers and the Brooklyn Bridge arching over the river are, in a word, iconic. It’s the hotel’s standout feature that sets it apart from Brooklyn's litany of trendy lodging options. The location, on the border of Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, is so full of charm it doesn’t feel real, and is secluded from the bustle of Manhattan, which is conveniently one subway stop away. When it comes to amenities, you pretty much have it all: rooftop pool, wellness spa, luxury and design-forward furniture, sustainability programming, a farm-to-table restaurant, and more included. With fewer than 200 rooms, it’s one of the larger hotels on this list, but the vibe is always personal.

Location: Williamsburg
Top amenities: Free coffee, bike rentals, Parachute cloud bathrobes
Best for: A stylish stay for the young-at-heart

Located in the heart of Williamsburg, right off the Metropolitan/Lorimer subway stop and two blocks from vibrant Bedford Avenue, Penny Williamsburg is steps away from the neighborhood’s centers of action. The crowd here, as in many Williamsburg hotels, is heavy on the corporate creative set—think graphic designers and tech innovators—and the hotel gets its share of business travelers. Walk inside and you’ll find art that is fresh and of-the-moment, sourced by nonprofit organizations LAND Gallery and Pure Vision Arts, which work with New York artists who have developmental disabilities. The rooms are a major draw as well, with in-unit kitchenettes, and often skyline views. Upstairs, you’ll find elNico rooftop restaurant and bar, worth a visit even if you stay elsewhere.

Location: Williamsburg
Top amenities: Outdoor pool, floor-to-ceiling windows, rainfall showers, soaking tubs
Best for: Luxury accommodations in Brooklyn

The William Vale hotel is arguably Brooklyn’s ritziest and highest end boutique hotel. Located a block away from Williamsburg’s waterfront, the high-rise offers prime skyline views, plus rooms and suites with upscale amenities such as furnished balconies, rainfall showers, a robust room service menu, and twice-a-day housekeeping. The hotel’s destination rooftop bar, Westlight, slings elegant cocktails and small plates amidst 360-degree views of New York City, while the on-site restaurant, Leuca, serves elevated Southern Italian fare. The William Vale is also a top-rated wedding venue.