The Lowell, New York - hotel review

A landmark luxury hotel located in the heart of Manhattan, which is just as dreamy as can be imagined with its exquisite cuisine and top class accommodation - the perfect location for shopaholics and nature lovers alike.

Where is it

On the exclusive Upper East Side; between Madison and Park Avenues and a short stroll away from Central Park.

Style

Established as a luxury hotel in 1927, the privately owned Lowell continues to define New York elegance in a totally timeless, luxurious manner. White orchids, white lilies and white roses abound, not only in the public areas, but in your bathroom and bedroom too – white roses even come in a tiny square vase on your breakfast tray; interesting art decorates the walls, wood-burning log fires create warmth in the library bar and in the suites.

New additions to the hotel are the library lounge, the Bar Jacques and the restaurant Majorelle. For this major renovation, co-owner and Design Director, Dina De Luca Chartouni brought on board restaurateur Charles Masson, architect Mark Pinney (Harrods, Armani, Burberry and Apple) and designer Michael S. Smith who previously consulted on The White House interiors for the Obamas.

Facilities

This is a home-from-home kind of place, with facilities aimed to ease your life from unpacking and daily newspapers to personal trainers on request, to in-room beauty treatments or dog walking. An in-room dining pet menu takes the biscuit with its Dog Heaven lamb ragout to its sides of sardines (every Labrador’s wish) rice, potatoes or peas. There is a Fitness Centre where a health menu is available. In your suite there is a fire place menu where you can select the desired aroma of your logs from calming to energising.

Food & Drink

Newly opened is The Majorelle, a concept by legendary restaurateur Charles Masson, inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic gardens in Marrakech and named after its creator, Jacques Marjorelle. Brimming with blue and yellow flowers, fruit trees, palm fronds and illuminated fountains, the décor comes courtesy of designer Michael S. Smith and provides all year round outside spaces. The menu, created by consultant chef Christian Delouvrier, alongside Chef Mario Fortuna and Chef Giovanni Beneduci, is seasonally-driven and delivers French classics with a Mediterranean twist. Try the lentils with poached egg and frisée, the snapper with preserved lemons and fennel or the grilled shrimps on rosemary skewers with saffron rice; but leave room for the dark chocolate ‘Marquise’. Afternoon Tea and Breakfast (excellent avocado and poached eggs) are served in the charmingly old-fashioned Pembroke Room, whilst the just-opened Jacques Bar, complete with leather panelled walls, an antique mirrored ceiling and marble bar is the go-to place for cocktails and Moroccan and Mediterranean bites.

Extra-curricular

Right in the heart of New York, the world lies on your doorstep. Designer shops line nearby Fifth Avenue; Central Park is within easy reach for a morning run and for culture don’t miss the Neue Galerie. This gem of a museum at 1048 5^th Avenue, is perfectly sized to do in a morning, and houses German and Austrian late 19^th and early 20^th century art. Highlights include works by Gustav Klimt such as his mesmerising portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, known as ‘the woman in gold’ as well as art by Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele. The Viennese Café, Café Sabarsky on the ground floor makes a good stop for an apple strudel and a hot chocolate.

Dip into the newly arrived Sugarfina shop on your walk home at 1100 Madison Avenue; described by the owners as ‘a candy boutique for grown-ups’, it even sells Dom Perignon champagne gummy bears. For a local lunch, pop round the corner from the Lowell to the new, buzzy, upscale Avra Estiatorio. The menu draws on flavours from all over the Mediterranean, particularly Greece and offers fresh fish by the pound, fried calamari, a deliciously zingy tuna tartare with soy ginger dressing, avocado and crispy shallots and a particularly melt-in-the-mouth lobster ravioli.

Which room

The 47 luxuriously spacious suites and 27 bedrooms are all different with a homelu feel provided by the flowers, books and modern art far removed from the normal corporate décor. Many have wood-burning fireplaces, some have balconies and there are both one bedroom and two bedroom suites, both of which have kitchens. Floors are wooden with silk rugs, the beds are clad in Frette 300 thread-count bio linens and the bathrooms are an essay in white marble. There is a television screen inset in the wall, and there is both a bath tub and separate shower. Wonderfully fragrant amenities, DDC 28, are the creation of the co-owner Dina De Luca Chartouni.

Best for

This has long been where celebrities go when they want to remain off the radar. It is famously discreet and perfectly positioned.

When to go

Before Christmas is an obvious time for the shopping but New York, like Paris, is always a good idea.

Doubles from $960 per night. lowellhotel.com