Freelance Writing Jobs | Today's Articles | sign in

Gramercy Park Hotel

Luxury New York City Boutique Hotel Highlights Art and Style

Jul 13, 2009 Shona Black

The Gramercy Park Hotel in New York creates the ideal gathering space for Manhattan's chicest art scenesters - and for aspiring hipsters from around the world.

Situated at the base of Lexington Avenue across from New York City’s only private park, the luxury boutique Gramercy Park Hotel has undergone a startlingly effective transformation under famed hotelier and former Studio 54 impresario Ian Schrager.

While the old Gramercy Park Hotel used to radiate a warm charm of shabby faded gentility in line with the Jamesian overtones of the area’s Belle Epoque mansions and private square, it is now enshrouded in a cloak of unimpeachable chicness, mirroring the updated appeal of the neighbourhood.

Central Gramercy Park Location

Detached from the touristy bustle of Midtown yet centrally connected to virtually all Manhattan’s principal neighbourhoods and features, the Gramercy Park area offers excellent dining and shopping within an attractive, comfortable setting.

At a convenient juncture between Chelsea, Union Square and the East Village, Gramercy Park is notable not only for its own charms but also for proximity to some of the most exciting artistic centres in the world. With this in mind, Schrager turned to celebrated New York artist Julian Schnabel to imbue his new hotel venture with creative design of impeccable provenance.

The result is an exciting blend of modern art and contemporary style. Every detail in the Gramercy Park Hotel – right down to the bathroom amenities “curated” by a top fashion magazine beauty editor – promises the guest access to the mythical exclusive enclave of Manhattan’s creative elite. It is fitting that the perks for hotel guests include a key to the gated Gramercy Park, as well as use of the hotel’s members-only rooftop club.

Top New York City Restaurant

Ian Schrager, who created the ultimate fashionista hotel with 1988’s Phillipe Starck-designed Royalton, has an unerring instinct for what sets the best luxury boutique hotels apart. In a calculated move away from the minimalist aesthetic now predominant in global luxury chic, Schnabel has chosen a rich renaissance palette for the Gramercy Park hotel rooms, and furnished them lavishly with unique custom pieces.

The Gramercy Park Hotel recently announced another exclusive feature coming in Autumn 2009: celebrated chef Danny Meyer (Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack) will open what promises to be another top New York City restaurant in the hotel.

Private Art Collection Modern Masterpieces

But the jewel of the Gramercy’s crown lies in its unique original art collection, displayed largely in the hotel’s public spaces: the lobby and two ground floor bars. The grand, fireplace-dominated lobby and the eponymously decorated Rose Bar and Jade Bar showcase rotating works from such pre-eminent modern and contemporary artists as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst.

The paintings are hung in the manner of a private collection rather than a curated, captioned gallery; and the result provides a delightful – and, for most, unparalleled – opportunity to absorb and enjoy modern masterpieces in an intimately low-key setting. The chance to experience this calibre of artwork with such comfortable familiarity is alone worth a trip to the Gramercy Park Hotel.

The copyright of the article Gramercy Park Hotel in NE U.S. Travel is owned by Shona Black. Permission to republish Gramercy Park Hotel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Furniture Detail, Gramercy Park Hotel