Had we been able to show the boldly extravagant, lavish interiors of Hotel Faena New York to any of the masters of late 20th-century minimalism, chances are they would have dismissed them as excessive. But, if there is one thing that trailblazing Argentinian hotelier Alan Faena's Big Apple debut shows, it is that, as postwar optimism and stability give way to the uncertainty of the current age, holiday stays can no longer strive to simply accommodate — they have to transport, surprise, and entertain.
Launched on September 9, Hotel Faena has all the credentials to become one of the best hotels in New York, starting from its strategic location. Standing tall across the first ten floors of the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed, 26-story East Tower at the intersection between the artsy West Chelsea and the glamorous Meatpacking District, the 120-room-and-suite bolthole boasts views of the verdant High Line and the Hudson River while granting guests easy access to some of NYC's coolest attractions, from pioneering galleries David Zwirner, Gagosian, and Hauser & Wirth to beloved culinary institutions like Café Chelsea.
Really, though, it is what comes with a reservation at Faena New York — an emotion-led gastronomic offering by acclaimed chef Francis Mallmann, mural-clad lounges brought to life by original artwork, a dense cultural programme, one of the Big Apple's largest spas, and spectacular Peter Mikic interiors throughout — that makes this recent addition to the hospitality scene an instant standout.
Setting the Stage for a New Chapter of Hospitality and Decor
Faena New York follows the success of the group's inaugural property, the Faena District hotel in Buenos Aires, which opened in 2004 with interiors by STARCK, and revitalized the Puerto Madero docklands by centering what Faena himself named as his greatest passions and grounding pillars: "design, technology, art, architecture, food, dance, music, and meaning."
A hot destination on the style set and the celebrity radar ever since, the Argentinian Faena was later joined by its Miami Beach sibling establishment in 2015, which, the entrepreneur explained, "reimagined Mid Beach as a living canvas that catalyzed a cultural renaissance through the transformative power of the arts."
His first-ever outpost in the City That Never Sleeps exudes the same transformative spirit while making it quintessentially New York through an hypnotic succession of grandly envisioned communal areas, sumptuous panoramic bedrooms, and cinematic bars brought together by one mission: keeping culture "at the heart".
Faena New York — Eccentric Design Goes 'Gatsby'
That Faena New York feels rightly at home in its hosting city doesn't mean that no place on Earth has sculpted its opulent hallways other than the Big Apple itself and its old-school glamour — the opposite.
With all public spaces imagined to impress by London-based Australian designer Peter Mikic, and more pared-back, yet equally indulgent rooms and suites signed by Faena Design Studio, this NYC dream of a hotel is where global creative expression and eccentricity meet Great Gatsby-style flair.
From the moment travelers set foot in the hotel's Cathedral lobby, which provides the stage for Argentine artist Diego Gravinese's surreal, multi-wall-wide creation painting Ascension, what awaits guests during their sojourn is immediately laid out before them.
Pulling Back "the Red-Velvet Curtain" on Inspired Travel
A retro-fueled salon punctuated by leopard banquettes, softly glowing lamps, and luxurious chandeliers, with two Art Deco-infused bars traveling visitors back in time on either side, Faena New York's Living Room is where live entertainment and sensory indulgence are at. Seating up to 134 guests for either daytime leisure or music-led evening cocktails, it has an elegant-chic dress code, evocative silver and gold leaf murals capturing the city's legendary landmarks as vehicles of its myth across the world, a 274-square-meter side terrace, and even chicer decor. That's right, because whether you like it or not, maximalism is back in vogue.
Connecting the Living Room to Faena New York's in-house speakeasy, fittingly named El Secreto, and La Cava, an elevated wine cellar recreating the splendor of its namesake at Buenos Aires's Faena District, is a near-50-meter gallery animated by whimsical works like Keith Haring's Montreaux Jazz Festival. El Secreto itself, meanwhile, shines with a light of its own thanks to Chilean designer and artist Sebastian Errazuriz's deconstructed disco ball — a multifaceted mirrored sculpture that, placed in the heart of the space, feels "dazzling and dizzying, but at the same time, deeply intimate and precious in a way that we miss so much," he recounted.
Possibly the most theatrical of all environments of Faena New York, acclaimed Argentine chef and restaurateur Francis Mallmann's eatery La Boca — named after the high Italian-concentration barrio he calls home and nestled on the ground floor — pairs soulful barbecued feasts celebrating the district's melting pot of cultures with red velvet drapery and seats, Edgardo Giménez's spirited monkey (or panther) murals, textural copper, bronze, and bamboo curtains by Colombian artist Jorge Lizarazo, and bespoke sculptural chandeliers by the late Italian artist Alberto Garutti.
Like many of the most captivating corners of this new NYC icon, La Boca, too, heightens suspense and anticipation, leading guests to its entrance through an almost disorienting or, better, intoxicating tunnel of lights, eye-catching shapes, and reflections.
With the group's cultural non-profit Faena Art behind the curation of a rotating series of installations set to alternate within the premises of the hotel, the 3,500-plus-square-meter Tierra Santa Healing House spa taking the lead as one of the city's largest wellness centers yet, and the Faena Theater scheduled to open early next year to bring "stunning cirque cabarets, Grammy-winning musicians, and red-hot tango shows" to the talked-about address, Faena New York is on a case to "build a strong community that goes beyond our walls," said its founder.
It is a mission that Faena has largely accomplished already, as the hotel's seductive design vision is tempting globetrotters all over the world.
