The Mark Hotel, New York: Upper East Side Excellence
The Mark sits on 77th Street, half a block from the Metropolitan Museum. It has been expertly repositioned as New York's most stylish residential-feeling hotel — which is quite a specific achievement in a city of extraordinary hotels.
The Design
The hotel was designed and redesigned by Jacques Grange, who brought the same editorial sensibility to a hotel as he brings to private clients (he has done apartments for Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Jacqueline Onassis). The aesthetic is essentially the world's most elevated Upper East Side apartment: strong graphic black-and-white floors, jewel-coloured upholstery, serious art throughout.
The Location
77th and Madison — the heart of the Upper East Side and its museum mile. The Met is a two-minute walk. The Neue Galerie is three minutes. The Whitney is fifteen minutes downtown. Central Park is a five-minute walk across Fifth Avenue. It is one of the finest cultural positions in New York.
The Room
We stayed in a Studio Suite, which is approximately the size of a respectable one-bedroom Manhattan apartment — 700 square feet, with a separate sitting area, a kitchen stocked with Ladurée macarons, and a bathroom with a Waterworks soaking tub. The Frette linens are exceptional.
Jean-Georges Restaurant
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant occupies the hotel's ground floor and is an institution. The cooking operates at a very high level — the crispy black bass, the egg caviar — and the room, with its dramatic Grange-designed interior, is one of the finest in the city.
The Bar
The Mark Bar is a Manhattanite institution for Upper East Side lunches and cocktails, and it functions beautifully as a hotel bar too. The Martini selection is serious, the clientele is interesting, and the room has the comfortable confidence of somewhere that has been good for a long time.
The Limousine
The hotel operates a fleet of Mark limousines — black S-Class Mercedes — available to guests. The proximity to the park makes an early morning drive through Central Park before the city wakes entirely feasible.
Verdict
The Mark positions itself as an alternative to the more corporate luxury of the Park Avenue properties, and it is right to do so. It has genuine personality, remarkable design, and an art-world adjacency that feels authentic rather than aspirational.
Best for: Art lovers, design-conscious travellers, anyone spending significant time at the Met Room rate: From £600 per night Tip: Book the Jean-Georges tasting menu for at least one evening — it remains one of New York's best meals.
You might also like
Reviews
Le Sirenuse, Positano: The Jewel of the Amalfi Coast
Perched above the cerulean waters of Positano, Le Sirenuse delivers a masterclass in Italian luxury. A stay here is not merely accommodation — it is the Amalfi Coast distilled into its purest form.
Sir Adam Hotel, Amsterdam: Rock and Roll Comes to the IJ
Housed in the former Shell headquarters on the north bank of the IJ, Sir Adam is the coolest hotel in Amsterdam — a music-obsessed, design-forward property that makes you want to stay indoors as much as explore the city.
COMO Uma Ubud: Jungle Serenity Done Right
Carved into a jungle ravine above the Tjujung River, COMO Uma Ubud offers the kind of stillness that is increasingly rare in a Bali that has become almost impossibly popular. This is the Ubud that people come looking for.
Videos
Dubai's Architecture: From Creek to Cloud
Dubai has built the most extraordinary skyline on earth in under 50 years. We tour the architecture — from the traditional wind towers of Al Fahidi to the impossible ambition of the Burj Khalifa.
The Gaudí Tour: Barcelona's Living Architecture
Seven buildings, one extraordinary mind. We visit every Gaudí site in Barcelona — from the Sagrada Família to the Casa Milà to the playful tile work of Park Güell — and try to understand what he was doing.
The Uffizi in 90 Minutes: The Essential Masterworks
The Uffizi contains more Renaissance masterpieces than anywhere on earth, and most visitors see less than 10% of them. We plot the essential 90-minute route and explain what you are actually looking at.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.