The Big Sleep

From openings to renovations and reflags, New York offers an ever-increasing array of places to lay your head. We explore some of the latest additions to the hotel scene

- Paul J Devries

Far from being the city that never sleeps, there are always new hotels to try in New York. To take three examples, in the last few years there have been significant developments from Four Seasons, with its Robert A M Stern-designed tower next to the Woolworth Building in Tribeca, 1 Hotels with its waterfront hotel in Brooklyn, and Firmdale Hotels with The Whitby on 56th Street.

At the other end of the scale, in every sense, micro “budget-chic” hotels continue to be popular in a city notoriously short on space, with Pod Hotels creating its 665-room Times Square flagship, and newcomer Arlo Hotels setting up in both Hudson Square and NoMad (Madison Square North).

InterContinental Barclay, a railroad hotel dating back to 1926, recently revealed the result of a $180 million renovation, while W Hotels dropped its original flagship on Lexington Avenue after two decades.

Looking to the future, there will be more exciting developments. Virgin Hotels will open a 500-room hotel in NoMad, as part of its plans to grow to nine hotels across the United States. Coming to the same neighbourhood is a 250-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, along with 16 residences in a Rafael Vinyl designed tower. Waldorf Astoria New York is due to reopen as a much smaller hotel of around 350 rooms and suites, with a similar number of residences and a full restoration of its public spaces.

Over the next few pages we round up some of the most compelling new options the city will have to offer over the next few years.

MR C SEAPORT