Located at the heart of thriving Manhattan, The Langham New York Fifth Ave continues to capture the essence of this incredible city to perfection.
There’s little doubt that spring is the best time to visit New York. Perfectly positioned between the balmy days of summer and the beautiful but frosty months of winter, spring is a time to walk the city streets, to hop between its speakeasy bars and eclectic markets, and to take to the waters of its twin rivers. However, anyone that’s been to New York knows how deceptively vast the Big Apple is, and how important it is to find the right base from which to explore the city that never sleeps.
That address should be The Langham New York Fifth Ave, a hotel I’ve visited and fallen in love with in the past. Located steps from the Empire State Building and a short walk from the New York Public Library, Bryant Park and the theatres of Midtown, The Langham really is situated in the heart of Manhattan, making it ideal for exploration on foot. Situated on Fifth Ave, one of the city’s most stylish boulevards, from The Langham Chelsea and the Hudson Yards are easily accessible, as is the garment district, while Central Park is only 20 stylish blocks north.
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What will grab you the moment you walk into The Langham is how serene and tactile everything is. There is art and texture and consideration in every aspect of the hotel, from the iconic sweeping staircase of the lobby (itself a buffer of seclusion between the intoxicating bedlam of the city and the tranquillity of your room), which wreaths a breathtaking sculpture called Falling White, to captivating portraits by Alex Katz, part of an extensive collection valued at US$2 million that can be explored in The Galley, an exhibition and events space on the third floor.
The elegant integration of art, texture, and tangibility extends to the hotel’s 234 cream and coffee-toned guest rooms and suites. My Junior Suite is the very picture of muted refinement; spacious and intuitively presented, there’s a sizable living space, an expansive desk, a king-sized Swedish Duxiana bed draped in Pratesi linens, an Italian-designed walk-in closet with a beauty table and glass-fronted drawers. There is also a cavernous bathroom dressed in honey-hinted marble, with a rain shower, double vanities, and a deep soak tub that’s heavenly after a day spent walking the West Village or Tribeca.
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As Manhattan slips into spring, travellers should opt for one of the hotel’s newly redesigned Terrace Rooms and Suites, located on the 5th and 11th floors. Designed and landscaped by New York firm Blondie’s Treehouse Inc., each terrace can be used as a private add-on to its assigned guest room or joined together to create a larger communal terrace for small groups staying together.
Elegantly furnished with a couch, two armchairs, and two wicker ottomans in teal, each terrace is an idyllic urban garden from which to soak up the ambience of Midtown. It’s also the perfect space for the newly introduced Celebrations Champagne Cart, which sees chilled Laurent Perrier La Cuvée Rosé Champagne NV, seasonal flowers and a specially-curated variety of sweet and savoury treats delivered to guest rooms.
Of course, if you’re looking to indulge in one of the city’s most coveted guest spaces, the hotel’s two Empire State Penthouse Suites, designed by acclaimed French interior design retailer Roche Bobois, won’t disappoint. With interiors inspired by the music and fashion cultures of New York, each of these sumptuous suites boasts architecturally inspired tables and chairs, and plush fabrics by designers Maison Lacroix and Paul Smith, all offset by pieces from the hotel’s art collection. Sequestered in one of these chic New York apartment-style suites, suite guests can even summon a private chef and host an elegant dinner party, thanks to a fully equipped kitchen and eight-seat dining table.
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New York can be an onslaught for the senses, so be sure to leave time in your itinerary for a visit to Chuan Body & Soul, the hotel’s signature spa, where traditional Chinese medicine is incorporated into a range of seductive treatments and rituals founded on the five elements. In addition to a curated range of essential oils, massage oils and teas, the spa uses products by Kerstin Florian in treatments like the Urban Detox, an 80-minute refining and detoxifying journey that uses warm bamboo tools to release deep muscle tension and a multivitamin firming cream to condition the skin.
The Langham New York Fifth Ave has always been a culinary destination and that spirit continues at chef Michael White’s Ai Fiori, home to modern Michelin-starred Mediterranean cuisine – think Nova Scotia lobster terrine with black truffle and prosciutto; Ligurian crustacean ragu with seppia, scallops, and spiced mollica; and butter-poached Atlantic halibut paired with apple, butternut squash, and pecans.
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Adjacent to the main dining room is Bar Fiori, a personal favourite and home to one of the city’s best Manhattans (Maker’s Mark Private Select, Chateau Leberon Vin Mute, Mancino vermouth, and Grand Marnier) as well as chef White’s award-winning White Label Burger. The bar has the clicky, welcoming vibe of a space that effortlessly transitions from power lunches to power cocktails and elegant dinner dining. Be sure to ask which obscure region of Europe is being explored by the sommelier, you’re guaranteed to come across drops you’ve never encountered before.
Despite the appeal of its elegant guest spaces, inspiring restaurant and a location that has you feeling every bit a New Yorker, it’s intelligent service that binds the Langham experience, from the cheerful doormen and front desk staff, who know your name the moment you step in the lobby, to the bartenders and waiters who pass on secret night spot recommendations. The sum of its parts ensures The Langham New York Fifth Ave remains my first stop every time I return to the city.
Langham New York Fifth Ave, 400 Fifth Avenue, New York; +1 212 695 4005
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