New York City is full of hotels catering to all tastes and needs, but I am sure both properties of the British Firmdale Hotels, Crosby Street Hotel and The Whitby Hotel stand out from the competition. Why is that? The answer is: luxury boutique hotel meets design and art. Whereas the former hotel has been in business since 2009, the latter was only opened in 2017. After four stays at the Crosby Street Hotel my husband and I decided to give the second property a try. And so much can be said, we were thrilled with the experience at The Whitby Hotel! But this is not really surprising in light of our four consecutive stays at its sister hotel, which were all equally satisfying.

The British boutique hotel chain Firmdale was founded in 1985 by the husband and wife team Tim and Kit Kemp. While Tim Kemp works on property deals, Kit Kemp designs the buildings’ interior, and this very successfully. She is an award-winning interior designer and known for her contemporary yet witty style.

With the opening of the The Whitby Hotel the couple took their collection of hotels in London and New York City to ten. They want their hotels to be inviting and warm, not stuffy and aloof. The husband and wife team differs from other hoteliers as they like to own the buildings and do everything themselves. They even run the hotels on their own, staff is instructed in their own training school in London.

The Crosby Street Hotel is located in the heart of SoHo. This popular neighborhood is known for its galleries, quaint shops and hip restaurants. The hotel was constructed on the site of a former parking lot and is on one level with the historic cast-iron buildings in the area.

Firmdale Hotels’ first property in NYC is a perfect fit when it comes to the neighborhood’s industrial character. This shows in its minimalist exterior of brick, stone and glass with floor-to-ceiling warehouse windows. You find here 86 rooms over 11 floors.

The second property of the British hotel group, The Whitby Hotel, is situated on West 56^th Street at 5^th Avenue in the core of the business district of Midtown. Here you are steps away from the Museum of Modern Art, the Central Park and the 5^th Avenue shopping. Its building is kept in limestone in line with the surrounding area it is kept. And again it has floor-to-ceiling steel-framed windows, boasting 86 rooms set over 16 floors.

Interior/Design

Facilities

The Midtown property, The Whitby Hotel, has not only a restaurant (The Whitby Bar) but also an area which is only open to hotel guests. The latter is called The Drawing Room. Here you can have a drink from the honesty bar or take an afternoon tea.

When the building was constructed, they dug deep into the ground so two expansive floors of basement space resulted. These two stories accommodate a 130-seat screening room, three private rooms for events and meetings including the gorgeous book-lined Reading Room.

Furthermore, there is a generously sized gym.

The Soho property, Crosby Street Hotel, is not that different from its sibling. Actually, it is almost identical – at least as to the layout, though not regarding the style. Onsite is a restaurant (Crosby Bar), The Drawing Room and again the basement facilities. These include a 99-seat screening theater, three private rooms for events/meetings and a – somewhat smallish – gym.

Rooms

All the 86 rooms at The Whitby Hotel are individually designed featuring Kit Kemp’s unique mix of color, pattern, texture and art. Even the standard rooms are sizable (31 – 33 sqm). Compared with the usually tiny NYC accommodations, it is not too far-fetched to call them spacious! They boast comfortable beds, elegant armchairs and the signature mannequin on a stand.

 My husband and I opted for a Deluxe Room as they are situated on the upper floors (we were on the 11^th floor).

Bathrooms are finished in granite, some in marble. They have twin pedestal sinks with period faucets and fittings as well as walk-in showers.

Quite a number of rooms at The Whitby Hotel even have private terraces, a rarity in NYC. An accommodation that stands out is the Whitby Suite occupying the entire top floor complete with two king size bedrooms, a large living room, two spacious terraces and oversized white marble bathrooms. Here a film to illustrate the spectacular space:


Kit Kemp: The Whitby Suite from Firmdale Hotels on Vimeo.

When it comes to the rooms in the sister hotel Crosby Street Hotel, there are strong similarities. They are almost alike as to the size and to the furnishings. 

There are two things I liked here better than at The Whitby Hotel. This is about the seat cushions on the window sill and the great view of lower Manhattan on higher floors.

In case you value having two sinks in the bathroom, make sure to ask for a room with these amenities. There is a small number of guest rooms that do not have them, due to an elevator shaft or similar.

Worth a special mention is The Meadow Suite, which has its own private garden terrace featuring American native plants. What a great thing in the midst of NYC!

Food & Drink

The Whitby Bar serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. You find here hotel guests of course yet the restaurant also draws considerable crowds from nearby business and shopping sites. Especially at cocktail hour the place is buzzing. Then outside people drop by to have a seat at the long pewter bar

or at one of the tables with armchairs, sofas and banquettes.

Also the light-filled Orangery with its rather formal restaurant atmosphere is an option for dining-out.

There are so many details here that attract attention, be it the installation of baskets over the bar

or the lovely courtyard adjacent to the Orangery.

We had breakfast at the Whitby Bar every day of our long stay and enjoyed every minute here. This was not only because of the beautiful interiors but the food proved to be good too. Breakfast includes a well-arranged self-service continental selection and an a la carte menu with a wide choice of savory and sweet dishes.

It shows that Kit Kemp – the owner and interior designer of the place – does love breakfast! Everything is served on fine bone china from her Mythical Creatures Wedgwood collection. It is adorned with whimsical characters, hand-painted and gold detailed, nice! 

As to the Crosby Bar at the Crosby Street Hotel, only a few words to its particularities. The room is airy with quite a lot of natural light coming from an additional rear exit and a sizable courtyard. In addition, there is also an outdoor seating.

Service/Price

Comparison/Overall

While the Crosby Street Hotel in the SoHo area is a hugely popular hotel in NYC – it ranks in the top ten at TripAdvisor as to NYC hotels, rated “Excellent”, for many years –, The Whitby Hotel in upper Midtown is still in the development phase. Nonetheless, it is already among the top fifty at TripAdvisor, also with the same rating as its sibling.

If the question arises which one to choose for your NYC stay, I would answer it as follows. My husband and I come to NYC for leisure only. And for this purpose we consider the SoHo area as ideal. This neighborhood and its adjoining ones are packed with some of the city’s trendiest bars, restaurants and shops. In contrast to it, the eastern side of Midtown is a business area yet also home to some of the city’s best shopping. It is up to you to decide what is more important for you.

When it comes to the aesthetic point of view (hotel as an overall work of art), I myself prefer The Whitby Hotel. In my eyes, it is the Crosby Street Hotel in perfection. It comes without the one or other deficiency of its older sibling. And in addition, it is the non-plus ultra in modern design meeting contemporary art. You never get tired of marveling at all these beautiful things around you: gorgeous pieces embracing colors, pattern and textures. When looking around you sometimes might feel that they cannot work together. But in fact, they always do. Plus, there are fun things as the grandfather clock by Maarten Baas in the lobby where the grandfather is inside the clock and changes the time every minute.

Or there are wonderful collections as the one of meat platters in the Orangery!

As Kit Kemps says, “it is all in the detail”, and she likes her hotels to be places that “make you want to return time and again”.

Date of last stay: August 2018

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