Hotels David Bowie Has Stayed At

Café Royal’s restored public rooms from the 1860s and 1920s give this Regent Street hotel its architectural weight. Their Grade II-listed interiors became part of a new chapter in 2012, when the former café opened as a hotel following a conversion designed by David Chipperfield. Today, understated contemporary rooms and suites sit within that historic framework, with Soho, Mayfair, and St. James’s close at hand. Dining remains central to its identity: Café Royal Grill serves British cooking in a listed setting, Alex Dilling offers French tasting menus overlooking Regent Street, and Albert Adrià’s Cakes & Bubbles makes desserts and Champagne an occasion of their own.

A 7,000-square-foot rooftop bar overlooking Gramercy Park is central to the planned revival of Gramercy Park Hotel. Closed since 2020, the 18-story hotel at 2 Lexington Avenue is slated for an extensive renovation by MCR and MORSE Development, encompassing its lobby, first-floor restaurants and bars, and 197 guestrooms and suites. The building dates to 1924 and occupies the former site of architect Stanford White’s estate, giving the project a substantial piece of New York history to work with. For now, it remains a hotel in waiting, with the rooftop’s full restoration among the plans for its next chapter.

A Gothic minaret above Fifth Avenue and a lobby ceiling inspired by Raphael’s Vatican frescoes give The Sherry-Netherland its architectural theater. Artist Joseph Aruta’s mural, restored in 2014, is part of an interior that includes Vanderbilt-mansion friezes, marble mosaic floors, and custom crystal chandeliers. Opened in 1927, the hotel sits at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, directly across from Grand Army Plaza and Central Park’s main entrance. Its 50 individually decorated rooms and suites bring a more personal scale to that grand setting, with some looking out over the park. Elevator attendants, daily fresh flowers, and Louis Sherry chocolates carry the hotel’s traditional character into the everyday details of a stay.

Ludwig Bemelmans’s murals and nightly piano at Bemelmans Bar give The Carlyle an identity that extends well beyond its guest rooms. Cabaret at Café Carlyle makes music central to this Upper East Side Art Deco landmark, where art and entertaining shape the public spaces. In The Gallery, decorator Renzo Mongiardino took inspiration from Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, creating a distinctive setting for afternoon tea. Upstairs, rooms include designs by Tony Chi and Thierry Despont, while suites furnished with original artwork carry a residential character. Central Park, Madison Avenue, and nearby galleries put the neighborhood within easy reach, but the hotel’s own rooms for music, drinks, and conversation are reason enough to spend an evening here.

The 1893 World’s Fair clock is back at the center of the Waldorf Astoria New York’s lobby, a fitting anchor for a hotel whose recent restoration makes its architectural heritage central to the stay. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon restored its exterior and interior spaces, preserving the scale of the Art Deco architecture. Upstairs are 375 redesigned rooms and suites; the King Room includes a seating area, writing desk, and deep soaking tub. Downstairs, Peacock Alley returns alongside Lex Yard, chef Michael Anthony’s brasserie. The Park Avenue address places guests in Midtown, near Grand Central Terminal, Rockefeller Center, and Fifth Avenue’s shops.