The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel

Sylvan Bien and Harry M. Prince designed the Art Deco tower that opened on East 76th Street in November 1930, its interiors by Dorothy Draper, and Rosewood has run it since 2001. Privately owned apartments occupy part of the building alongside the guest floors. Not everyone here is a guest.

William Paley of tonychi studio redrew 155 rooms and suites in black lacquered panelling and that illustrated wallpaper, both drawn from Ludwig Bemelmans and Marcel Vertes. The Carlyle Suites take the corner over Madison Avenue and 76th Street, hardwood underfoot, with a large dressing area and Art Deco touches kept modern. The rest stayed in other hands, Thierry Despont and Dan Fink among them.

Despont's Empire Suite runs as a duplex over the 28th and 29th floors, floor-to-ceiling windows on the park, while the Presidential Suite takes the 26th whole, reached through a private elevator landing worked in gold leaf and hand-etched Art Deco murals, a piano standing in its gallery entrance. The signature suites come with a Suite Ambassador.

A Valmont spa and the Yves Durif salon work out of the building, and downstairs the Gallery serves afternoon tea in a jewel box Renzo Mongiardino drew from Topkapi Palace. Ludwig Bemelmans painted the murals in the bar that carries his name, and both rooms are still working. Ninety-odd years in.