The Lowell Hotel

Seventeen stories went up on East 63rd between Madison and Park in 1927, on a block that still reads as residential, and the hotel has stayed family owned and outside any chain ever since. A wall of cubbies for keys and messages sits behind the marble front desk, and the rooms off the lobby are furnished like drawing rooms, low sofas and soft light. Forty-seven of the 74 rooms are suites, a good many with full granite kitchens and some with terraces.

Michael S. Smith, who redecorated the White House residence for the Obamas, finished a pass on seven rooms and suites in April 2026, a year out from the centennial. White oak went down, bathrooms were widened around deep soaking tubs in Calacatta Monet marble, cove lighting was threaded into pre-war beamed ceilings that kept their crown and shadow box molding, and the fireplaces took new marble mantelpieces from Jamb in London. Shelves of design books flank them, chosen by the hotel's own designer, Julio E. Jiménez. Televisions hide behind mirrors, and the shades are motorized.

Corner plans run to the thousand-square-foot Lowell Suite, two living areas and a granite kitchen behind wood-paneled cabinets, with a dining table for eight. The fitness center is open to guests only. Room service never shuts.