citizenM New York Bowery - hotel review

Where is it?

Downtown, in the Bowery – a neighborhood which has seen a lot of development in the last few years. Described as the Shoreditch of Manhattan, in the day you’ll find cute coffee shops, while in the evening you'll find rooftop bars and restaurants hidden down quirky side streets. Soho is just a few minutes’ walk away, where you'll find street markets, great cocktails and all the shops you could imagine.

Style

As you walk into the hotel you’ll notice an electric mix of colour, quirky ornaments, big pieces of wall art and colour coded books in the large living space area on the lower ground floor. I particularly loved the quirky figurines – naughty gnomes, a pretty big red dog ornament in reception and the wall art, which has been commissioned by the New Museum, located just down the road from the hotel.

Facilities

On the lower level they have the living room, a large space where you can work, have a meeting or just people watch. Equipped with a bar and café its staff are friendly and you can pick up sushi or sandwiches if you’re feeling peckish. CloudM is their roof top bar, which has great views of Soho and the Bowery. Sipping on a cocktail while you soak up the views will also make you feel like you've just walked on to the set of Sex and the City.

If you fancy walking down the stairs from the rooftop bar you won’t find normal beige walls staring back at you. citizenM has collaborated with 5 Pointz creates, a well-known street art collective. 20 artists, led by Meres One and curator Marie Cecile Flageul, have graffitied the full 21-story internal to create a Museum of Street Art – a first for any hotel worldwide. And the coolest part about it - the museum won’t just be open to hotel guests, but the general public too.

I loved how quick check in and out was, you pick up a room key, enter your name or booking reference into a computer and it transfers your details on to your key. They've got rid of stuffy check-in desks with rude receptionists and replaced them with super smiley 'ambassadors' who will help you with any tech issues.

Food and drink

Coffee is served in its cafeM, while sandwiches, breakfast and drinks can be found in canteenM 24/7. Its affordable luxury philosophy means they don't have a proper restaurant - based on the idea that the neighbouring restaurants can feed you better. Got to love their honesty.

Which room?

There are 200 rooms, which are all exactly the same. Bright and light, with whitewashed walls. All bedrooms have an XL king sized bed up against a large window. Luckily mine was on the 14th floor and had great views of Manhattan.

They also come equipped with a smart tablet, which controls everything from the room temperature, blinds and TV. I loved the mood settings for the lights, including romantic and party settings. But they could have a few more 'real' light switches, a smart tablet is great until you’re stumbling about looking for it in the pitch black at 4.a.m.

The room also features a rain shower, free bottled water and my favourite part - two free movies a day - but no mini bars, room service or laundry services.

Extra-curricular

When in New York of course you have to see the sights. If you’re looking to see a few of the big ones its worth picking up a city pass from NYC GO which gives you discounted tickets and jump queues. We took advantage of it and went to Rockefeller’s Top of the Rock - on a sunny day you can see so much of the city including Central Park and The Empire State building.

If you’re there in the spring or summer, or don’t mind wrapping up warm, check out rooftop bars like 230 and the Refinery. Also, an ice cream, loaded with an American helping of all the toppings, from places like Wowfuls or Morgensterns will also go down well on the 'gram.

If you want to avoid the tacky American restaurants, then its best to look local - we tried out the Fat Radish, which do British inspired farm-to-table food and some of the best cocktails. While Freemans, a taxidermy haven, served us up some great hearty dishes.

Best for

The savvy traveller, who wants a stylish hotel in order to see the best parts of the city, but doesn't want to blow their budget.

Details

Rooms at citizenM Bowery start at £155pp and can be booked through its website here.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have numerous daily flights to New York from £400.