NOMO SOHO

The NOMO SOHO is a boutique hotel in Soho that draws a sexy celebrity and European clientele.

• The effervescent green tea–lemongrass scent wafting through the property
• The private dining room hidden behind a pivoting bookshelf
• Designer Benjamin Noriega Ortiz’ “Parisian-fairytale” motif

City-grit meets Parisian glamour at the NOMO SOHO, set back from Crosby Street and just steps from downtown Manhattan’s best shopping. Guests enter below an ivy-covered trellis (candles light the path after dark), framed by NOMO Kitchen in a chic greenhouse-like atrium. Check-in is on the second floor, but the lobby is so detailed—an oversize Marylin Minter photograph hints at the sexy celebrity clientele that frequent the boutique hotel—guests are likely to spend hours bewitched by the décor before heading upstairs.

The idyllic Beauty and the Beast theme lingers throughout the hotel with inspired, thoughtful accents like white claw-footed coffee tables and silver rose decals swirling on walls. The rear of the hotel opens to Lafayette Street and the not-too-distant Chinatown, which is subtly incorporated into the design: white oriental stools blend seamlessly into the lobby's décor, but allude to the location’s diversity. Also on the Lafayette side is a separate entrance to the discreet Mr. H nightclub, which goes entirely unnoticed by most hotel guests, and has a Shanghai-inspired design with bright red walls and rabbit murals (a nod to the Year of the Rabbit, 2011, when the hotel was constructed.)

The 270 rooms are decked out in a French blue-and-white color scheme, with chrome bedside tables and traditional scalloped mirrors. The boutique side of the hotel comes into play here: the rooms are very small. None have bathtubs and many have minimal bathroom space, but floor-to-ceiling windows in all rooms help open up the space. Unobstructed views begin at the eighth floor, and the best are to be had in the Deluxe rooms, which have a window in lieu of a headboard (the uptown-facing rooms perfectly frame the distant Empire State Building.)

The gym is small and dark, but guests can easily get Equinox gym passes and book personal training sessions. The spa facilities at Equinox are also available to hotel guests, and bicycles to explore the neighborhood are available on a first-come first-serve basis.

Young couples or girlfriends looking for an airy design, who don’t mind rooms on the smaller side and few pampering amenities (no onsite spa, turndown service must be requested).