Midtown Listings
Some of the most luxurious hotels in the city line the streets along Central Park. The view and the dining are always excellent.
Jumeirah Essex House
160 Central Park South (between 6th and 7th avenues)
West 59th Street-Columbus Circle station (A, B, C, D, or 1 train)
1-888-645-5697
212-247-0300
A historic landmark along Central Park, the Essex House has undergone some changes since being acquired by the Dubai-based Jumeirah chain. At the time of this writing, the hotel is finishing a $70 million refurbishment intended to completely update the lobby, corridors, and the 515 rooms and suites. The redesigned hotel will embody a twenty-first century interpretation of the hotel's art deco roots. There is a business center and a fully equipped spa and fitness center with an in-house trainer. Three meals daily are served in the elegant Lobby Lounge and The Restaurant at Jumeirah Essex House. Room service is to 11
The hotels along Central Park, such as the Pierre, the Plaza, the Ritz-Carleton, and the Essex House on Central Park South, are some of the city's most luxurious and historical. But such legendary edifices as the Mayflower and Stanhope have fallen to the condo monster.
Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel
141 East 44th Street (between Lexington and 3rd avenues)
Grand Central-East 42nd Street station (S, 4, 5, 6, or 7 train)
1-800-367-7701
212-351-6800
This is the larger of the two Manhattan east side hotels run by the Irish-based Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, with 155 rooms. Rooms feature mini fridges, Wi-Fi, twenty-four-hour room service, and bathrobes, along with more than a bit o' Dublin in look and feel.
The Grand Central Fitzpatrick is home to the Wheeltapper, a quaint Old World Irish pub with a railroad theme the whole family will love (wheeltappers were the old railroad men who tested wheels for damage). The evocative pub offers a full menu with quality pub grub, an all-day Irish breakfast, and a children's menu.
Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel
687 Lexington Avenue (between East 56th and East 57th streets)
East 59th Street station (N, R, W, 4, 5, or 6 train)
1-800-367-7701
212-355-0100
A relaxing oasis just two blocks from Bloomingdale's department store and not far from Central Park and Rockefeller Center, the second of the two Fitzpatrick hotels is a small inn in the heart of Manhattan. It consists of fifty-two one-bedroom suites and forty guest rooms.
Rooms are tastefully furnished with a distinct Irish feel and many amenities that include twenty-four-hour room service, iron and board, trouser press, coffeemaker with complimentary tea and coffee, laundry service, bathrobes, free access to a nearby health club, an in-room bicycle, and concierge service. Fitzers Restaurant is a spacious and comfortable retreat, popular with locals, serving Irish delights as well as Continental and New American cuisine. A convivial Irish pub adjoins but is separate from the restaurant. There are weekend rates and specials for children.
Four Seasons Hotel
57 East 57th Street (between Park and Madison avenues)
5th Avenue-59th Street station (N, R, or W train)
212-758-5700
This is an exceptionally kid-friendly hotel. Kids get their own age-appropriate welcoming gift, bathrobe, and in-room amusements. Teens have their own full-time concierge during nonschool holidays. Baby amenities, equipment, and room childproofing items are provided. Children under eighteen stay free in parents' rooms, and they have their own menus in the restaurant and for room service. The hotel will also help plan and arrange your daily family activities.
The facility is a stopper in its own right. Internationally renowned architect I. M. Pei designed the hotel's spire, and the interior Grand Foyer is chock full of marble and onyx. The soundproofed rooms are designed in a clean, modern style and feature ten-foot ceilings, refrigerated private bar, a personal safe, high-speed Internet access, twice-daily housekeeping, bathrobes, and marble bathrooms. Families can request connecting rooms and nonsmoking floors.
There's a health club and spa on the premises, and the elegant L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant serves lunch and dinner. Parking is available for a fee, and some pets are welcome.
Hotel Mela
120 West 44th Street (between 6th Avenue and Broadway)
West 42nd Street-Bryant Park station (B, D, F, or V train)
212-710-7000
A new addition to the Times Square/theater district, the Mela strives for a modern and homey sophistication. There are 230 rooms and suites with amenities such as free in-room wireless Internet access, bathrobes, twenty-six-inch flat-screen TVs, CD/MP3 alarm clocks, and H2O products in the bathroom. There is also an in-house fitness center. Dining is at the Saju; its French-Asian fusion cuisine is a new star on Broadway.
Millennium U.N. Plaza
One United Nations Plaza (at 44th Street and 1st Avenue)
Grand Central-East 42nd Street station (S, 4, 5, 6, or 7 train)
1-800-222-8888
212-758-1234
The U.N. Plaza, directly across from the United Nations, offers quiet elegance for an affordable price. The hotel offers standard and superior rooms and junior, full, and two-bedroom suites, all with a serene, contemporary décor. Rooms include minibars, in-room movies, and high-speed Internet. The hotel offers valet parking, a multilingual concierge staff, a heated indoor pool, fitness center, massage and sauna, indoor tennis courts, and covered parking.
Dining is at the Ambassador Grille, a casually elegant and highly acclaimed eatery with an international selection, and the Ambassador Lounge, which serves light snacks and cocktails.
The hotel can arrange for babysitting, and the restaurant has a children's menu. Children under seventeen can stay free if they share a room with their parents.
New York Palace
455 Madison Avenue (between East 50th and East 51st streets)
East 51st Street station (6 train)
1-800-697-2522
212-888-7000
Set in a refurbished 1882 landmark estate, the 900-room hotel is now a luxurious facility with lavish décor, spacious first-class accommodations, and easy access to everything midtown has to offer.
Hotel amenities are generous and increase with the class of room. All guests have use of the concierge and twenty-four-hour laundry service plus a 7,000 square-foot first-class health club complete with television monitors and headphones at each treadmill. A separate Towers section has 175 guest rooms and suites with a separate check-in, butler service, and a host of other niceties, including personalized business cards and stationery during your stay. If all this isn't enough, high atop the Tower sit the Triplex suites — three-floor accommodations with their own private elevator, marble floors, fully equipped kitchen, master bedroom, a solarium, and private outdoor terrace for sunbathing.
The Palace is home to Gilt, a new modern European restaurant and bar, and Istana, an American brasserie serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch.
Omni Berkshire Place Hotel
21 East 52nd Street (between 5th and Madison avenues)
5th Avenue-53rd Street station (E or V train)
1-800-843-664
212-753-5800
This is where NBC has sent its guests since the first showings of
The rooms are large and well-appointed with all the technology you'd expect these days. There's a fully equipped health club and spa. Dining is at the unusual Fireside restaurant, which serves an innovative cocktail cuisine. The Omni offers many special package deals throughout the year.
The Plaza
59th Street and 5th Avenue
59th Street-Columbus Circle station (A, B, C, D, or 1 train)
212-759-3000
The grand old lady of Grand Army Plaza, at the entrance to Central Park, has just completed a two-year, $400 million renovation that has turned its 692 rooms and 112 suites (where even the smallest room had fourteen-foot ceilings and chandeliers) into 282 guestrooms and 152 time-share condominiums. The hotel fuses modern convenience with a nod to the Plaza's glorious past. Under the watchful eye of the Landmark Preservations Commission, the legendary Palm Court, the Oak Room and Oak Bar, and the Terrace Room were accurately restored. Don't miss the 1,200-square-foot stained-glass ceiling on the Palm, which was re-created after the original was lost in the 1940s.
After a tumultuous decade of changing owners (one was Donald Trump), the Plaza Hotel has been brought into the twenty-first century as a smaller but very luxurious hotel with its historic public rooms restored. Every child has read the children's classic Eloise, and every kid who has the time should go for the afternoon tea in the spectacularly restored Palm Court.
St. Regis Hotel
2 East 55th Street (between 5th and Madison avenues)
5th Avenue-53rd Street station (E or V line)
1-800-759-7550
212-753-4500
Declared a New York City landmark in 1988, the St. Regis offers guests an unparalleled level of comfort and luxury. Originally opened in 1904 and restored with a $100 million face-lift, this is the lap of luxury. All guests even have access to English-style butlers available around the clock.
There is a wide assortment of rooms and suites. Standard to all are minibars, safes, fax machines, concierge, laundry service, beauty salon, library, health club, babysitting service, and parking. Designer stores, including Bottega, Veneta, Pucci, and DeBeers, are located in the building.
Restaurants include the King Cole Bar and Lounge, featuring Maxfield Parrish's art deco mural masterpiece,
Sherry-Netherland Hotel
781 5th Avenue, at 59th Street
5th Avenue-59th Street station (N, R, or W train)
1-877-743-7710
212-355-2800
The Sherry has 150 guest rooms and suites. A long list of deluxe amenities includes complimentary continental breakfast in the restaurant, soft drinks, shoeshines, fresh flowers, fitness center, and Belgian chocolates. The resident restaurant, Harry Cipriani's, has recently reopened after renovations.
The Waldorf-Astoria
301 Park Avenue (between East 49th and East 50th streets)
East 51st Street station (6 train)
1-800-WALDORF (925-3673)
212-355-3000
Originally opened in 1893 on Thirty-third Street, the Waldorf you see today has been at its current location since October 1931. Over the years, the classic hotel has undergone some $400 million in renovations to maintain its art deco look and New York City landmark status.
The Waldorf has seen its share of dignitaries, including numerous American presidents, Jordan's King Hussein, Charles de Gaulle, and Queen Elizabeth II among others. The hotel was even the residence of three five-star generals: Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, and Omar Bradley. It was for many years the site where Guy Lombardo and his orchestra ushered in the new year. The Empire Room was home to great entertainment, including Frank Sinatra on a number of occasions.
Today the Waldorf has some 1,245 guest rooms, including 197 suites, each designed in a slightly different manner. The rooms have luxuries ranging from marble bathrooms to high-speed Internet (for a fee; free wireless in the lobbies and restaurants).
You can prolong your stay at the Waldorf even when you get home. A wide variety of Waldorf merchandise can be purchased online or from a paper catalog. At
The hotel also features two lobbies, one of which (on the Park Avenue side) has a 148,000-piece mosaic called
A highlight of the Waldorf is the dining; the restaurants are the pride of this classic hotel. The legendary Peacock Alley reopened after a four-year hiatus and a $5.5 million reconstruction as an upscale venue for breakfast, lunch, pre-theater, dinner, and sumptuous Sunday brunch. The popular Bull and Bear is known for steaks and fine sea-food. You can sit at the mahogany bar and enjoy a before-dinner cocktail while watching the stock quotes pass by on an electric ticker.
Oscar's is an American brasserie serving classic American dishes in a relaxed setting; it offers an incredible buffet lunch that New Yorkers consider one of the best buys in the city. The restaurant has a children's menu and a Waldorf coloring book. For elegance, you can't beat the Afternoon Tea at the Cocktail Terrace overlooking the lobby. Inagiku is a Japanese restaurant serving a variety of classic and contemporary dishes. There is also a lounge, the Cocktail Terrace, over-looking the art deco Park Avenue lobby, featuring a Saturday tea to the strains of Cole Porter piano music from 4 to 7
The Waldorf is not only an elegant place to stay but also a sight to visit on your trip. With that in mind, the hotel offers a one-and-a-half-hour guided tour on Saturdays for $25.
