Contributor/ Emily Venugopal
Best Known For
Walking inside the lobby at The Chatwal New York, you genuinely feel as if you’ve slipped back in time. A deliciously Mad Men reception desk reminiscent of an old fashioned radio set like your Grandma owned, with a huge, oversized wall clock ticking away behind it reconfirms this is no average hotel experience.
The Good Stuff
My room was resplendent with crisp bed linens, leather furniture, a mini bar that you actually want to pay for, and note paper and postcards that actually made me want to write to people on. My bathroom was dark and sultry, but in a great way. There is a distinct vintage yet tailored appeal about The Chatwal – everything throughout the hotel from the lights that dangle above the bar (Empire State Building replicas), to the old fashioned telephones in the hotel room corridor and the genteel service elements, hark back to the golden age of travel and the truly Gotham lifestyle of bygone years. A beautiful, intimate lobby bar with possibly the most exciting cocktail list I’ve ever experienced and a mixologist that looked as if he had just stepped out of the movies are just one of the things that makes it such a unique hotel.
The Vibe
When I stayed there, the extremely busy Lambs Club restaurant and bar were always full to brimming, its clearly quite the place to be seen for a power lunch or post work cocktail and possibly the fact that the food is delicious is no coincidence. A small but perfectly formed indoor pool and spa are tucked away in the basement of the hotel and definitely worth taking the elevator down for. The Chatwal feels like a boutique hotel and despite it being on an extremely busy street in the heart of theater-land, my room was extremely calming. The lighting not just in my room but throughout the hotel is just perfect and film-set ready and it’s a really great hotel to make your base in the city. That said, the Chatwal is missing just one thing: Don Draper.
Inside the hotel – 8/10
The feeling that I was living in an episode of Mad Men made me extremely happy. #peggyolsenismyhomegirl
Outside the hotel – 7/10
Times Square, should you wish is a mere bagel-throw away from the hotel’s front doors
Image courtesy of The Chatwal
