The 11 Best Hotels in Lower Manhattan

Experience New York City like a local at the East Village Hotel, situated on a busy corner of 1st Avenue (above popular coffee shop, The Bean). Young travelers will feel right at home with the somewhat austere and dorm-like furnishings, but seasoned travelers will appreciate the kitchenette and dining areas, a rarity for New York City hotel rooms.

The Bowery Hotel is stylish and grand without necessarily being a “scene.” Located on Bowery between 2nd and 3rd streets, it’s the ideal base for exploring Manhattan’s East Village, Lower East Side, NoHo, and SoHo. Curl up by the fire with a stiff drink in the hotel’s cozy, inviting lobby bar, or brush elbows with celebrities for a low-key brunch at one of the sidewalk tables lined up outside its restaurant, Gemma. The elegantly decorated rooms are well-appointed and yet, quirky; each bed is graced by the presence of a hotel teddy bear, Bo. The Bowery is a welcome respite between shopping and sightseeing in Lower Manhattan.

All 113 Art Deco-inspired rooms at the Walker Hotel are named in honor of the Greenwich Village neighborhood it’s located in, and feature funky retro items like rotary phones and Tivoli radios. Here, you’ll find original artwork by local artists, a New York-themed library featuring early editions by Greenwich Village authors, and in-room amenities from New York’s oldest apothecary, C.O. Bigelow Chemists.

This gorgeous boutique hotel in the heart of Greenwich Village has bohemian roots; its history of housing transient writers and artists since 1900 influenced the redesign of the space in 2013. The rooms are small (and bathrooms even smaller), but luxurious details, such as faux-fur throws and gilded bed frames make it feel like a vintage gem less than a block from Washington Square Park.

The neighborhood was named SoHo because it is South of Houston St; the NoMo in NoMo Hotel stands for “Nostalgic and Modern.” Is there any better way to describe the hipster aesthetic? Rooms are a white-walled oasis of calm and serenity in one of the most tourist-heavy areas of Manhattan. By contrast, the graffitied NoMo Kitchen is a trendy hotspot for brunch.

Technically in Nolita (“North of Little Italy”), this ultra-modern hotel was designed for guests who appreciate form as much as function. Outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows, cement spiral columns, and a sleek soaking tub separate from the bathroom, the guestrooms’ furniture have more mid-century flair. LA-based Eggslut chef, Alvin Cailan, opened his first NYC restaurant, The Usual, in the ground floor of The Nolitan in 2018.

Set on a quaint cobblestone street, the Crosby Street Hotel is as sophisticated as it is stylish. Not for those on a budget (prices start at $800), each guest room is uniquely designed and decorated so that no two are alike. The Fernando Botero sculpture of a giant cat on the sidewalk outside the lobby is not the only piece of art to find here; a sculpture garden in its courtyard can be enjoyed exclusively by guests of the hotel.

Sister hotel to Hollywood’s famous Chateau Marmont, The Mercer specializes in New York glamour and luxury with a price tag to match. Housed in a landmark building, its 75 rooms and suites are impeccably furnished with high quality fabrics and soft lighting, designed to offer guests “an authentic taste of loft living.” The subterranean Mercer Kitchen is so good that even the most jaded New Yorkers admit its worth battling crowds of SoHo tourists for a table.

The Standard High Line has become as well-known as the innovative park its named after, thanks to its cool German beer garden, and cooler rooftop club, Le Bain. Expect to see low-key crowds at the garden, and lines of wannabes outside behind the velvet rope for the club. Rooms overlook the Hudson River and the elevated train tracks of the High Line, which run up through Chelsea. The Standard Grill hosts “Not Your Standard Bingo,” billed as the best Sunday night party in the city.

Located right in the middle of all the hottest nightlife of the Meatpacking District, this is the place to stay in Lower Manhattan if you came to New York to party. The Gansevoort Hotel is a modern and exciting destination, offering guests rock star chic accommodations. Take a dip in the rooftop pool, revitalize your skin at its renowned spa, or jump start your night with few drinks at its American bistro, The Chester.

The High Line Hotel is not to be confused with the Standard High Line; while it is also named after lower Manhattan’s most popular park, that’s where the similarities end. The High Line Hotel is a gorgeous landmark brick building from the 1800s that wraps around its own private park and courtyard. It is truly a unique (and surprisingly affordable) experience to stay here: the hotel shares space with the Episcopal Church’s General Theological Seminary. Guest rooms feature vintage embossers and Western Electric rotary phones from the 1920s, evoking a stylish old-world feel in a super trendy neighborhood of New York.