The Best Hotels In New York City (August 2024 Edition)

Home to the largest penthouse suite in North America, The Mark Hotel is the pinnacle of bold lavish luxury emcompassing the five star service you'd expect of the Upper East Side. Voted #1 hotel in New York City and topping the prestigious Condé Nest Gold List in 2023, this is definitely a splurge that's worth it if you're wanting to live that Gossip Girl life throughout your Manhattan stay.

You're also smack bang right in the heart of an endless slew of museums, galleries, boutiques and chic restaurants for making the most of experience.

Few hotels in New York City sport themselves a reputation quite like Hotel Chelsea. 

Featuring a red-brick Queen Anne-style facade with ornate ironwork and a grand staircase, the walls here could spill the tea on notable residents of its past like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Madonna and Andy Warhol (who crafted his famous Chelsea Girls film at the hotel).

Ignore the neighborhood name (a mere remnant from the district’s gritty history in the late 19th and 20th Century)—today, Hell’s Kitchen is a hub for the arts.

Wedged between Broadway and the Theatre District, this Romer hotel lies within dear proximity to Midtown Manhattan, a sprawling metropolis of site-seeing gold including the Empire State Building, Central Park South, Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Centre and Times Square.

If you know anything about the Ace Hotel chain you’ll know that the crew behind it have been slinging affordable luxury since the late 1990s (thank you to hotelier Alex Calderwood). Ace also launched its first foray into the Southern Hemisphere at the start of 2022, making the Tyne Building on Wentworth Avenue in Surry Hills of Sydney, its very own.

When it comes to saving on your accommodation so you can spend big on the other great novelties New York has to offer (like everything bagels stuffed with cream cheese and pizza by the slice), Ace offers a myriad of rooms fit for every want and need. Filled with vintage furniture, shower rails and clocking in as ADA accessible, the Accessible Small rooms are a no-brainer. If you’ve got a travel buddy, you can also book the classic bunk room, stocked with twin-size bunk beds and a private bathroom.

Also top of our list when it comes to finding big bang for your buck and the best cheap hotels in New York City, is Arlo Hotel SoHo. Deliciously affordable, Arlo is known for its modern and compact rooms, all of which come with energy efficient lighting, waste reduction and recycling practices.

If you’re the kind of traveller who just wants a place to lay their head at night but can’t bear the hostel life, the bunk rooms (which are also ADA accessible) come with all the nuts and bolts you need including a clothing steamer, fresh linen and of course, a mini-bar.

Think absolute luxury to the max, but in an effortless chic Italian-inspired sort of way. With decadent details at every corner, plus sweeping river and city views, Casa Cipriani is worth splashing the cash on where you're guaranteed to feel like royalty.

From their cashmere-covered walls to choice of opulent Italian linens and cottons adorning your bed, check in for a little piece of la dolce vita. 

If you have a penchant for minimalist design with a dash of cosmopolitan vibe, you’ll love the fresh update on this Madison Avenue landmark’s humble beginnings.

Designed by hotelier Ian Shrager, The New York Edition keeps 360-degree views of New York City (exactly what you want) with over 270 rooms and suites bearing expansive windows overlooking the stunning skyline.

Nothing says luxury hotel stay quite like a restored century-old Jarmulowsky Bank. Nine Orchard is an uber elegant urban inn, if you will, kicking it on the Lower East Side with Neo-Renaissance detailing and 113 guest rooms filled with all the natural light and original moldings too. 

Not to mention, Nine Orchard’s bar, restaurants and by default, in-room dining, are all led by the Michelin star chef Ignacio Mattos—sneak a spritz at Corner Bar and knock back oysters in the dining room. If all else fails, dress to the nines and hit the hotel’s Swan Room, a luxurious, old-world setting found inside the former bank teller room with vaulted ceilings and the perfect backdrop for a real New York City martini. 

We mean, there really is no better place to bring the little ones than to the homeground of Kay Thompson’s famed children’s books from the 1950s (we’re talking about Eloise At The Plaza).  The character of Eloise herself is a six-year-old girl who ‘lives’ at the Plaza Hotel and she’s known for her mischievous and adventurous spirit, often finding herself in humorous escapades around the hotel.

While that may all seem like useless intel (think again), The Plaza has actually gone and recreated its very own ‘Eloise Suite’—a pink and white room equipped with her favourite books, toys and dolls on the shelves. If this doesn’t sound like your shtick, fear not, the hotel offers a range of family-friendly services. It’s also pet-friendly.

Equal parts grandiose and convenient, The Peninsula is a bonafide ‘go-er’ for many reasons. From its glorious location (walking distance to Fifth Avenue shopping) to its award-winning spa treatments with the likes of three-hour body exfoliation sessions and holistic facials, while kid-friendly, this one is truly heavenly. If the kiddies are coming along to your Big Apple trip, you’ll want to book Camp Peninsula, which can be added to any room reservation.

Your booking will see your room loaded up with s’mores, a tent pitched right inside the suite, a scavenger hunt, an ‘adventure’ around the hotel and even kid-sized robes and slippers.