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The Independent UK

Andrew Griffin

This New York hotel makes a visit to the Big Apple more relaxing than usual

Conrad (Organization) New York

A grand oasis of calm in one of the world’s busiest cities, this hotel offers a kind of corporate splendour: clean decor and understated comfort in the heart of the financial district

Location

Nestled among the glittering churn of the Hudson River and the moneyed, businesslike glamour of the Financial District, the Conrad New York Downtown is a relaxing, calm haven amid busy lower Manhattan. New York's Downtown – and especially the bit of it that is home to the Conrad – is not necessarily the thrilling, busy neighbourhood that its name might suggest. It is quiet, especially on an evening or weekend, and though there is an array of bars and shops nearby, it's not quite as well-served as other parts of the city. It remains primarily a business district, with the kind of facilities that you would expect from one, but it is also 10 minutes or so from many of the most famous parts of the city.

Read more: The best New York hotels

The vibe

The hotel experience is established as soon as you turn off the busy streets, up the hotel’s large stairs and into its huge atrium. Extending above you is a 13-storey lobby that includes a relaxing mural, with enough light to make you feel as if you are both inside and outside at the same time.

This hotel in New York greets you with a 13-storey lobby (Conrad)

This kind of design – slightly corporate but nonetheless calming, perhaps you could call it smart casual – extends everywhere, from the reception to the restaurants to the rooms. The Conrad New York Downtown doesn’t have the kind of cosiness or specific style that some of its more established and more homely competitors might have, but you’re left with a kind of clean purposefulness: whether your aim is to relax or be productive, you’ll achieve it.

Service

Service here is unremarkable in the best possible way. Staff are constantly vigilant about helping you in from the street (and up the substantial staircase to get into the atrium), but are only there when you need them, and never more than that. In keeping with the hotel’s businesslike vibe, check-in and concierge are efficient and productive – as helpful as you need but never too much.

Bed and bath

All of the Conrad New York Downtown’s 463 rooms are suites. And what suites they are: generous, clean, with enough division between the rooms that you truly feel like the space is your own. They are set up to be a home from home, with a full living space with a vast sofa, television and workspace. There is no bath but capacious walk-in shower.

The same vibe that greets you on arriving to the hotel is waiting inside those suites. Decoration is focused on corporate calm: soft woods, light decoration, enough art to be interesting and no more.

Rooms are generously sized – especially for New York (Conrad)

Despite the bustling location, the rooms are whisper quiet; the riverside views mean that you can watch the ferries as they move up and down the river, but you won’t hear them at all. Each of the rooms open out onto that atrium, which means that even in the halls you have space and quiet.

Food and drink

Leonessa has views across the river and Jersey City (Conrad)

The hotel has its own wine bar and restaurant, Atrio, which offers everything from breakfast to dinner. The menu is extensive, and so are the offerings: for breakfast, for instance, you can have everything from the huge “Full American Breakfast” to cereals and an elevated avocado toast.

There is also Leonessa, an Italian-inspired rooftop aperitivo bar with stunning views across the river and of Jersey City beyond. You can get a wide array of cocktails, from spritzes to a special “Dolce Espresso” with vodka and amaretto. It is currently closed for the winter.

Facilities

A pool across from the hotel is available to guests for a small fee (Conrad)

As you might expect from a hotel and a city where most people tend to be interested in going out rather than staying in, the facilities are relatively limited. There’s a fitness centre but for anything properly involved you’ll have to head out and across the road where you can use a pool for a small fee. Most of the other facilities are focused on the hotel’s function as a business hotel, and it is incredibly well set up for that: a host of meeting rooms and a business centre for important calls, for instance.

Accessibility

The hotel has a number of accessible rooms with mobility features with entry or passage doors that provide 32 inches of clear width. Areas including meeting rooms, registration desk, concierge desk and are all accessible. Assistive listening devices for meetings are available upon request. There are visual alarms for hearing impaired in public areas and hallways.