What’s Haute: New York Clubs, Hotels, Retail and more

In celebration of our special two-year anniversary issue, we thought it only appropriate to bring you our latest picks of Manhattan’s most exclusive and innovative locales, frequented-or in some cases owned-by many who made the cut for our premiere Haute 100 listing.

By Mary Mullaj

CLUBS
1OAK

[highlight_text] The club scene has grown up in a good way at this establishment, but hasn’t lost its playful touch. [/highlight_text]

From Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano comes this exclusive lounge/club in West Chelsea. Beyond the unassuming teak doors the décor takes an extraordinary turn with light fixtures crafted of bicycle parts and fragments of the Origin of Species gilded on the walls and over the bar. Recurrent elements are red and black details, glowing wood, and evocative golden lighting. Inside, you will also find a very well-heeled crowd, more adult and sophisticated than in many Manhattan lounges. The club scene has grown up in a good way at this establishment, but hasn’t lost its playful touch. Case in point: the $8 milk and cookie plate from the lounge’s full kitchen.

453 W. 17th St.
212.242.1111

HOTELS
THE EMPIRE HOTEL

The Empire Hotel is ideally located across from Dante Park in between two New York City landmarks, Lincoln Center and Central Park, providing spectacular views of Broadway and Columbus Avenue. Thanks in part to the stunning urban vistas, the roof/pool deck is becoming one of the city’s top haute spots, known for its sensual chic décor and variety of delicious signature cocktails. Inspired by local surroundings, the 420 rooms pay tribute to Central Park through a rich earth tone palette accented by leather furnishings, while also reflecting the modernism of Lincoln Center with details like Frette linens and state-of-the-art plasmas. The property also boasts Jeunesse Spas for Life, the ultimate locale for seekers of pure relaxation. The oversized facility offers all-natural treatments, wellness therapies, and full salon services for men and women, perfect for both the jetlagged traveler and the seasoned New Yorker looking to indulge.

44 West 63rd St.
212.265.7400

RETAIL
TOM FORD

After helping make Gucci one of the most profitable luxury brands in the world, designer Tom Ford created his own brand in 2005 and opened a 1930s-inspired flagship store on Madison Avenue. Based loosely on Ford’s own London pad, the three-floor, 9,679-square-foot shop is a subdued palette of grays and pinks, complete with a fireplace and velvet details. Ford’s goal is “to address an extremely discerning luxury customer who demands the highest quality product and service,” and he feels the Madison Avenue location will allow him to create and develop a close and personal relationship with customers. From menswear and home furnishings to perfume, everything is customizable, including your shopping experience-if you work up an appetite or simply become parched during the excursion, the maid or butler will be happy to fix whatever ails you.

845 Madison Ave.
212.359.0300
CLUBS
FREEMAN SPORTING CLUB

Along with hand tailoring, made-to-measure clothing, and an old-fashioned (yet entirely modern) apothecary, Freeman Sporting Club now offers a barbershop for gentlemen of discerning taste, a breed often neglected by spas. Created as an alternative to high-end salons, the décor has a decidedly 1940s vibe. In the spirit of being a neighborhood establishment and anti-salon, no appointments are necessary and all services are performed on a walk-in basis. The traditional shave and a haircut run for about $70. This men’s club is the ideal for a busy entrepreneur looking to experience a luxurious experience without hassle or fuss.

8 Rivington St.
212.673.3209
LOUNGES
ROSE BAR

The Gramercy Park Hotel is renowned for its intricate and edgy decoration, with the added eccentricity of artwork by Julien Schnabel, Basquiat, and Damien Hirst, to name just a few. The perfect place to enjoy the exquisite surroundings is at Rose Bar, an intimate bohemian lounge within the hotel. Though composed of disparate elements, from the red felt pool table, to the 15-foot Warhol print, to the rose velvet chairs and creative lighting, everything fits together seamlessly and artistically. The artistic spirit extends to the drinks menu, which combines ingredients like bourbon, spices, rose jam, and pisco with results such as the exotic Ginger Fig martini and the James Bond flute (Hennessy Cognac, Orange Curacao, a splash of pineapple and fresh lime topped with Prosecco). There is also a Champagne-heavy wine list to tempt the palate. Inventive playlists from DJs around the world add to the overall creative energy of the bar, which is always crawling with New York’s elite.

2 Lexington Ave.
212.920.3300

HOTELS
THE GREENWICH HOTEL

Robert De Niro’s Greenwich Hotel offers welcoming residential-style hotel living in the heart of New York City. No two of the 88 rooms are the same, though all are impeccably designed to include some common features such as oak floors and private libraries. Furnishings are from a variety of cultural influences and use assorted natural materials like leather, silk, and reclaimed wood, giving the overall impression of living in the eclectic home of a world traveler. Certain corner suites also have gas-burning fireplaces. To make guests feel even more at home, upon arrival, patrons of the hotel are invited to check in directly to their rooms where they can opt to have their hometown newspapers delivered daily. Courtyard rooms open onto the hotel’s inner sanctuary, giving some respite from the big city. The hotel also proposes a Shibui spa and a fitness center reserved exclusively for guests. Housed within the hotel is the famed Ago restaurant, a homey locale where Chef Agostino Sciandri offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant’s ceiling, lined with 90,000 corks, is a tribute to the expansive wine list.

377 Greenwich St.
212.941.8900

RESTAURANTS
ZORZI

Filling a void in the Empire State Building district, Franco and Alberto Zorzi’s newly opened upscale restaurant and lounge serves genuine Northern Italian home-style cuisine and a delicious and particularly Italian style of cocktail hour finger-food called aperitivi. The menu is reflective of the Zorzi family legacy in Venice, and the current menu was developed in collaboration with the Ismerian Institute of Bio-Nutrition in Treviso, Italy. To complement the traditional food, the wine list showcases mostly Italian offerings, including a variety of unique vintages. The contemporary open-plan 130-seat restaurant incorporates stonewalls and mosaics, and is open for lunch, dinner, and aperitifs. The walls are adorned with ever-changing works selected by Zorzi foundation art consultants; the current exhibit is by Venetian painter and sculptor Luigi Voltolina.

1 E 35th St.
212.213.9167
SPAS
CORNELIA DAY SPA

At Cornelia, the focus is on the utter flexibility of your spa visit. It can be whatever you want: healthy, hedonistic, or a combination. The spa houses New York’s only Watsu pool, with womblike 95-degree saltwater for complete physical and spiritual relaxation. Other five star amenities include eucalyptus steam rooms, private spa suites, the David Evangelista salon, luxurious changing rooms with personal attendants, the Cornelia boutique, and multilingual guest relations staff. To further enhance your experience there is a rooftop garden cafe with eclectic dishes like miso salmon sate and Key lime parfait with an accompanying wine and cocktail list, and a relaxation library for tranquil time between treatments or to acclimate gently to the outside world afterwards. Treatments range from the usual luxuries such as waxing and manicures to the unusual, such as the “Blue Lagoon” treatments using Icelandic geothermal seawater and the “Jewelry for Skin” facial that includes the use of rubies, emeralds, gold, citrine, and sapphires.

663 5th Ave. #8
212.871.3050

RESTAURANTS
MILOS

Without traveling the seven seas, an ocean of the freshest fish is available to you at Milos. Amid soaring ceilings and white marble, Chef Costas Spiliadis presented the concept of healthy, flawless food in a comfortable and hospitable environment to New York in 1997. Previously, he founded Milos in Montreal, which has known enormous success. He presents a seafood-centric menu that focuses on finding the highest quality ingredients then preparing them in the simplest manner possible. Through travel and experience, he has gleaned the finest from fisherman, organic farmers, and artisanal enterprises from around the world, demonstrated by a few deliciously simple examples: its famous Quebecois goat yogurt, Greek wild thyme honey, and My Sister’s Olive Oil.  And naturally, there’s the fish. The daily catch is displayed market style, and diners may have their choice grilled in a special hinged grill or baked in a rustic oven in plain view, then garnished with oregano, olive oil, and lemon. Milos is a spectacularly simple tribute to Greek culinary culture.

125 W 55th St.
212.245.7400