The 14 Best New York City Hotels of 2020

Best Overall: Library Hotel by Library Hotel Collection

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Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the four-star Library Hotel has it all: a prime location that's just a 10-minute walk from the Empire State Building and a hot-spot eatery and swank accommodations. Inspired by the Dewey Decimal system, this boutique concept hotel is a bibliophile’s paradise. There are 60 luxury guest rooms, each one containing a treasure trove of rare books and art. The Reading Room provides a literary setting for a free breakfast buffet each morning, and for a complimentary wine and cheese reception every evening.

Accommodation choices range from cozy single-occupancy bedrooms to spacious suites with elevated views of the New York Public Library. All rooms include luxury bath amenities, cable TV and a minibar stocked with gourmet refreshments. On-site bistro Madison & Vine pairs classic American cuisine with an impeccable wine list, while the 14th floor terrace transforms into a rooftop cocktail bar after dark. The hotel has a selection of intimate meeting and event spaces. Rates include unlimited Wi-Fi and access to Manhattan’s New York Sports Clubs. 

Best Boutique: Crosby Street Hotel

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Channeling the creative energy of bustling SoHo, Crosby Street Hotel is surrounded by the neighborhood’s independent shops and art galleries. The hotel has 86 cozy, contemporary guest rooms and suites. Each one has its own unique design, tied together by ornate floral headboards and jaw-dropping floor-to-ceiling views. From the marble bathroom to the oversized TV, the emphasis here is on comfort.

Despite its small size, Crosby Street Hotel has all the amenities of a much larger venue - including a private gym and a 99-seat theater. There’s an honor bar in the elegant drawing room, and the sculpture garden is a veritable oasis. At The Crosby Street Bar, indulge in afternoon tea and evening cocktails, as well as meals made with ingredients grown in the rooftop kitchen garden. Original artworks can be found throughout, making this the perfect choice for design connoisseurs, too. 

Best Budget: The Harlem Flophouse

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The Harlem Flophouse provides an enclave of quiet for travelers with a limited budget and an appreciation for old-world charm. Located just north of Central Park, this historic hotel is a short walk from Harlem landmarks such as the Apollo Theater and the legendary Paris Blues jazz dive bar. The Victorian townhouse was originally built as a family home. It opened its doors to lodgers in 1917, and the intervening decades have done little to alter its homey atmosphere.

With only five guest rooms, this budget-friendly hotel is both personal and peaceful. Original fixtures adorn its spacious interiors. From claw-foot bathtubs to time-worn hardwood floors, the style and creativity of the Harlem Renaissance is always evident. Amenities at The Harlem Flophouse are basic: four of the rooms have shared bathroom facilities, and there’s no restaurant on-site. However, modern comforts such as air-conditioning and TV are a small price to pay for authenticity. 

Best for Nightlife: Dream Downtown

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As befits its location in New York’s nightlife epicenter, this Chelsea/Meatpacking District hotel shines a spotlight on after-hours fun. Dream Downtown resembles a ship with its port-hole shaped windows and inside, it’s all aboard for a good time. Two sleek restaurants serve Mexican and Japanese cuisine, while outside deck The Beach features imported sand, a glass-bottom swimming pool and a DJ booth.

After dark, PHD Rooftop Lounge is the place to be. Attracting the city’s hippest crowd, the bar is a fantasyland of cocktails, DJ decks and Empire State Building views. Downstairs, basement nightclub The Electric Room keeps the music playing until 4 a.m. From HD TVs to landscaped terraces, Dream Downtown’s rooms and suites offer a wide choice of amenities - for when you eventually go to bed. 

Best for Romance: The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel

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Located a block from Central Park on the exclusive Upper East Side, The Carlyle is a landmark in its own right. Built in 1930, it is no stranger to elite society - including American presidents and British royals. Romantic experiences abound - in the Sisley-Paris Spa, or in The Carlyle Restaurant, where you can enjoy caviar and champagne by candlelight. In Bemelmans Bar, share signature cocktails beneath the 24-carat gold leaf ceiling.

The hotel offers 190 rooms and suites. In the rooms, classic prints and elegant fabrics create an atmosphere of golden era sophistication. Modern amenities including a full minibar and a luxurious bath help set the scene for romance, while room service is available around the clock. For honeymoons and anniversaries, choose a suite with personalized butler service and an art collection curated by The Met Museum. 

Best Luxury: Baccarat Hotel & Residences New York

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Five-star Baccarat Hotel creates a world of shimmering crystal in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Located a short stroll from the Museum of Modern Art, the hotel is a showcase for masterpieces by the famous French brand. White-toned rooms and suites offer crystal fixtures, King beds, marble bathrooms and oversized TVs. Book a night in the opulent Baccarat Suite and take a piece of crystal home with you.

The silk-covered walls and stunning chandelier of the Grand Salon set the stage for evening champagne receptions. Gourmet French classics are served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while in the bar, fine wines and liquors are poured into Baccarat crystal glasses. From a heated indoor pool to an endless menu of spa treatments and massages, this decadent hotel attends to your every whim. 

Best for Business: Kimpton Ink48 Hotel

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This four-star Hell’s Kitchen hotel is conveniently located a 15-minute walk from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. There is also 6,000 square feet of meeting space on-site, including the Heaven Over Hell Penthouse Suite. Here, breathtaking Hudson River views are sure to impress your colleagues. After meetings, unwind with a massage in the spa; or with a glass of wine at rooftop bar The Press Lounge. Seasonal restaurant PRINT. is open seven days a week, while luxury ensuite rooms and suites ensure a good night’s sleep. Wi-Fi, valet parking and a complimentary fitness center all combine to make life on the road a little bit easier. 

Best Hostel: City Rooms NYC Chelsea

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A hybrid between a boutique guesthouse and a youth hostel, City Rooms is an affordable retreat in an expensive city for those traveling on a shoe-string budget. Located between Chelsea and Midtown West, City Rooms is around the corner from Penn Station and just a few blocks from the High Line. Rooms have hardwood floors and funky, yet chic New York City-themed décor, with a mix of King, Queen or bunk-style beds. Although the rooms are private at this hostel, the bathrooms are shared among the guests. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, air conditioning throughout, and tea, water and coffee in the reception area. A number of bars and restaurants are located around the hostel. 

Best on Central Park: The Sherry-Netherland Hotel

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There’s almost nothing as rare as a hotel with a five-star rating on TripAdvisor — especially when said five-star rating is based on hundreds and hundreds of reviews. Located right on the southeastern edge of Central Park — across from Grand Army Plaza and the main entrance — this four-star, quietly elegant hotel collects high marks for professional and friendly service from staff. Rooms are luxuriously appointed, with incredibly comfortable beds and pillows, as well as high-quality linens. There are also plenty of extra touches that make an impression — like free water restocked in mini-fridges each day.

Located right on Fifth Avenue, The Sherry-Netherland is just a stone's throw from luxury retailers like Tiffany & Co., Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue. But, of course, if you’re staying here, the view probably has something to do with it. Be sure to request a park-facing room so you can take in the glorious expanse of trees and greenspace first thing each morning.

Best in Times Square: The Casablanca Hotel by Library Hotel Collection

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Another gem on our list, this is hands-down the best hotel near Times Square. With just 45 rooms, the Casablanca has a decidedly boutique feel while benefiting from a location in the heart of the city's action. Guests love the evening wine and cheese reception in the second-floor lounge (great before catching a Broadway show), all-day snacks, quietly decadent rooms and well-decorated gathering spaces that provide a home-like respite from the bustling streets outside. The team is also fantastic, with everyone bending over backward to ensure that guests have the perfect stay — right down to the breakfast staff, which puts out a great spread included in each booking.

The location is great for staying close or moving around with the Times Square-42nd Street stop offering access to the 1/2/3, N/Q/R/W, A/C/E, 7 and S lines just around the corner; Bryant Park at the end of the block; and a ton of Broadway theaters within walking distance. Our tip? Ask for a room on the back side of the building — they’re the quietest and have a view of the courtyard. 

Best Brooklyn: Franklin Guesthouse

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Located in Greenpoint — close to the East River — the Franklin Guesthouse is Brooklyn’s best stay. Once a textile factory, its current iteration features a variety of beautifully decorated rooms all imbued with a midcentury vibe. Having the option to book a room with a full kitchen makes this as great for families as it does couples who can book a gorgeously appointed, more intimate room. Whichever layout you choose, rooms are well-furnished, super-spacious and soundproofed. It’s in northern Brooklyn, making it about six blocks to the subway station, which some might find a bit far. However, guests can grab a lift to the station or to the river ferry from the hotel (the shuttle will take guests anywhere within a one-mile radius). Those who choose to mill about the immediate area will find plenty of great restaurants and bars — and that’s not even including Williamsburg, which is an easy stroll from the hotel.

Best with a Pool: Four Seasons New York Downtown

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Conveniently situated in downtown Tribeca, near the E, 2 and 3 subway lines, this outpost of the luxurious Four Seasons chain lives up to every brand expectation. The 75-foot indoor pool is great for leisure and lane swimmers alike, and the beautiful marble paneling around it transforms it into an oasis from the hubbub outside. For further relaxation, the hotel’s spa is top-notch. Up in the rooms, bedding is as high-quality as you’d expect from any Four Seasons, and in-room iPads make ordering room service and booking treatments a snap. Families are catered to here, with real cribs upon request (and diaper pails), as well as toys for kids in the pool area. If you’re done in from a day of travel — particularly after a long international flight — staff will go out of their way to make your arrival as easy as possible. Plus, the hotel’s on-site Wolfgang Puck restaurant, Cut, is a trendy option for a delicious dinner. 

Best Historic: The Beekman

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The Beekman Hotel — located downtown near City Hall and a handful of subway stations — is a historic property that dates back to 1881. But before that, the site the hotel sits on was used for cultural events, like the New York City debut of Hamlet in 1871. Restored by Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects and Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the hotel was reopened to an eager public in September 2016. The iconic Beekman is notable for its turrets — each of which have private rooftop terraces that overlook famous sites like One World Trade Center and the Woolworth building — and recent renovations which have kept intact original architectural aspects like the building’s nine-story atrium with a skylight and Victorian cast-iron railings (keep an eye out for the dragons). Rooms are luxurious to a fault, with Carrara marble-tiled bathrooms and oversized rain showers, plus D.S. & Durga toiletries. There’s also a great 24-hour fitness center on site, and while there’s no spa, the hotel can book treatment providers for in-room services.

Best Downtown: Hotel 50 Bowery NYC

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Combining industrial-chic decor with touches of China, this stylish, boutique-feeling hotel — it even has its own perfume filling the air at reception — is at the junction of some of the city’s most exciting neighborhoods. Located at the Manhattan Bridge, where Chinatown, Little Italy and SoHo all intersect, Hotel 50 Bowery NYC is a great place to get a real feel for the city while being close to lots of attractions, restaurants and bars. Guestrooms are large, with king-size beds, good quality linens and well-appointed bathrooms with powerful walk-in showers. Fair warning: They don’t have coffee makers, but there’s hot coffee readily available in the lobby and a bakery just next door. There’s also The Green Lady, a basement disco that bumps club beats until the early hours, though rest assured — guests sleeping upstairs won’t hear the music. The only downside here is that the (excellent) rooftop bar is often booked for private events, making it inaccessible to guests.