It’s funny how some places just feel like home.
My wife and I stayed at the Conrad New York Downtown six or seven years ago and loved it. So, when the nice folks from Hilton provided me with a gift certificate for a Hilton property, I naturally opted for another stay at the Conrad.
It has become my fave place to stay in Manhattan. I love Central Park and enjoy Midtown. I really like the area around Union Square. But I’m a California native who loves the water, so I tend to gravitate to places on a river or lake, or the ocean. To me, the Conrad is one of the best hotels in New York City.
The Conrad is just a block from the Hudson River, where there are benches and parks that allow you to enjoy the passing boats and the ever-growing New Jersey skyline. You can walk along the river to Battery Park and enjoy acres of open space, along with great views of the Statue of Liberty. You can walk across lower Manhattan and see Wall Street and glorious, old architecture and be on the East River in 20 minutes, with spectacular views of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge.
I hadn’t been before, so when we recently visited we strolled across lower Manhattan checked out the gorgeous Tin Building food hall from Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It’s absolutely tremendous, and so easy on the eyes.
The lobby at the Conrad Downtown New York City. Photo Courtesy Hilton Hotels
The hotel is just a short walk from the subway and steps from the One World Observatory, The World Trade Center site, and Brookfield Place, home to outstanding food and shopping under a glass dome filled with palm trees.
And then there’s the hotel itself, which greets me like a long lost friend with its airy atrium and the brilliant, massive Loopy Doopy painting on the wall by Sol LeWitt. Equally impressive is the Veil, a sinuous overhead sculpture by Monica Ponce de Leon Studio that drops almost all the way to the lobby with wonderful angles and curves and corners. I think it’s one of the best hotel lobbies in the city, and it always makes me smile.
There are stunning design elements all around the building, which prompted Forbes to call it “quite possibly the most art-forward, art-centric hotel in the city.”
BEAUTIFUL DESIGN…AND TONS OF SPACE
I love staying at Embassy Suites hotels because of the space. The Conrad started as an Embassy Suites, so you still get a massive room (the smallest is 400 square feet; bigger than many big-city condos). The living room has a great sofa and a huge desk with a flat-screen TV, plus a sliding door so you can close it off when you go to bed. (It would be ideal for a small family.)
Our third-floor room had nice, blonde wood tones, a marble bathroom with a nice tub (only available in a few rooms) and a large shower. There was just a single sink, but there was plenty of space for toiletries and makeup and such.
The Conrad Downtown New York City hotel. Photo courtesy Hilton Hotels.
We also had a Nespresso coffee maker, a mini-bar and lots of closet and dresser space, which you expect from a former Embassy Suites building. I left my iPhone charging cord on the desk when we went out for dinner, and when I came back the room cleaners had wrapped it up in a nice blue rubber ring with Conrad Hotel written on it.
We were in town during New York City’s Restaurant Week and sampled from the Conrad’s Restaurant Week menu at their bright lobby restaurant, called Atrio.
The calamari started was perfect and came with a nice tomato sauce for dipping. The glazed salmon with lentils and pickled cabbage was divine, and I had a marvelous gemelli pasta with rich, sweet short rib. The pear tart with raspberry sauce made for a great dessert, and espresso crème brulee was a nice twist on a classic bistro dish.
We also enjoyed some Long Island Onabay sparkling wine with our meal.
The regular menu offers everything from pink peppercorn seared tuna and wood-fired pizza. There’s an open kitchen, so you watch the magic unfold.
The Atrio bar is sleek and stylish and serves up tremendous cocktails. We enjoyed a perfect old-fashioned and a lovely, smoky Manhattan.
A truly exceptional New York City hotel.
