New York has always been a bucket-list destination of shimmering skyscrapers, stylish avenues, honking yellow taxis and iconic landmarks infused with an intoxicating energy that draws you in. While often touted as the city that never sleeps, New York is certainly keen on hotels.
New locations are opened as fast as others are revamped, offering the traveller choice as diverse as the New York neighbourhoods they reside in, from hipster Williamsburg to the culturally rich Lower Manhattan. Not to mention the types of hotels on offer, from small boutiques and budget boltholes to luxury suites.
Whether you’re a first-timer eager for a glimpse of Times Square’s dazzling lights or a regular visitor wanting to live like a local in a quieter neighbourhood, choosing where to stay in the Big Apple is a tough task, so here are 14 of the best hotels in New York to inspire you.
Best hotels in New York City 2025
At a glance
1. The William Vale hotel
Williamsburg
Check in for showstopping Manhattan skyline views from across the East River in Brooklyn. Stay for the creative Williamsburg location, friendly five-star service, and clean, bright, modern rooms with artistic appeal. It cuts a striking figure, set in a striking modern 23-storey tower with a white lattice steel frame, towering over the historic Brooklyn landscape. Here, every inch is designed to maximise the view: each of the 183 rooms features floor-to-ceiling windows and a spacious balcony. The 22nd-floor rooftop bar, Westlight, is an al fresco hotspot, especially come golden hour. There’s also an 18-metre pool and a winter spa with outdoor barrel saunas and cedar tubs for soaking in.
Address: 111 North 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249
Highlights: Spa, views of the city, rooftop bar
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2. The Beekman hotel
Lower Manhattan
History seeps from every corner of this exquisitely designed five-star hotel near the East River and swanky Tin Building food hall in Lower Manhattan. It’s set in an elegant, once-abandoned skyscraper dating to 1881 that’s been renovated with incredible attention to detail and feels like a darkened private club with an old New York atmosphere. There are 287 rooms – including two turret suites – all kitted out with antique furniture, and pinch-me comfortable beds. At the hotel’s heart is the Bar Room set at the bottom of a showstopping nine-storey Victorian atrium topped with a skylight. Come the weekend, it’s the perfect setting for the hotel’s popular jazz brunch sessions.
Address: 123 Nassau Street, New York, NY 10038
Highlights: Best for music lovers
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3. The Arlo hotel
Midtown West
A sought-after Midtown West Manhattan location is a big draw of this stylish, no-frills hotel with a sleek design. You’ll be within walking distance of New York first-timer hotspots like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Broadway for theatre shows and on the doorstep of Hudson Yards, New York’s newest development, dubbed a city within the city. For respite from the city, there’s a casual day-to-night café bar and a tiny, but buzzy rooftop bar with glittery New York skyscraper views. Rooms are compact, but some of the bigger ones have outdoor terraces.
Address: 351 West 38th Street, New York, NY 10018
Highlights: Central location, views of the city
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4. Moxy NYC East Village hotel
East Village
Marriott’s Moxy East Village is all about the groovy vibe, inspired by its free-spirited East Village location, home to some of New York’s best nightlife. Union Square with its farmers’ market is on the doorstep, while the 285 compact, simply designed rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and a Japanese-Scandi feel. The buzzy rooftop bar, Ready, and ground-floor coffee shop, Alphabet, are funky riots of colour and art, while sultry Little Sister basement bar harks back to the area’s 1990s lounge scene. Throw in a lowish price tag, and you have a fun, good-value, well-located New York stay.
Address: 105 West 28th Street, New York, NY 10001
Highlights: Best for travellers on a budget
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5. Warren Street Hotel
Tribeca
Firmdale’s latest luxury New York hotel occupies a bold blue steel and glass building in Tribeca, an exclusive, often overlooked neighbourhood of lower Manhattan with historic cobblestone streets, lined with galleries, restaurants and bars. English country garden style, bold colours, and a curated collection of art, design and sculpture are hallmarks of its design. The 69 rooms range in size, and each has a different colour scheme and plush furnishings and deep soaking tubs. The Terrace Suites melt hearts, featuring showstopping landscaped balconies with a small lawned area, flower beds and potted trees.
Address: 86 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007
Highlights: Extraordinary interior design
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6. The Victoria hotel
Harlem
Set on the site of the 1917 Victoria Theatre in a shiny 27-floor skyscraper, The Victoria is Harlem’s first-ever five-star hotel that opened in summer 2023. It’s located in the heart of downtown, close to all the soulful jazz bars and restaurants the storied neighbourhood is known for. Spacious rooms ooze the glitz and glamour of African American style and culture – and those on higher floors have dreamy Central Park views. The fifth floor is home to the Victoria Lounge, a contemporary all-day cocktail bar serving twists on classics. Its chef-driven restaurant menu serves up favourite Cajun dishes like fried chicken and shrimp and grits.
Address: 233 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
Highlights: Luxury, views of the city, best for foodies
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7. Freehand New York hotel
Gramercy Park
There’s a lot of history at this 395-room hotel near the Flatiron building in Gramercy, along with stylish, grown-up hostel vibes. The elegant French Renaissance revival building was formerly the George Washington Hotel, a place that writers, musicians and creatives called home in the 1930s. Nowadays, it’s a modern hotel boasting many plant-filled communal spaces and rooms – including lots of family options with bunks – decorated in art by local art students. and is a good one for families. Glittering skyscraper views are on tap from the year-round 18th-floor cocktail bar and an events schedule.
Address: 23 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Highlights: Views of the city
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8. The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel
Upper East Side
Of all the Upper East Side’s elegant hotels, The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, is the most legendary; a magnet for celebrities and royalty who have sashayed along the polished black marble lobby floor since it opened in 1930. In 2020, this New York institution underwent a $120 million refurbishment 2020, which saw the 155 elegant rooms and suites refreshed and a new restaurant, Dowling’s at The Carlyle. It’s a great spot for people watching alongside the hotel’s storied Bemelmans Bar, famous for its colourful murals by illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans and great martinis, to enjoy while soaking up the sound of the in-house pianist.
Address: 35 East 76th Street, New York, NY 10021
Highlights: Best for drinks
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9. The High Line Hotel
West Chelsea
Another historic prize of Manhattan is this four-star hideaway in West Chelsea, an area known for its independent art galleries. Set in a gothic red brick building dating to 1895, when it was a Collegiate Gothic Seminary, the 60 rooms have a cosy European guesthouse vibe. Think: chintzy rugs, period fireplaces, antique furniture and reproduction 19th-century wallpaper. Half the fun of a stay here is booking into one that looks out over New York’s leafy elevated High Line Park, which runs west through the arty neighbourhood of Chelsea. After a day spent sightseeing, there’s a peaceful Parisian-style private courtyard garden hung with string lights and a cocktail garden, Fairweather, for kicking back in.
Address: 180 10th Avenue, New York, NY 10011
Highlights: Private garden
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10. The Ace Hotel
NoMad
Super-cool retro design, good value and an exciting location are hallmarks of this Ace hotel, a longtime fixture of NY’s newest neighbourhood, NoMad, which stands for North of Madison Avenue. It’s one of the most popular areas for travellers and a stay here places you close to the spangly new Hudson Yards development, a neighbourhood in itself, Madison Square Garden for concerts and Union Square, the setting for a year-round farmers’ market. In contrast to its historic Beaux Arts corner setting, rooms have a 70s air, with vintage leather sofas, turntables and edgy artwork. Loft suites have separate living areas and views down 29th and Broadway.
Address: 20 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001
Highlights: Interior design
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11. Hotel Chelsea
Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea is one of the most famous in all of New York, and really, it needs no introduction. The building was built in 1873 as a utopian social experiment that evolved into a storied hangout for artists and writers, and later a hotel. It reopened in late 2023 after a thoughtful decade-plus-long revamp, to high acclaim. An old Hotel Chelsea feel lingers, while many original details remain, such as the wrought-iron staircase and art by previous residents. Plush rooms – some with balconies overlooking 23rd Street – have marble bathrooms, velvet curtains, and feel bohemian, yet opulent. Its three exciting food offerings – two new, and one original – have become foodie hotspots in their own right. There’s also a serene new spa on the roof.
Address: 222 West 23rd Street, New York
Highlights: Luxury, spa
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12. 1 Hotel Central Park
Midtown
You’ll know you’ve found the 1 Hotel Central Park when you spot the ivy-clad building on the corner of 58th and Sixth Avenue. Inside, like all other hotels in the eco-conscious brand, it’s a foliage-filled oasis. Potted and hanging plants decorate the small lobby filled with nooks of small tables, sheepskin-covered low-slung seats. Rooms are compact but extremely comfortable. King-size rooms have little window seats for peering down on the Manhattan buzz on the street below. Its crowd-pleasing restaurant, Jams, is a popular spot for cocktails and light farm-to-table dishes, like grilled chicken with tarragon butter.
Address: 1414 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10019, USA
Highlights: Central location
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13. Hotel Edison
Times Square
In the thick of theatreland and steps from the neon lights of Times Square, this art deco grand dame has plenty to please families, first timers and budget-conscious travellers. Spacious rooms and suites – some with small outdoor terraces – sleep up to six, while a basic breakfast in one of several nearby eateries is thrown in too. It’s named after legendary inventor Thomas Edison, who switched the lights on when it opened in 1931. The spirit of the Jazz Age hangs in the air, from the gilded lobby to the darkly painted rooms. Don’t miss a drink in the ground-floor Rum House, a piano bar that retains a 1930s New York atmosphere.
Address: 228 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036
Highlights: Central location, views of the city
14. The Fifth Avenue Hotel
Private butlers; check. Cocktails at turndown; check. Theatrical décor; check. A distinctive stay awaits at The Fifth Avenue Hotel, just a hop from Madison Square Park. It opened in October 2023 and is hands down one of the most spectacular abodes in all of Manhattan. Inside the 19th-century gilded age mansion, once a family home, are lavish $2,000-plus per night King Suites with complimentary maxi bars and opulent marble bathrooms leading off baby-pink corridors; less expensive – but no less elaborately decorated – rooms, from Cosy Queens to studios, fill a new adjacent ‘tower’. Meanwhile, its wondrous Italian restaurant, Café Carmellini, has become a city hotspot and magnet for foodies.
Address: 1 West 28th Street, New York, NY 10001
Highlights: Luxury, best for foodies
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Why trust us
The hotels featured in this list have been carefully selected by The Independent‘s expert travel writers, each with a deep knowledge of the destinations they cover. Our contributors either live in these locations or visit frequently, ensuring a personal and informed perspective. When picking which hotels to include, they consider their own experience staying in the hotels and evaluate location, facilities, service and all the other details that make for an exceptional stay for all types of traveller.
FAQs
What currency do I need in New York?
The currency used in New York is the United States dollar (USD/$).
When is the best time to visit New York?
Spring, around April to June and early autumn, which is September and October are great times to visit New York. These months provide fewer crowds and a better chance of fair weather. However, the city also comes to life in the festive season and is an unmatched Christmas shopping destination in December.
In terms of the cheapest months to visit New York for hotels and flights, January and February come out on top.
What is the weather like throughout the year?
The average daily max (°C) in New York
- January: 4C
- February: 5.2C
- March: 9.5C
- April: 16C
- May: 21.4C
- June: 26.7C
- July: 29.9C
- August: 29C
- September: 24.9C
- October: 18.5C
- November: 12.4C
- December: 6.7C
Which area of New York is best to stay in?
The best area to base yourselves in on a trip to New York depends on what you want out of the city. If it’s to immerse yourself in the bright lights and busy action of New York, hotels in Times Square will be the right option, whereas the trendy and creative Williamsburg neighbourhood offers eclectic street art and views over Manhattan.
Lower Manhattan also offers buzzing and vibrant areas such as Greenwich Village, the exclusive cobblestone Tribeca and Chinatown, whilst a stay in Midtown will keep you close to some of New York’s best landmarks and sightseeing spots.
Downtown Harlem is the place to head for jazz bars and independent restaurants, while Chelsea’s townhouses offer a leafy neighbourhood vibe.
For further details, check out our ultimate New York City guide
Which hotel has the best views?
The hotel with the best view on our list is The William Vale, especially from its rooftop bar over the East River and Williamsburg. The Arlo also has skyscraper views from its rooftop in Midtown, while The Victoria in Harlem has sweeping sights over Central Park.
Freehand New York has views of New York’s skyscrapers from its 18th-floor bar in Gramercy Park. The Ace Hotel’s loft suites have views down 29th and Broadway; meanwhile, Hotel Edison has some of the best views of Times Square.
What hotels do celebrities stay at?
The Ritz-Carlton New York near Central Park, The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel, and the Mark Hotel are favourites among Hollywood A-listers, especially when the Met Gala is in town and celebrities need a place to stay near the 5th Avenue museum.
How to get the best deal on New York hotels
Check price comparison sites such as Skyscanner or Google’s travel search to find the best price for hotels in New York. Before you book, don’t forget to check the hotel’s website or give them a call to see if you can get a cheaper rate by booking directly.
Booking.com has hundreds of New York hotels to choose from, and if you’re a Genius member, you can often access exclusive discounts and benefits.
You could save money by booking your New York city break as part of a package, too. Our Expedia discount code below gives you up to 10 per cent off package holidays if you join as a member for free, with stays in Midtown, Times Square, Chelsea and more to choose from.