The Brit’s are not just coming but they have arrived on Crosby Street and in great style! The Crosby Street Hotel is not only worth a check out but a check in. Opened in September 2009, Crosby Street Hotel is part of First Firmdale Hotels, a group that is privately owned by husband and wife team Tim and Kit Kemp and comprises six award winning luxury properties in central London. This formidable couples other Hotels in London include The Soho Hotel, Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel,Haymarket Hotel in London’s West End, Dorset Square Hotel in Marylebone, Knightsbridge Hotel near Harrods and Number Sixteen in South Kensington. So far their New York flagship is The Crosby Street Hotel but soon the group will be coming to Mid-Town.
For the moment at least The Crosby Street Hotel is a must – stay location in Manhattan and for good reason.
SItuated in the heart of SoHo between Prince, Spring and Lafayette Streets, Crosby Street is an all-new construction with 86 individually designed bedrooms.
The Crosby Street Hotel was once a vacant lot occupied by a parking garage.
These days Crosby Street is known as a small hotel with a gigantic reputation for great service.
There is a ground floor bar and restaurant, spacious leafy central garden, sumptuous guest-only drawing room, several stylish private event and meeting rooms, a luxurious 99 seat state of-the-art screening room and a well appointed gym. Guest rooms provide all the facilities expected of a deluxe hotel including a writing desk, flat screen TV, WiFi, DVD/CD player and i-pod docking station. There are spectacular one and two bedroom headline suites located on the upper floors with uninterrupted Manhattan views.
It is also Eco friendly and is one of the most environmentally responsible hotel builds in the United States. It is certified GOLD LEED by the US Green Building Council making it one of the very first hotels in New York to do so. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Firmdale Hotels went to great lengths to ensure that construction methods satisfy the stringent criteria required to achieve such certification.
The Hotel also boasts of spectacular green spaces.
The hotel’s Interior certainly has the wow factor. Designed by Kit Kemp (Design Director) and reflects her individual personal style which is characterised by a fresh, contemporary and sometimes quirky look. There is great emphasis placed upon color and texture and the hotel features an impressive, personally selected art collection.
At Crosby Street Hotel Kit has taken her trademark quirky London style and transferred it across the Atlantic to New York City, while carving out a sophisticated, grown-up look which is strongly reflected in her unique use of color and texture, antique and modern with a collection of original art.
The ground floor blends wood, metal, glass and stone. Wide grey oak floorboards sit alongside soaring metal framed windows and doors which provide abundant natural light. The lobby is dominated by a dramatic 10 foot high Jaume Plensa steel sculpture as a human head created from letters of the alphabet. The hotel’s drawing room is a host of color mostly in deep pink and grey and is characterized by deep patchwork sofas, organic objects in wood and large oil paintings by artist Francois Bard. Wherever you look, Kit Kemp’s eclectic collection of modern art is evident – whether it be an interesting Peter Clark dog collage in the reception or mixed media pieces by Justine Smith and Jack Milroy. The ground floor interior is softened by a tranquil view looking out onto a spacious leafy garden which has a tall organic tree sculpture at its heart and lanterns suspended from above.
Staying over is an experience to remember.
The bedrooms and suites are spacious and light each with high ceilings and large oversized warehouse style metal windows many with spectacular views of the downtown skyline. They are individually designed with a host of varied interior design schemes some with bold color and pattern, and others more tailored and neutral. Each has a tall head board, sleek modern furniture and specially designed lighting. Sumptuous fabrics give way to chic wallpapers, and beautiful antiques site beautifully alongside custom designed pieces throughout.
If all this wasn’t enough Crosby Street Hotel has a spectacular state-of-the-art screening room which has been designed and equipped to the highest professional standards. It’s the ultimate in luxury with 99 comfortable Poltrona Frau leather seats and walls lined in wool. It can be hired seven days a week for a personal or entertainment industry screening or for a corporate presentation or press conference.
Even if you don’t need a New York hotel then it is well woth stopping by Crosby Street to check out the bar.
THE CROSBY BAR stretches from Crosby Street at the front, to Lafayette Street at the back. It is a spacious room with high ceilings, long pewter bar, grey oak floors and tall warehouse-style windows which look out to the trees at the hotel’s entrance and the garden on Lafayette. It has an altogether leafy, breezy feel with lots of light throughout the day. Kit Kemp’s interior design reflects her quirky contemporary style with an interesting interplay of colour and texture. Rich oranges and deep greens sit beautifully with the pewter of the bar and grey of the oak floor.
THE CROSBY BAR serves food and drink throughout the day and will be a great place to meet for breakfast, morning coffee, a casual lunch or dinner, afternoon tea or evening cocktails. There will not be a distinction between bar and restaurant – guests can eat or drink wherever they wish. The menu has been prepared by the hotel’s head chef Anthony Paris. The bar opens onto a garden with shady trees and ivy covered walls with tables and chairs where food and drink are served.
The experienced bar staff mix any of the cocktail classics or create bespoke drinks to suit personal tastes. The cocktail menu is split into classics and signature cocktails. The classics are a mixture of well known drinks such as the Moscow Mule and Sazerac, with more adventurous cocktails falling under the signature cocktails. The cocktails are “Classically inspired and seasonally driven”. All drinks are inspired by the classics and they only use flavors and ingredients that are in season. If it’s not in the farmers market then it will not be behind the bar. During the fall there are flavors such as apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and chocolate. The bar is also showcasing the best of spirits using them intelligently: a good balance of citrus versus spirituous cocktails.
A personally selected array of some of the finest wines from around the world, (most offered by the glass) and a superb choice of champagnes are available.
THE CROSBY BAR is open 7 days a week from 7am for breakfast. Whether you visit for a sip or a sleep this place really does requirer a check out and a check in!
