Crosby Street Hotel

From the London group Firmdale Hotels, spearheaded by owner and creative director Kit Kemp, the Crosby Street Hotel offers a playful escape in the heart of SoHo. Firmdale built the 11-story building from the ground up with sustainability at the forefront—and it is certified Gold LEED. Each of the 86 rooms and suites are different in décor and color scheme, giving the accommodations a personal, handcrafted feel. Antiques, patterned fabrics, bespoke wallpaper, multi-hued silk drapes and custom light fixtures abound, as does original art. Even regular rooms feel spacious thanks to high ceilings and warehouse-style windows. (The hotel’s upper floors have marvelous views across lower Manhattan.) The Crosby Bar, which stretches from Crosby to Lafayette Streets, serves everything from breakfast and weekend brunch to afternoon tea and dinner to a plugged-in crowd. Other amenities include a sculpture garden, restaurant, terrace and drawing room, a cutting-edge screening room and a gym.

**The Standout: **The one-bedroom Meadow Suite, with its very own private garden

**Don't Miss: **A cocktail at the lofty Crosby Bar, which is one of the city's hot spots

• The location on a quieter street in the heart of SoHo (between Prince, Spring and Lafayette)
• The abundance of cheerful prints and natural light in every room (and the Crosby Bar)
• The must-have breakfast spread and afternoon tea service

The Crosby Street Hotel is the New York addition to London-based Firmdale hotel company, which includes the Haymarket and The Knightsbridge. The very-British company’s first foray into the U.S., the Crosby sits on a relatively quiet side street in Soho, occupying a modern eleven-story building, which Firmdale built from the ground up. Interiors are classic Kemp: a contemporary mélange of fabrics, textures and eye-catching hues that are combined with an expert eye. The best part about Kemp’s vision is that it’s decidedly about the fantasy of staying in a beautifully conceptualized hotel that has absolutely nothing to do with your own home: lime green fauteuils, wildly patterned, bespoke wallpaper and multi-hued silk drapes.

Each of the 86 rooms is different in décor and color scheme, giving the accommodations a personal, handcrafted feel. Hand-chosen antiques and custom-designed light fixtures abound, as well as original art and a life-size dress mannequin in the corner—a Firmdale signature. Even the smaller-category rooms feel spacious thanks to the building’s high ceilings and amazingly huge warehouse-style windows. Guests on one of the upper floors have marvelous city views spanning the East Side and down to the Brooklyn Bridge on one side and across Soho and uptown on the other.

Outdoor spaces include a garden on a lower rooftop allowing guests to look onto something green, and the lofty bar area that spills into a courtyard facing Lafayette Street is one of the city’s hot spots for al fresco cocktails and meals throughout the day. Don’t let the name fool you, this is a fully-fledged—and delicious—restaurant. For guests who want to be based downtown in midst of Soho bustle—Balthazar is around the corner—the Crosby Street Hotel is a stylish option.

Guests seeking a sophisticated downtown location and those who appreciate cozy, quirky, colorful décor.