Why This Luxury Boutique Hotel Should Be Your Go-To NYC Spot

The Soho Grand is the Grand Dame of New York City’s boutique hotel business – and she’s still as fabulous as ever

The Soho Grand is something of a New York institution. It was there, right at the start of the boutique hotel boom in downtown NYC and it set the bar (high) for all that came after. Twenty-six years after its launch in 1996 and with competition high in the area, it retains its position as one of the best hotels this extraordinary city can offer.

The hotel is situated in a grand red brick building, on a buzzy section of West Broadway, surrounded by hip restaurants, bars and some of the best fashion stores that New York can offer; Gucci, Celine and Acne et al, are all in walking distance. It’s also perfectly located by six different subway stations so you can easily nip off and avoid the city’s near-constant traffic.

The rooms are quietly luxurious and extremely comfortable with all the customary items you would expect to find in a modern hotel room (silky-soft Egyptian cotton bedding, gourmet mini bars and Frette bathrobes) but also many delightful things you would not: custom-designed wallpaper (by Saul Steinberg of The New Yorker) Tivoli radios! Oh, and speaking of pets, the hotel is happy to accommodate your beloved pooch too. The hotel is a haven for the dog lover and they are treated nearly as well as the two-legged guests, right down to their own designated dog park.

The standard bedrooms are a good size (for Manhattan) but if you can stretch to the penthouse loft suites, then you are in for a real treat as they are huge by New York standards with all the amenities you would expect, plus vast terraces overlooking the city that are the size of most local apartments.

What can you do while you are staying at the hotel? Well, there is a small but modern and functional gym where you can work up enough sweat to indulge yourself in one of the hotel’s restaurants and bars. We are particularly fond of its latest addition, the Soho Diner restaurant where the design harks back to the golden days of the genre and serves all-American classics like fluffy pancakes, huge milkshakes, towering burgers and, of course, fries.

But if you are in New York to party, look no further than the hotel’s Grand Bar and Club room, both of which are great for cocktails and also home an extensive selection of unusual whiskies. These spaces also play host to fun parties most weekends with live music and excellent DJs.

So why check into the Grand when there is such huge choice of hotels in NYC? For us, what is memorable after a stay here is the incredible customer service. Nothing is a problem and everything is possible. From the (very) welcome glass of champagne when you arrive, right down to the above and beyond kindness of the doormen; you are made to feel like – at least – a million dollars from the moment you arrive to the sad second you leave.

For more details visit www.sohogrand.com

Photography: Zach Miles at Unsplash, Images Supplied

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s February 2023 Issue