Seven hot New York hotels you need to book

If Jack Kerouac, Maggie Smith, Julie Andrews, John Barrymore and Lenny Bruce once slept here, it’s good enough for me. The Marlton hotel was built in 1900, and later became a cheap sleep for the Beat Generation and its central Manhattan location, and affordability meant it attracted the creative class for decades. In 1987, the building turned into a dorm for the nearby New School, until hotelier Sean MacPherson, he of hip haunts such as the Jane and the Bowery, purchased the historic property in 2012. In the Marlton, MacPherson’s effortless cool resonates throughout the modern renovation, where a Paris-meets-Greenwich aesthetic invokes a very welcome old-timey feel for visitors. 5 W. 8th St., New York; marltonhotel.com; 107 rooms starting at $225 (U.S.).

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Cliff Lee

You are in walking distance of Central Park, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and all the shopping and landmarks on offer in Midtown. Ask for a corner suite high up, with a rare bird’s eye view of 6th Avenue, one of New York’s most famous boulevards. Guests who are seeking one-of-a-kind New York experiences can work with Luxury Attaché at the Quin. The high-end concierge is usually only on offer privately, but the Quin is one of a handful of hotels to offer the service. If you can afford it, they will make it happen. 101 W. 57th St.; thequinhotel.com; 208 rooms starting at $349 (U.S.).

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Cliff Lee

Architects Stonehill & Taylor went full industrial chic in recycling what was known as the Colony Arcade Building into this gorgeous hotel full of loft-style guest rooms – from warm wood, to exposed pipes, to water tanks and inner fixtures reworked into the ceilings and furniture. All around are reminders of the original purpose of the 1912 factory – whether the glimmering wall of antique hat-shaping tools hanging behind reception, the scissors-and-spools patterned carpet in front of it, or a picture of a woman in a pillbox hat painted right on a wall. Refinery Hotel is best used as a jumping off spot for cultural excursions (did I mention Kinky Boots and Rocky: The Musical are a hop, skip and a jump away?) rather than for cocooning (you won’t find any in-room spa treatments here). refineryhotelnewyork.com; 197 rooms starting at $399 (U.S). 63 W. 38th St., refineryhotelnewyork.com; 197 rooms starting at $399 (U.S).

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J. Kelly Nestruck

Formerly a W hotel, the Tuscany has gone through a multimillion-dollar reno and reopened as the luxury sister to the Court, another St. Giles hotel just three doors down. The rooms are large and plush, with most rooms bigger than some NYC apartments, at about 450 square feet. What you’ll love about the Tuscany is its unpretentiousness and homey feel but the real beauty of this four-star hotel is its central residential location. You’re in Midtown Manhattan, tantalizingly close to landmarks such as Grand Central Station (two blocks away), Times Square and Broadway (five blocks away), the Chrysler Building (a four-minute walk) and so on, and yet the tree-lined streets of Murray Hill take the edge off the big city. It’s hard not to feel like a local as you wander through the affluent neighbourhood of (relatively) low-rise buildings. 120-130 East 39th St., tuscany.stgilesnewyork.com; 124 rooms from $495 (U.S).; 124 rooms from $495 (U.S).

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Catherine Dawson March

WestHouse is an art-deco-inspired Midtown hotel that makes its guests feel like posh Manhattanites. Taking concierge services to new heights, a team of in-the-know lifestyle gurus called WestHouse Attaché builds tailor-made itineraries for each resident and organizes VIP access to Fashion Week, movie premieres and private yacht rentals. Shopaholics can connect with the personal shoppers of online store Net-A-Porter through the hotel’s exclusive direct phone line. 201 West 55th St., westhousehotelnewyork.com; 172 rooms starting at $499 (U.S.) 

Mercedeh Sanati

It’s a noisy 30-minute train ride from Lower Manhattan to reach Wythe Hotel in the funky neighbourhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but we didn’t regret the commute once the sun started to set. Our room looked toward Manhattan, and through floor-to-ceiling windows we gazed in awe at the evening sky ablaze in pink and purple hues with the Freedom Tower, Rockefeller Center and other familiar landmarks visible in the distance. Visitors don’t just come here for the sunsets, though. The Wythe has a hip, laid-back attitude that reflects the neighbourhood, and it’s walking distance from Williamsburg’s best galleries, boutiques, bars and concert halls. 80 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn; wythehotel.com; 70 rooms from $225 (U.S.) a night. 

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Martha Li