PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

Shuttered for 2 years, this 1925-built legend bordering charming Gramercy Park has been redone stunningly by famed hotelier Ian Schrager. Schrager, who pioneered the \"boutique hotel\" concept in the 1990's with the Royalton, Morgan's, and Paramount, has shifted gears and said goodbye to that sleek, chic look to create a hotel so quirky in style it's impossible to define. Start with the lobby, with its eclectic mix of art: there are Julian Schnabel-designed lamps (Schnabel was a main contributor to the design concept of the hotel and his pieces abound), two 10-foot Italian fireplaces, red velvet curtains, Moroccan tiles, bronze tables, and a magnificent Venetian glass chandelier. What once was a 500-plus room hotel now features only 185 rooms so, where the former version had tiny rooms, now there is space. But the space and design differ dramatically room to room -- this is as far removed from a cookie-cutter hotel that you will find. More than half of the rooms are suites, some with views overlooking Gramercy Park, and all have mahogany English drinking cabinets where the mini-bar and DVD player is hidden, some variation of the overstuffed lounge chair, and a portrait of Schnabel's friend, the late Andy Warhol. Beds are velvet-upholstered, tables feature leather tops, and photos by world famous photo-journalists adorn the walls. Bathrooms are large and feature wood-paneled walls. If you choose to leave your room, the hotel's magnificent Rose Bar is where you should venture first, but make sure you are on the \"list.\" At press time, the hotel's restaurant had not yet opened.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2008, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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