Hotels Jay-Z Has Stayed At

A Baccarat-crystal chandelier above the Crystal Moon Lounge gives Corinthia London a suitably theatrical centerpiece, with afternoon tea served beneath it. That sense of occasion carries through a hotel whose grand façade stands at the corner of Whitehall, steps from the Thames. There’s considerable variety within: Garden Suites overlook a landscaped courtyard, while the Musician’s Penthouse has a Steinway piano and an outdoor terrace. Tom Kerridge’s restaurant brings British seasonal cooking and an open rotisserie to the dining room; Salvatore Calabrese’s Velvet makes cocktails another reason to linger. Biome, the hotel’s spa, adds a vitality pool, sauna, steam room and cold plunge—a substantial invitation to leave time between outings to the South Bank and Covent Garden.

Hand-painted trompe l’oeil marbling and chandeliers give The Lanesborough’s Withdrawing Room its elaborate character, with Wellington Arch framed beyond the windows. That taste for Regency decoration carries through the hotel’s individually furnished rooms and suites, each with dedicated butler service around the clock. Interior designer Alberto Pinto directed the renovation of this historic mansion at the edge of Hyde Park, where the setting puts Knightsbridge and Sloane Street shopping within easy reach. There is good reason to linger inside, too: chef Shay Cooper’s Lanesborough Grill centers its modern British cooking on seasonal produce from across the country, while the Library Bar keeps a collection of rare spirits.

No two of The Greenwich Hotel’s 86 rooms and suites are alike, a principle that gives this Tribeca address its individual character. Custom furnishings, Siberian oak floors, and handwoven rugs feature in the king rooms; courtyard-facing accommodations have French doors and Juliet balconies, while corner suites look toward the Hudson River. That domestic scale extends to the Drawing Room bar and open-air courtyard, both reserved exclusively for hotel guests, where meals come from Locanda Verde. Chef Andrew Carmellini’s Italian neighborhood taverna anchors the hotel’s dining life. Shibui Spa adds another dimension, with interiors centered on wood, water, and stone, a heated pool, and five treatment rooms.

Christian Liaigre’s restrained interiors give The Mercer its particular take on SoHo loft living: high ceilings, open layouts, oversized windows, and an emphasis on proportion. Set inside a landmark Romanesque Revival building at Mercer and Prince Streets, the independently operated hotel has 73 rooms and suites facing the neighborhood’s cobblestoned streets or an interior garden. Some add exposed brick or wood-burning fireplaces; the Courtyard Loft Suite opens onto its own 1,000-square-foot terrace. Downstairs, Sartiano’s serves Alfred Portale’s Italian menu in a Studio Sofield–designed dining room with Carrara marble counters and leather bar seats. The restaurant also supplies the guest-only lobby, making that private space a useful extension of the rooms upstairs.

La Samaritaine’s 1928 Art Deco building gives Cheval Blanc Paris its architectural backbone; Peter Marino’s apartment-inspired interiors give it a more personal scale. Overlooking the Seine, the 72-room-and-suite hotel brings together custom-designed furniture, works by Sonia Delaunay and Vik Muniz, and intricate metalwork that carries the building’s decorative heritage indoors. Ingrid Donat’s gilded bronze panels greet guests outside the elevators, while Sophie Mallebranche’s woven-metal staircase connects the entrance hall to the Dior Spa. Rooms offer differing perspectives on the city, from the Louvre colonnade to river views framed by winter gardens or private balconies. On the seventh floor, Langosteria pairs Italian seafood cooking with views across Paris.

Le Relais Plaza’s Art Deco dining room takes its cues from the first-class restaurant aboard the ocean liner SS Normandie—a telling detail at a hotel with such a strong sense of occasion. Opened in 1936, the brasserie remains part of Hôtel Plaza Athénée’s character on avenue Montaigne, where fashion shapes the surroundings and the hotel itself. Christian Dior staged shows and photo shoots here; today, the connection continues through the Dior Spa. Red geraniums mark the façade, while the vine-covered courtyard offers another distinctive setting for a meal. Between the avenue-side terrace, afternoon tea in La Galerie and suites with Eiffel Tower views, the hotel gives guests several ways to settle into this corner of Paris.

Versailles provides the architectural cue for Le Meurice’s Alain Ducasse restaurant, where Philippe Starck reinterpreted the château’s Salon de la Paix. That interplay of classical grandeur and artistic invention gives this Paris hotel its character: Starck also designed Le Dalí, drawing on the surrealist’s playful imagination. Facing the Tuileries Garden on rue de Rivoli, with the Louvre a five-minute walk away, Le Meurice puts art within easy reach both indoors and out. Food is an equally compelling reason to linger, from the two-Michelin-starred restaurant to Cédric Grolet’s pastries sculpted to resemble fruit. In the evening, Bar 228 offers deep leather armchairs and live jazz—a more intimate setting within the hotel’s ornate world.

A terrace sheltered by historic facades gives Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme an inward-looking center just steps from Place Vendôme. On Rue de la Paix, the hotel pairs classical architecture with contemporary art and residential interiors. Rooms look onto the courtyard or street, with limestone bathrooms, deep soaking tubs and separate rainfall showers; some add private balconies. Dining is a reason to spend time here: at Michelin-starred PUR’, artist-architect Hugo Toro’s design allows chef Jean-François Rouquette to move among his guests, while SEOK by Mingoo Kang explores Korean cooking rooted in Seoul’s traditions. Café Jeanne supplies a more informal rhythm, serving breakfast through late-night cocktails by the fireplace or on the terrace.

Prince Roland Bonaparte’s former home gives Shangri-La Paris its architectural identity, most vividly in L’Appartement Prince Bonaparte: the prince’s own rooms now form a suite with 16-foot ceilings, original moldings and gilt work, and Versailles-style parquet floors. Its blue-and-gold bedroom and balconies facing Avenue d’Iéna and the Guimet Museum make the building’s residential past tangible. The 100-room-and-suite hotel occupies a listed historic monument in the 16th arrondissement, with views of the Eiffel Tower and Seine. French period design and Asian influences meet in the apartment’s interiors, giving a particularly detailed expression to the hotel’s place within the Shangri-La brand.