The Times UK: Best luxury hotels in New York

No one forgets their first thrilling glimpse of New York, with its twinkling, gleaming skyscrapers lining its length and the Empire State Building at its heart. This is a city whose USP is sensory overload: a place where art and architecture, culture and cuisine, shopping and nightlife collide in a 24/7 adrenaline rush, setting the pace for the rest of the world. New York is also a place of great beauty: where beaux-arts architectural splendour sits alongside gleaming 21st-century towers of glass and steel, where the indulgent shopping pleasures of Madison and 5th Avenues lie a short stroll away from Central Park. And a city where you can eat pretty much anything — whether that’s in Michelin-starred restaurants in shiny glass towers with cuisine by some of the world’s best chefs, or tiny bars — before retreating to an old-world Uptown hotel such as the Carlyle or heading for the sexy sophistication of The Dominick in SoHo. Here’s our pick of the best luxury hotels in New York.

Loews Regency New York Hotel, Upper East Side

Best for design lovers This beautifully appointed Park Avenue hotel on the Upper East Side is all about low-key, power-play glamour and knockout design. The Lobby Lounge showcasing “sculptural illustrator” Nina Helms’s ornate springtime tree along one wall sets the elegant mood. The six signature suites all have their own terrace, and include a playful pop-art tribute to Andy Warhol, and a classic Italian-inspired 1970s apartment. Popular with Wall Street execs and design aficionados alike, the exceedingly cool and intimate Regency Bar & Grill has semi-circular banquette tables redolent of the Mad Men era.

Read the full story on TheTimes.co.uk.