The Carlyle

The quintessential Upper East Side hotel
Talk of the town: The Carlyle was a second home to JFK and rumor has it he used secret tunnels under the hotel to conduct private business - including smuggling in Marilyn Monroe.

Noteworthy for: You’ve heard that Woody Allen still plays his oboe in a jazz club each week? Well, it’s here that it happens.
One of the city’s iconic hotels, the art deco Carlyle has hosted New York high society for the past 80 years and wears its history on its sleeve.

An old-world air of formality and refinement reigns: the elevator attendants wear white gloves, some rooms come equipped with a Steinway grand piano and don’t waste your time looking for its hip underground club. There is the odd nod to modern upscale tastes, presumably at the demand of the high-maintenance socialites who lunch here: visiting pets are offered Fiji water.

The location overlooking Central Park is unbeatable and the glamorous lobby will make you gasp. Be warned, though, that being part of New York history doesn’t come cheap: to see Woody Allen at the Café Carlyle, for instance, carries a USD 135 per person cover charge.