(The Mercer)

William Schickel gave the offices more ornament than the industrial lofts around them. Artists worked the floors for years, and the building stood empty when it sold in 1988. Christian Liaigre handled the conversion, keeping the proportions even and the colors quiet, and had the furnishings made for this building alone. The hotel opened in 1997.

Rooms start at 250 square feet and hold the loft geometry throughout, hardwood underfoot and marble in the bathrooms. Courtyard rooms open through French doors onto Juliet balconies, and the ones over Mercer Street run to high ceilings and open floor. Up in the loft suites the ceilings reach eleven feet, a few of them carrying exposed brick and a wood-burning fireplace, and the bathroom sets a soaking tub apart from the shower. One opens onto a thousand-square-foot terrace.

What the building does not hold, the desk arranges. There is a private workout room by appointment, complimentary access to a gym two blocks away, and a standing invitation to Zero Bond, the members' club whose founder Scott Sartiano also runs the hotel's restaurant. The minibar costs nothing and the concierge never closes. A newspaper still comes.