Celeb Hotels

A dining room dating to 1919, dressed in blue with gold moldings and crystal chandeliers, captures El Palace Hotel Barcelona’s enduring taste for ceremony. The former Ritz, a short walk from Passeig de Gràcia, puts that heritage to work at Amar Barcelona, where chef Rafa Zafra’s seafood-focused cooking includes nods to the hotel’s earlier menus. Afternoon tea brings live piano music to the historic main hall, while breakfast is served in El Jardín, an indoor garden with black-and-white décor and wrought iron details. Upstairs, the Rooftop Garden adds another dimension: greenery, open-air dining and a guest-only swimming pool, with views across Barcelona toward the Sagrada Família.

Art takes several forms at Hotel Arts Barcelona, from views of Frank Gehry’s golden El Peix sculpture beside the gardens to handcrafted headboards by Lorena Canals in the renovated rooms. The steel-and-glass tower stands on the Mediterranean waterfront near Port Olímpic, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the sea or city skyline. Rooms start at approximately 485 square feet, giving their curved furnishings, geometric lines, and Mediterranean colors room to register. Landscaped gardens and two outdoor pools extend the hotel toward the water, while Enoteca Paco Pérez gives dinner a distinct sense of place: its two-Michelin-starred cooking draws on ingredients from the Mediterranean, gardens, and mountains.

More than 1,000 works of art give Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona a reason to linger in its corridors, with pieces by Antoni Tàpies, Eduardo Chillida, Jaume Plensa, and Anish Kapoor displayed throughout the hotel. The owners’ interest in art gives this Passeig de Gràcia address a cultural identity that extends well beyond the architecture nearby. Rooms look onto Eixample courtyards or the boulevard, while La Dolce Vitae, the rooftop restaurant and bar, opens up views of Casa Batlló and the Sagrada Família. At SOLC, the connection to Catalonia takes a more practical form: vegetables come from the hotel’s own Maresme farm, alongside fish from Barcelona’s fish market and meats from local producers.

Patricia Urquiola’s contemporary interiors give Mandarin Oriental Barcelona a distinct design identity, extending from the guest rooms to the golden tones of Moments restaurant. Here, a window into the kitchen puts the cooking in view: chef Raül Balam leads a seasonal interpretation of Catalan cuisine, with his mother, Carme Ruscalleda, as gastronomic adviser. The hotel sits on Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district, placing it within Barcelona’s Golden Square and its architectural surroundings. Another perspective awaits upstairs at Terrat, the seasonal rooftop restaurant and bar, where Mediterranean dishes and cocktails come with panoramic city views. Design and Catalan cooking give this address its particular character.

Contemporary British art reaches into every room and suite at 45 Park Lane, with works by Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake among a collection that extends through the public spaces. Changing exhibitions give the lobby and BAR 45 fresh reasons to linger. Wrapped in horizontal aluminum fins added by Thierry Despont, the Mayfair hotel carries that visual confidence into its architecture, while his Art Deco interiors give it a more intimate character. All 45 rooms face Hyde Park, making the outlook a defining part of a stay. Downstairs, Wolfgang Puck’s CUT—his first European restaurant—brings an American steakhouse sensibility to this corner of London.

A Chihuly chandelier in the Foyer gives Claridge’s a fitting introduction: design is central to this Mayfair hotel, where Victorian grandeur and Art Deco geometry shape the public rooms. The bedrooms carry that range further, spanning Victorian, Deco, and contemporary styles rather than following a single decorative template. Afternoon tea in the Foyer & Reading Room remains one of the hotel’s defining rituals, while the intimate Fumoir has been serving cocktails since 1929. The spa adds another architectural draw, with a heated pool beneath a multi-vaulted ceiling supported by stone columns. Outside, Brook Street and Davies Street place guests among Mayfair’s shopping streets, within easy reach of Hyde Park.

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.

A rooftop spa with glass-walled treatment rooms puts Hyde Park and Westminster in view at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. The setting gives this 11-story Mayfair hotel a sense of its place in the city, with park views also shaping some of its suites. Accommodations range from rooms with marble bathroom vanities to suites with landscaped terraces; the Presidential Suite adds rosewood paneling and a private fireplace. Downstairs, Yannick Alléno’s Michelin-starred Pavyllon London gives the hotel a distinct French culinary identity, with counter seats facing an open kitchen. Bar Antoine extends that identity into cocktails, making dining as much a reason to know the address as its position beside Hyde Park.

A former ice rink now serves as Grosvenor House’s Great Room, a ballroom large enough to seat 2,000 for dinner—a telling detail at this Park Lane hotel, where entertaining happens on a considerable scale. An Art Deco–inspired ballroom adds to that character, while the Park Room offers a more intimate introduction through afternoon tea, live piano and views of Hyde Park across the road. Today part of JW Marriott, the Mayfair hotel pairs rooms with marble bathrooms and pillowtop beds with a distinctly American dining thread: USDA beef at JW Steakhouse and more than 500 bourbons at the Bourbon Bar. The park provides an appealing starting point for exploring beyond the hotel.

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 vast glass-roofed Winter Garden gives The Landmark London its defining sense of scale, with palms rising above tables set for afternoon tea. The central courtyard began as a place for arrivals by horse and carriage when the property opened in 1899 as the Great Central Hotel, built to accompany Marylebone Station. That railway-hotel ambition still shapes the experience: generous rooms, classic furnishings and marble bathrooms carry the grandeur upstairs, while the Winter Garden anchors dining with seasonal British cooking. On Marylebone Road, a short walk from Regent’s Park, the hotel makes its strongest impression through this extraordinary interior—a courtyard that has evolved from an arrival point into the center of a stay.

London’s first skyscraper hotel still makes its height count, with guest rooms and suites looking across Hyde Park, Mayfair, and the city skyline. Opened in 1963, London Hilton on Park Lane has carried its midcentury roots into a redesign inspired by the park below: organic forms and muted tones shape the interiors, while Park Corner Brasserie’s marble floor recalls stepping stones along a garden path. The modern British restaurant gives that connection to the park a culinary setting. Upstairs, suites on the 26th floor draw on 1960s style and the tailoring traditions of Savile Row, giving the hotel’s history a place in its present-day character.

Hyde Park shapes more than the views at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park: it also informed Joyce Wang’s design for the rooms and suites. Drawing on the park and the golden age of travel, Wang combined Art Deco references with carefully selected artwork. Suites offer different perspectives on London, from the Turret Suites overlooking Knightsbridge to the Hyde Park Suites facing the park. Downstairs, the Rosebery serves afternoon tea, while the Aubrey brings a Japanese izakaya to the hotel’s dining scene. With direct access to Hyde Park at the back and the shops of Knightsbridge close by, the hotel makes a distinctive base for exploring this corner of London.

Expansive windows and uncluttered interiors give COMO Metropolitan London its character, with Hyde Park or the Mayfair skyline supplying the outlook from its 144 rooms and suites. In the Junior Park Suites, sycamore timber and window seats make the park views part of the room’s design; selected Metropolitan Park Rooms add balconies. This contemporary hotel on Old Park Lane also has a substantial dining identity: Nobu serves Japanese-Peruvian cooking on the first floor, while Labombe by Trivet brings a wine-focused restaurant and bar from the team behind Trivet. Hyde Park lies across the road, and Bond Street, Piccadilly, and Knightsbridge are within walking distance.

An Edwardian courtyard approached through wrought-iron gates and a carriageway gives Rosewood London a distinctive entrance on High Holborn. Inside, a grand marble staircase anchors the hotel's manor-house character, while its public rooms make space for a more playful expression of British taste. Scarfes Bar pairs Gerald Scarfe's caricatures with velvet armchairs, antique books and live jazz; Holborn Dining Room gives traditional British cooking a prominent place, with a dedicated pie kitchen and a takeaway hatch. Art carries through to the Mirror Room's Monet-inspired afternoon tea. Together, these details give the hotel a personality rooted as much in illustration, craft and cooking as in architectural grandeur.

Wood-fired Beijing duck and a tenth-floor view over Hyde Park give the Royal Garden Hotel a dining room worth building an evening around. Min Jiang, its Chinese restaurant, is also a good introduction to a hotel whose outlook is central to its character. Set on Kensington High Street beside Kensington Gardens, the Royal Garden carries the neighborhood into refurbished rooms inspired by the surrounding greenery and street life. Garden-facing rooms and Park Suites make the most of that setting; other rooms look toward the high street. Downstairs, Origin Kensington focuses on seasonal British produce, while Piano Kensington adds cocktails and live piano music—a reason to linger after a day exploring Kensington.

Philippe Starck’s design gives St Martins Lane a playful streak, carried through from its bold interiors to the golden hand that serves as a door handle at Blind Spot, the hotel’s hidden cocktail bar. In Covent Garden’s theater district, this is a hotel with an evening life of its own: the speakeasy serves drinks inspired by cities around the world, while EllaMia moves from craft coffee to cocktails after dark. Upstairs, rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and customizable LED lighting, letting guests adjust the mood as daylight fades. The combination of expressive design, generous windows and places to linger makes it a distinctive base for exploring London’s West End.

The Connaught’s martini trolley makes a ceremony of a drink, with guests choosing aromatic bitters to shape their preferred version. That attention to individual taste gives a useful introduction to this Mayfair hotel, where original art and traditional craftsmanship bring character to the interiors. A historic wooden staircase anchors the public spaces, while suites include personal butler service and, in some cases, private terraces above the city. Hélène Darroze’s three-Michelin-star restaurant makes dining a substantial part of the draw. Outside, the Mount Street neighborhood puts boutiques, Bond Street and Hyde Park within easy reach, giving a stay here a distinctly Mayfair frame.

A vintage coffee truck in the lobby and a vinyl collection in the VIP Lounge give The Cumberland a playful streak that suits its musical identity. With 900 bedrooms at Marble Arch, this is a London hotel on a substantial scale, with plenty happening under one roof: Spanish tapas at Lírica, cocktails at SOUND Bar, and Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. Hyde Park is on the doorstep, and the Park View rooms make the most of that setting with views across the park. For guests in Executive King rooms and suites, the lounge adds a more personal diversion: records to play, an ice cream machine, and refreshments throughout the day.

English gardens provide the design thread at The Dorchester: their colors and motifs shape the rooms and suites, while an extensive art collection explores the British landscape tradition. Outside, Hyde Park stretches across from the hotel’s Park Lane address in Mayfair, with Bond Street’s boutiques nearby. That connection to its surroundings gives this grand London hotel a character beyond its dining credentials, which include contemporary French cuisine at the three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse restaurant. The Promenade supplies a more everyday rhythm, serving breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner with live music. Together, these spaces make the hotel as much a place to spend an afternoon or evening as a base for exploring London.

A private garden with room for croquet gives The Goring an unusually expansive backyard for a hotel within walking distance of Buckingham Palace. Its lawn, planted borders and deckchairs bring something of the English country house to Belgravia, with afternoon tea served on the overlooking Veranda. Run by four generations of the Goring family since Otto Goring founded it in 1910, the hotel carries that personal character indoors. Individually designed bedrooms include garden-facing rooms lined in Gainsborough silk, while the Michelin-starred Dining Room serves seasonal British cooking beneath wall decorations of monkeys drinking Champagne and emerging from cakes. Such playful details give its traditional English style a distinctly eccentric streak.

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.

Afternoon tea gives The Langham, London a direct connection to its Victorian beginnings: the hotel first served it when it opened in 1865, and Palm Court still makes the ritual a centerpiece of a stay. Live piano accompanies tea today, giving this West End grand hotel a social heart with a long memory. Its other gathering places have distinct personalities, from the cocktail-focused Artesian to The Wigmore, a British pub in a former banking hall serving food overseen by Michel Roux. Set on Portland Place, a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus, The Langham puts Regent Street shopping within easy reach while offering plenty of reasons to spend an afternoon at the hotel itself.

A stainless steel orb reflects the Lobby Bar at The London EDITION, where tufted sofas, a communal table, and a snooker table make the entrance a gathering place in its own right. Set in a restored historic building on Berners Street in Fitzrovia, the hotel carries Ian Schrager’s emphasis on sociable spaces through to Berners Tavern. Here, chef Jason Atherton’s contemporary British cooking comes beneath chandeliers inspired by New York’s Grand Central Station. The 173 rooms and suites have a distinctly nautical character: oak floors, wood-paneled walls, custom furniture, and Hendrik Kerstens photographs suggest the cabins of a private yacht. Soho is close by, giving guests plenty of reasons to venture beyond the hotel’s bars and dining room.

A hidden door to a whisky room, comic illustrations around a crimson bar, and a drawing room wrapped in a hand-painted mural give The Londoner its particular personality. These spaces form The Residence, a trio of rooms reserved for hotel guests—a distinctive centerpiece for a 350-room property spread across 16 stories on Leicester Square. The West End setting carries through to The Stage, where Champagne and live music share the bill, while the rooftop bar takes its cues from Japanese drinking establishments. With a wellness retreat and Mediterranean cooking at Whitcomb’s also under the same roof, the hotel gives guests plenty of reasons to linger between excursions into the surrounding theater district.

The May Fair’s former Grand Art Deco Ballroom now houses the Palm Beach Casino—a particularly vivid link to the hotel’s beginnings in 1927. That appetite for theatrical design carries into its suites: the Schiaparelli takes inspiration from Elsa Schiaparelli’s favored fuchsia and the surrealist era, with a freestanding limestone egg bath and an integrated fireplace. With more than 400 rooms, including 37 suites, this is a substantial London hotel with plenty happening under one roof. May Fair Kitchen pairs Japanese and Italian cooking, while the bar serves cocktails throughout the day. Outside, its Stratton Street address puts Green Park, Berkeley Square, and Bond Street within easy reach.

Afternoon tea at The Ritz London comes with a live musical ensemble, cakes served from a trolley, and a jacket-and-tie requirement for gentlemen—a revealing introduction to a hotel that still makes an occasion of its daily rituals. Opened by César Ritz in 1906, it occupies Piccadilly beside Green Park, with Bond Street and the West End theaters close by. Its architectural reach extends into adjoining William Kent House, an 18th-century mansion whose restored dining rooms and suites became part of the hotel in 2006. Today, tea is served there, while The Ritz Restaurant holds two Michelin stars. The appeal lies in this sustained commitment to ceremony, from an afternoon’s tea service to a formal dinner.

Edwardian rooms in gray and tangerine and Art Deco rooms in gold and caramel give The Savoy two distinct visual identities, reflecting the eras that shaped it. The theatrical connection runs deeper than the decor: the hotel was built to accommodate travelers coming to see Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy Theatre. Today, its private approach off the Strand puts Covent Garden and the West End within a short walk, while river-facing rooms look across the Thames. Inside, floral sculptures rise above the lobby’s black-and-white marble floor, afternoon tea unfolds beneath Gallery’s glass dome with live piano, and the American Bar makes cocktails part of the hotel’s enduring social life.

A former bank’s operations courtyard now serves as El Patio, the lobby bar at Four Seasons Hotel Madrid—a telling detail in a hotel that brings seven historic buildings together within Centro Canalejas. Set between Puerta del Sol and Barrio de las Letras, it makes Madrid’s architectural past part of everyday life, from pastries in the old banking courtyard to rooms that pair classical decor with modern detailing. Nearly 1,500 artworks extend through the public spaces, restaurants and spa, including contemporary pieces by Spanish artists. Upstairs, Dani García’s seventh-floor Dani Brasserie opens onto a terrace overlooking the skyline, giving the hotel a second gathering place high above the surrounding streets.

From Aduana, its seventh-floor restaurant, Gran Meliá Fénix looks out over Madrid’s Salamanca district—a useful introduction to the neighborhood around it. Calle Serrano’s shops and the Paseo de la Castellana are close by, with the National Archaeological Museum among the nearby cultural stops. Inside, neoclassical rooms establish the hotel’s formal character, while Balmoral carries that mood into a bar serving cocktails, traditional tapas, and Mediterranean dishes. Dining is a particular draw: Zuma adds contemporary Japanese cooking, a robata grill, and a sushi bar. For a more private view of the city, select RedLevel accommodations have terraces with outdoor whirlpools.

Sunday brunch turns InterContinental Madrid’s marble-lined lobby into a gathering place for Madrileños and travelers, with live music and a buffet ranging from Iberian cold cuts to paella. That sociable spirit gives this 302-room hotel on Paseo de la Castellana much of its character. Opened in 1953, it carries its grand-hotel style through generous public spaces and the Art Deco–inspired Bar 49, where sofas invite a pause over Spanish wine or a cocktail. El Jardín restaurant, enclosed by glass walls and a glass ceiling, serves Spanish and international cooking; its seasonal garden terrace adds an outdoor setting for tapas. The result is a hotel with reasons to linger between outings into Madrid.

Palm Court’s crystal canopy sets the tone at Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid, a Belle Époque palace where the dining rooms are as much a draw as the address. Beneath it, the all-day restaurant serves contemporary interpretations of Ritz classics under chef Quique Dacosta’s direction. His two-Michelin-starred Deessa occupies the Alfonso XIII room, with a terrace overlooking the Ritz Garden. The hotel sits between the Prado Museum and Retiro Park, placing art and open space close at hand. Upstairs, accommodations range from courtyard-facing rooms to suites overlooking the Prado and Plaza de la Lealtad, with marble bathrooms and a classic approach to interiors that carries the palace’s character into the private spaces.

An art collection that includes Jacky Puzey’s textile-inspired installation gives Rosewood Villa Magna a distinctive point of view on Madrid’s craft and culture. Its interiors draw on early 20th-century design and pay tribute to the former Anglada Palace, lending a residential character to this address on Paseo de la Castellana. Rooms overlook the gardens or boulevard, while the rooftop houses open up views across Madrid. Food is another reason to spend time here: at Amós, Jesús Sánchez interprets Cantabrian ingredients from sea, mountain, and farm; Flor y Nata offers a more casual stop for coffee and pastries. Beyond the hotel, Salamanca’s galleries, ateliers, and family-run bakeries extend the cultural thread into the neighborhood.

A stained-glass dome made from 1,875 individual panes gives The Palace its architectural centerpiece, with a palm-shaped chandelier suspended beneath it. Each pane was dismantled, cataloged and restored as part of the renovation that brought this 1912 hotel into The Luxury Collection in 2025. Designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán’s interiors draw on the Belle Époque and Roaring Twenties, alongside preserved marble, historic tapestries and original architectural details. Beneath the dome, La Cúpula serves contemporary Spanish cooking and afternoon tea. Outside, the hotel’s Plaza de las Cortes address places Madrid’s museums within walking distance; selected rooms overlook the Neptune Fountain or the Spanish Parliament, giving the city a presence well beyond the public rooms.

Martin Brudnizki’s interiors give Fouquet’s New York its particular personality: brass, velvet, and Art Deco furniture bring a Parisian sensibility to Tribeca’s cobblestone streets. The 97 rooms and suites carry that aesthetic into a softer palette of pastels, with high ceilings and large windows; Deluxe King rooms pair lavender and almond green with views of the neighborhood’s historic redbrick buildings. The connection to Paris extends to Brasserie Fouquet’s, an homage to the Champs-Élysées original founded in 1899, and Titsou Bar, whose candlelit tables recall the 1920s and ’30s. Terrace suites open the hotel outward, framing Tribeca’s 19th-century architecture or the Hudson River.

I.M. Pei’s 52-story tower gives Four Seasons Hotel New York its architectural presence: honey-colored French limestone outside, lofty ceilings and geometric details within. On East 57th Street between Park and Madison Avenues, the hotel puts Central Park and Madison Avenue shopping within easy reach, while its interiors reward a closer look. At The Garden, tables sit among African acacia trees above the grand Art Deco lobby; TY Bar carries that design language into a space with a fireplace and cocktails drawn from different eras of New York history. Upstairs, junior suites start at 500 square feet, and handcrafted furnishings, wood paneling, hand-knotted rugs, and original artwork give the accommodations a residential character.

Tribeca’s apartment life provides the reference point for Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, whose suites draw on the neighborhood’s lofts, art collections, and contemporary furniture. The Oculus Suite frames views of Santiago Calatrava’s sculptural transit hub, while the Gotham Terrace Suite pairs custom furnishings with a balcony above the city. On Barclay Street near the World Trade Center, the hotel makes a useful base for exploring Lower Manhattan, with Fulton Center and PATH connections less than a ten-minute walk away. There’s reason to spend time inside, too: Wolfgang Puck’s CUT steakhouse sits just off the lobby, and a dedicated wellness floor brings together a seven-room spa, lap pool, and fitness center overlooking downtown.

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.

El Quijote, the Hotel Chelsea’s century-old Spanish restaurant, gives this West 23rd Street address a living connection to its past, with a menu drawing on the Basque Country. Dining remains central to the hotel’s character: Café Chelsea serves French-American bistro fare, while Teruko brings a sushi bar and seasonal Japanese cooking to the subterranean level. Upstairs, accommodations range from compact, 200-square-foot queen rooms to suites with full kitchens and dining areas. Marble bathrooms recur throughout, with high ceilings, soaking tubs, and Manhattan views in selected categories. The Lobby Bar welcomes neighbors as well as overnight guests, making the Chelsea a place to spend an evening even without checking in.

A grand staircase, Federalist-inspired details, and an intricate lobby ceiling give the InterContinental Barclay its distinctly residential take on New York grandeur. Designed by Cross and Cross as part of the Terminal City development around Grand Central, the hotel opened in 1926 with long-term residents in mind. That Park Avenue influence still shapes its rooms and suites, redesigned during a $180 million renovation in 2016. On East 48th Street near Grand Central and Rockefeller Center, it makes a convenient Midtown base with a character rooted in the neighborhood’s architectural past. The Parlour extends the story through its nods to 1920s Manhattan, while rooftop-grown herbs and honey from the hotel’s beehives find their way into dishes and cocktails.

The Power Breakfast gives Loews Regency New York Hotel a place in the city’s working life: the tradition began in the mid-1970s, when founder Bob Tisch gathered business and political leaders to discuss New York’s financial crisis. It continues at The Regency Bar & Grill, downstairs from 379 guest rooms, including 58 suites. Upstairs, six signature suites take distinctly different approaches to apartment living, from Meyer Davis’s SoHo-inspired Uptown Bohemian Suite to Nate Berkus’s 21st-floor apartment with a formal living room, kitchen, and balcony. At Park Avenue and 61st Street, the hotel puts that residential character within easy reach of Central Park and Madison Avenue shopping.

Central Park becomes part of the interior at Mandarin Oriental New York, where many rooms frame the park through floor-to-ceiling windows. Occupying the upper floors of the Deutsche Bank Center at Columbus Circle, the hotel makes its elevated perspective a defining feature: accommodations look toward the park, Hudson River or Manhattan skyline, while MO Lounge pairs Central Park views with contemporary American cooking and cocktails. Even a swim comes with a city outlook in the 75-foot indoor lap pool. Marble bathrooms with deep soaking tubs give the rooms a generous residential touch, and the park’s southwest corner places walks, Lincoln Center performances and Midtown outings within easy reach.

A restored bank vault beneath the New Yorker Hotel now houses Butcher & Banker, a steakhouse that gives the building’s history a place at the dinner table. Above it rises a 43-story Art Deco hotel designed by Sugarman and Berger and opened in 1930. A restoration begun in 2006 helped preserve that architectural character, which also carries into the guest rooms. Accommodations range from compact Metro Queens to larger doubles, with designated View rooms overlooking the Manhattan skyline. On Eighth Avenue, steps from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, the New Yorker puts rail arrivals, concerts, and games close at hand; its architecture and subterranean dining room give travelers reasons to linger in the building itself.

The Artists’ Gate Suite has 13 large windows overlooking Central Park and Sixth Avenue, plus a billiards room—a particularly expansive expression of this hotel’s Manhattan townhouse aesthetic. Across the 253-room Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, wood accents, curated artwork and residential furnishings carry that idea through rooms and suites, with park views available in select accommodations. Its Central Park South address puts the park at the center of a stay, while Contour Gastro Lounge and Bar supplies a gathering place from morning coffee through dinner. The bar’s daily Manhattan Minute offers a small local ritual: a taste of its namesake cocktail, a little cocktail history and a recipe card to take home.

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.

A 12-seat lobby bar with leather sofas and two fireplaces sets the scale at Smyth Tribeca: personal, residential, and well suited to settling in. Galerie Bar is one expression of that character; upstairs, rooms take their cues from Manhattan lofts, with midcentury styling and floor-to-ceiling windows framing the neighborhood. Some add private terraces, including the Smyth Terrace Suite’s 300-square-foot outdoor space. At Smyth Tavern, the local connection becomes explicit in artwork showcasing Tribeca’s art scene, alongside American dishes that nod to New York supper clubs. The West Broadway address puts galleries, independent shops, and downtown landmarks within reach, with the Chambers Street subway a two-minute walk away.

Gemma, the Italian trattoria on The Bowery Hotel's ground floor, gives this address at 335 Bowery a social center of gravity. Chef Andrea Taormina's rustic, seasonal cooking comes with an extensive Italian wine list, while the lobby offers a separate setting for cocktails. Upstairs, marble bathrooms have antiqued brass fixtures and C.O. Bigelow bath products. Rooms range from compact 250-square-foot queens and kings to garden rooms with private terraces and larger suites. The 14th-floor Penthouse Terrace Suite adds a 650-square-foot terrace, giving its occupants an outdoor space bigger than many of the hotel's bedrooms. Complimentary bicycles offer another way to explore beyond the hotel's doors.

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 skyline is central to The Dominick’s character: floor-to-ceiling windows frame Manhattan, and the upper-floor SoHi One-Bedroom Suites look toward either the Empire State Building or One World Trade. Fendi Casa furnishings, leather-topped desks, and marble bathrooms give the interiors a polished, contemporary feel, while suites add separate living rooms. At street level, the hotel sits where Hudson Square meets SoHo, within walking distance of galleries, designer boutiques, and the Hudson River waterfront. There are reasons to spend time upstairs, too: Terrace on 7 has an outdoor pool and cabanas, and the two-level Sisley Spa offers private hammams and a treatment using honey harvested from the hotel’s rooftop hives.

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.

Wood-burning fireplaces and landscaped terraces give The Lowell the character of a private Manhattan residence, with select accommodations offering those distinctly domestic pleasures. This family-owned hotel on East 63rd Street has 47 individually appointed suites and 27 rooms, their interiors inspired by designer Michael Smith’s residential style. Its setting between Madison and Park Avenues places Central Park and Madison Avenue’s boutiques within easy walking distance. The residential character extends to a Club Room reserved for hotel guests, while Majorelle brings a more elaborate flourish: marble columns, vaulted wood-arched ceilings and a year-round garden frame French Mediterranean cooking with Moroccan influences. Together, these spaces give the hotel a particular Upper East Side identity, rooted in apartment living and neighborhood dining.

Jacques Grange gave The Mark a distinctive design vocabulary: bold black-and-white stripes, custom furnishings, and art and lighting commissioned specifically for the hotel. Working with Parisian antiquaire Pierre Passebon, he brought in contributors including Ron Arad, Vladimir Kagan, and Mattia Bonetti, giving the public spaces the appeal of a design collection. Upstairs, rooms take a more uncluttered approach, with views over Madison Avenue, East 77th Street, or townhouse gardens. The Upper East Side address puts Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art within easy reach, while Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant and Caviar Kaspia—with its caviar-topped twice-baked potato—give visitors reasons to linger downstairs.

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.

Nightly live entertainment on the Atrium’s stage gives The Ned NoMad a social center, fitting for a hotel that shares its home with a private members’ club. Set in the 1903 Johnston Building on Broadway, its 167 bedrooms and suites carry the period character upstairs: Deluxe rooms and Atrium Studios feature Beaux-Arts touches, while the Johnston Terrace Suite adds separate living and dining rooms and a private terrace. Public dining is part of the draw, too. Cecconi’s takes its cues from mid-century Italian trattorias, and Little Ned pairs classic cocktails and bar food with Empire State Building views. The mix of historic interiors, dining and club life gives this Manhattan address its particular identity.

The Pierre’s Rotunda makes a theatrical centerpiece: Edward Melcarth’s hand-painted trompe l’oeil murals, added in 1967, sit beneath a ceiling depicting bright blue sky. That appetite for grand rooms defines this Fifth Avenue hotel, which opened in 1930 directly across from Central Park. Its French Classical architecture gives it a palatial character, while Two E Bar & Lounge offers a more residential setting. Originally the gentleman’s library, the space was redesigned by Alexandra Champalimaud to evoke an Upper East Side home and now hosts live jazz. At Perrine, French-American dishes share the menu with Indian cuisine—a fitting expression of a New York institution that is also Taj’s North American flagship.

Afternoon tea beneath The Palm Court’s soaring stained-glass dome gives The Plaza Hotel its clearest expression: formal, theatrical, and deeply attached to New York tradition. Architect Thierry Despont’s renovation drew on nearby Central Park, bringing ceiling-high palms, trellis details, and cane-accented furnishings into a room that has been part of the hotel since 1907. Outside, Fifth Avenue meets Central Park South; inside, restored reception rooms and elaborate guest-room finishes sustain the sense of occasion. The 282 rooms and suites include guest rooms with sitting areas, mosaic bathroom floors, and gold-plated Sherle Wagner fixtures, while the Legacy Suites introduce commissioned art and a more contemporary residential style. It’s a hotel whose public spaces deserve as much attention as its bedrooms.

Maxfield Parrish’s Old King Cole mural has presided over drinks at The St. Regis New York since 1932, giving its namesake bar a place in the hotel’s story as memorable as its Fifth Avenue address. That sense of continuity runs through this hotel founded by John Jacob Astor IV: butlers still unpack luggage and deliver morning coffee, while La Maisonette takes its design cues from the original 1910s breakfast room. Guest rooms bring jewel-toned textiles, polished brass and marble into the residential interiors. At Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, near MoMA and Central Park, the hotel makes a distinctive base for Manhattan, with afternoon tea and a Red Snapper at the King Cole Bar providing reasons to linger indoors.

Central Park finds its way indoors at The Surrey: signature suites take their cues from Bow Bridge, Greywacke Arch, and Bethesda Terrace, giving Martin Brudnizki’s residential interiors a distinctly local frame of reference. Reimagined as a Corinthia hotel, this Upper East Side address on East 76th Street has 70 rooms and 30 suites, with accommodations looking onto Madison Avenue or the courtyard. The park itself is a short walk away. Casa Tua extends the house-like character through an Italian and Mediterranean restaurant and a lounge beside the lobby, where the day runs from cappuccinos to evening martinis. Together, these spaces make the hotel feel closely tied to the neighborhood around it.

Kit Kemp’s appetite for color, pattern, and craftsmanship gives The Whitby Hotel its personality, from individually designed bedrooms to a drawing room filled with art and an honesty bar. Floor-to-ceiling windows bring the Manhattan setting into every room and suite, with many looking across the skyline. Downstairs, a pewter-topped bar anchors The Whitby Bar & Restaurant, where handcrafted objects and original artworks share space with afternoon tea and a seasonal European menu. Set on West 56th Street just off Fifth Avenue, two blocks from Central Park, this Firmdale hotel makes an appealing base for travelers who take as much interest in the rooms they inhabit as the city outside.

Central Park fills the floor-to-ceiling windows of the park-facing suites at Trump International Hotel and Tower, giving its address at One Central Park West a defining role in the stay. At the meeting point of the park and Columbus Circle, the hotel has 176 rooms and suites with a distinctly residential bent: Superior Rooms include kitchenettes, while Executive Park View Suites have separate living and dining areas and full kitchens with Sub-Zero appliances. Marble bathrooms, velvet sofas and crystal chandeliers give the suites a formal character. Dining is another reason to know the address: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s namesake restaurant pairs park views with cooking that draws on French, American and Indochinese influences.

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.

Private terraces overlooking Sixth Avenue and 54th Street give some of the Warwick’s accommodations an unusually expansive relationship with Midtown. The hotel’s Renaissance and Art Deco architecture sets the tone for a stay with a decidedly traditional streak: marble bathrooms, suites with separate living areas, and Randolph’s Bar & Lounge, where dark wood paneling frames the seating. Breakfast takes place amid the artwork at Murals on 54. Built by publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst in 1926, the Warwick still makes architectural character part of its appeal. Its address also puts the Museum of Modern Art nearby, with Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park within easy reach.

Bulgari’s jewelry designs find an architectural expression at its Paris hotel: the Parentesi motif runs along the facade, while the house’s eight-point star appears inside. Designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel’s ACPV Architects, the 76-room-and-suite hotel brings a distinctly Italian character to Avenue George V in the Golden Triangle. Marble, silk wallcoverings and varnished eucalyptus woodwork sit alongside lacquer, parchment and straw marquetry crafted by French artisans. That exchange between Italian design and French craft extends to Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, set in a private garden, where Parisian-style banquettes are made in Italy and the menu centers on contemporary Italian cooking.

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.

Three restaurants sharing six Michelin stars make dining central to the identity of Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris. Christian Le Squer’s modern French cooking at Le Cinq anchors the lineup, while Le George takes an Italian-Mediterranean direction and L’Orangerie serves seasonal menus beneath a glass canopy overlooking the marble courtyard. The setting carries equal weight: a 1928 Art Deco landmark in the Golden Triangle, just off the Champs-Élysées. Inside, La Galerie’s collection of 19th-century art and the Parisian Suites’ classical or Empire-style works give the hotel a distinctly formal character. Some suites open onto terraces with Eiffel Tower views, adding a broader Paris panorama to a stay centered on art and the table.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Grands Appartements give Hôtel de Crillon a distinctive design pedigree behind its Neoclassical façade on Place de la Concorde. Art runs through the hotel, with sculpture, painting and photography by established and emerging artists sharing space with its historic architecture. The rooms take a residential approach, pairing custom art and comfortable furnishings with marble bathrooms; suites add bespoke furniture, textiles and individually selected objets d’art. Tucked-away courtyards offer a quieter setting within the property. For an evening overlooking the square, Les Ambassadeurs serves cocktails alongside live music, with a terrace beneath the arcades—a place to appreciate the architecture as part of everyday hotel life.

Seventeenth-century furniture and artworks collected by hotelier Emile Wolf still shape Hotel Lancaster’s character today. Housed in an 1889 private mansion on rue de Berri, steps from the Champs-Élysées, the hotel retains the residential spirit of the house Wolf converted in 1925. Antiques sit alongside contemporary pieces by Studio Jean Philippe Nuel, with individually decorated rooms extending that eclectic approach upstairs. Downstairs, Monsieur Lancaster serves neo-bistro cooking built around ingredients from small local producers, with dishes designed for sharing. CopperBay brings its cocktail-making expertise to the bar. Together, these spaces give the Lancaster a character rooted as much in the pleasures of a Parisian household as in its century of hotelkeeping.

The frescoes in Bar Joséphine spent years hidden beneath paint before their restoration for Lutetia’s 2018 reopening. Along with the central salon’s stained-glass ceiling, they give this Saint-Germain-des-Prés hotel a character rooted in its own architecture and artwork. Founded in 1910 by the family behind Le Bon Marché to accommodate the department store’s customers and suppliers, Lutetia combines Art Nouveau and Art Deco design. Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte led its restoration, reworking the rooms and suites and adding a spa. Today, the bar’s six fresco scenes inspire its signature cocktails—a thoughtful way to make the building’s decorative history part of a stay on the Left Bank.

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.

A courtyard decorated with thousands of mosaics gives Prince de Galles a distinctive heart: Le Patio, a garden setting for lunch, dinner or cocktails just off Avenue George V. Opened in 1929, the hotel carries its Art Deco identity through a lobby of marble floors and gold-leaf chandeliers into rooms and suites inspired by the era. The Suite Saphir extends that vocabulary in beige and blue, with two terraces overlooking the avenue. Dining adds another reason to linger: Restaurant & Bar 19.20 takes its cue from 1920s Paris, while Akira Back serves modern Japanese cooking with Korean and international influences. Beyond the hotel, the Champs-Élysées is steps away.

Antique furniture transferred from the George V in the 1950s helps explain the San Régis’s richly furnished, residential character. Set in a private mansion built in 1857, this 42-room hotel on rue Jean Goujon remains in the hands of the Georges family, who have preserved its sense of a personal home. Individually decorated rooms combine period pieces, paintings, and fabrics from houses such as Pierre Frey and Braquenié; upper-floor Terrace Junior Suites add private outdoor space overlooking the Eiffel Tower and Paris rooftops. Downstairs, Les Confidences occupies a winter-garden setting beneath a glass roof, with living plant walls. Avenue Montaigne, the Champs-Élysées, and the Grand Palais place fashion and culture within easy reach.

Antique furniture, hand-carved wood paneling and hand-painted murals give Hôtel Raphaël its distinctly traditional Parisian character. Built in 1925, the hotel occupies a stone building with an intricately sculpted facade on avenue Kléber, steps from the Arc de Triomphe in the 16th arrondissement. It belongs to Les Hôtels Baverez, a collection of three Paris hotels managed by the same family for four generations. Its rooftop garden takes in the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Sacré-Cœur, adding a sweeping perspective to an address defined by decorative detail. The hotel is currently undergoing a makeover, with a return announced for 2027.

Arrival at La Réserve Paris takes place in the Louis XV Salon, setting the tone for a hotel shaped around the rituals of a private Parisian home. Jacques Garcia’s interiors draw on the building’s recovered woodwork, moldings and cornices, adding marble fireplaces and rich fabrics to its residential proportions. The 25 suites outnumber the 15 rooms; silk walls, antique furniture and oak parquet carry that character upstairs, where every accommodation has a dedicated butler. On Avenue Gabriel, just off the Champs-Élysées, the hotel also gives guests reasons to stay in: a library reserved for residents and their friends, a 16-meter indoor pool, and Jérôme Banctel’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Gabriel.

Le Bristol Paris has a yacht above its rooftops: naval architect Cäsar Pinnau designed its sixth-floor indoor pool with teak decking and a trompe-l’oeil stern, with views toward the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur. That playful space adds a distinctive chapter to this grand hotel on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, whose rooms and suites follow an elegant Parisian style. A 13,000-square-foot courtyard garden gives guests room to linger, while the kitchens reveal how much is made here: the hotel mills its own flour, bakes its bread, and produces chocolates in-house. Three-Michelin-starred Epicure anchors a stay in which French cooking deserves as much attention as the address.

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.

Shaded gardens give Le Pavillon de la Reine a secluded character on the Place des Vosges, with the Marais at its doorstep. Inside, designer Didier Benderli of Kérylos Intérieurs has shaped a setting that mixes classic and contemporary decoration across 56 individually styled rooms and suites. The emphasis on personal spaces gives this Paris address an intimate scale, while restaurant Anne supplies a reason to spend an evening in. There, chef Thibault Sombardier and executive chef Matthieu Pirola build their cooking around the seasons and the ingredients arriving in the kitchen. Together, the gardens, individual interiors, and serious restaurant make the hotel a compelling base for a stay centered on the Marais.

Acoustic guitars in the guest rooms give an early clue to Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris’s artistic temperament. Philippe Starck’s reworking of the hotel carries that spirit through interiors filled with contemporary art, while suites draw on the lines and colors of the 1940s and ’50s, with books and messages scrawled on lampshades adding personal touches. The collection extends beyond the bedrooms: more than 300 works, a contemporary gallery and the 99-seat Katara Cinema make culture part of a stay. On Avenue Hoche, near the Arc de Triomphe and Parc Monceau, this hotel has welcomed artists and writers since 1928; its present-day character gives that history a tangible expression.

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.

Royal blue in the lobby, a grand staircase and rooms furnished with silks and antique art give the Ritz Paris its richly layered character. César Ritz chose a private mansion on Place Vendôme for the hotel he opened in 1898; he and his wife, Marie-Louise, approached it as a vast private home, mixing periods and French decorative traditions. That residential idea still gives shape to a stay, from individually styled accommodations to the wood-paneled Salon Proust, where books and armchairs frame afternoon tea. Outside, the Grand Jardin extends the hotel’s sequence of salons into greenery, with magnolias, a fountain and wooden alcoves along a trellis gallery.

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.

Original mosaic floors and Duchemin stained glass in the Rotunda give The Peninsula Paris’s restored heritage building a particularly Parisian sense of occasion. On Avenue Kléber in the 16th arrondissement, the hotel carries that grand architectural character into 200 rooms and suites furnished with contemporary artworks. Its more individual accommodations include the Belle Époque-inspired Historic Suite and the Katara Suite, with its own rooftop garden and terrace. Upstairs, L’Oiseau Blanc’s sixth-floor dining room and outdoor terrace bring the city itself into focus, with views toward the Eiffel Tower. Those elevated spaces are a defining part of the hotel’s appeal: a chance to see Paris spread out beyond the formal rooms below.

Three petal-like forms twist skyward at Crown Sydney, giving Wilkinson Eyre’s Barangaroo tower a sculptural presence on the harbor. That unusual shape carries through to the accommodation, where room layouts vary and interiors by New York studio Meyer Davis pair natural and aqua tones with a residential feel. Views of Sydney’s skyline anchor the experience, whether from the rooms or the heated harbor-facing pool with its private cabanas. Restaurants including Nobu, a’Mare, and Woodcut give guests reasons to linger over dinner, while Barangaroo’s parklands, public art, and laneway bars provide a neighborhood to explore beyond the tower.

Sandstone alcoves, brick archways and a domed atrium give InterContinental Sydney’s Treasury bar a setting rooted in the city’s 1851 Treasury Building. That restored government building lends the hotel its architectural character, with a curved central bar and botanical cocktails bringing everyday life into the historic interiors. Upstairs, guest rooms look toward Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Royal Botanic Gardens or the city skyline, depending on the room. Aster, the rooftop bar on level 32, makes the harbor panorama part of an evening out. Circular Quay is the hotel’s neighborhood, putting the Opera House, gardens and historic Rocks district within walking distance.

Aman Tokyo takes the design language of a Japanese ryokan into the upper floors of Otemachi Tower. Wood, granite and washi paper give its expansive interiors a restrained character, with ikebana displays and engawa platforms lending definition to the vast lobby. Suites pair shoji sliding doors and deep stone furo baths with floor-to-ceiling views of the capital; some look across the Imperial Palace Gardens toward Mount Fuji on clear days. The same attention to Japanese traditions carries into Musashi, where Edomae-style omakase sushi is served at a hinoki cypress counter. A 30-meter indoor pool and Japanese-style bathing facilities make time at the hotel as much a part of a Tokyo stay as exploring the city below.

A library of more than 2,000 books, selected by interior designer John Morford, gives Park Hyatt Tokyo a distinctly personal focus high above Shinjuku. The hotel occupies floors 39 through 52 of Kenzo Tange’s Shinjuku Park Tower, with 171 rooms and suites furnished with artwork and custom pieces that carry its residential character into the guest quarters. Height shapes the experience throughout: the indoor pool sits behind floor-to-ceiling glass with views toward Mount Fuji, while New York Grill pairs the Tokyo panorama with an open kitchen and two New York–inspired murals by Italian artist Valerio Adami. Books, art, and the city beyond the windows give the hotel plenty to hold your attention between outings.