Review: Aman New York

Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.

Today: Review of Aman New York (USA)

• Hotel website: Aman New York
• Location: Google Maps
• Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso

On the city’s pulse in Manhattan’s iconic Crown Building, Aman New York is just a stone’s throw from Central Park. Designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, the ultra-luxe hotel serves as an urban sanctuary while providing easy access to all points of interest in the city. A double-storey lobby welcomes guests to the 14th floor, where the sounds of midtown Manhattan melt away. Massive marble rain showers, oversized soaking tubs, and enchanting fireplaces mark the urban retreat’s 83 daydream-worthy suites, while signature restaurants Arva and Nama – available exclusively to guests and Aman Club Founders – pay homage to Italy’s rustic roots and Japan’s culinary traditions, respectively. The iconic property is also home to a fabulous three-storey spa boasting restorative treatments, functional biomarker lab diagnostics, and multidisciplinary wellness programs. Aman New York is managed by Aman, one of the world’s most exclusive hotel brands.

Aman New York features in my top 10 list of the best luxury hotels in New York City.

Have you ever stayed at Aman New York? If so, what was your experience? Leave a comment.

I made a YouTube video with full tour of Aman New York, which you can watch here:

In this review (more info and photos below my YouTube video):

• Pros & things I like
• Cons & things to know
• My verdict
• Tips for future guests & save money
• Best time to visit
• How to get there
• Photos

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PROS & THINGS I LIKE

• Aman New York is housed in the iconic Crown Building, which has presided over the midpoint of Manhattan – the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street – since 1921. The iconic skyscraper was designed by Warren & Wetmore, architects of some of New York’s most influential buildings, including Grand Central Station and the Helmsley Building. The building’s reputation was cemented in 1929, when the site became the first home of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). As decades passed, the building – with its copper-clad tower, Neo-Classical façade and French Renaissance detailing – gained prestige and worth, just as its address came to represent the finest real estate in Manhattan. In 2015, almost exactly 100 years after August Heckscher bought the property, the building was acquired by Vlad Doronin, Chairman and CEO of Aman, representing the beginning of a new chapter. The monumental restoration of the Crown Building and transformation into an urban Aman sanctuary began in 2017 and ended five years later, when Aman New York welcomed its first guests in August 2022.

• World-famous designer Jean-Michel Gathy and his studio Denniston Architects oversaw the conversion of the 25-storey Crown Building into an ultra-luxe hotel with a fabulous design. Gathy is the visionary behind some of the most esteemed Aman resorts including Amanyara in Turks and Caicos, Amanwana on the island of Moyo in Indonesia, and Aman Venice. Gathy has created a unique design signature for Aman Hotels, which focuses on the theme of romance and on incorporating water features, as well as local cultural elements and traditions. For Aman New York, Gathey choose a muted, minimalist color and material palette, which contributes to the hotel’s aura of rarefied calm. Gold details were added throughout the property as a nod to the Crown Building’s ornamental spire. Oak, walnut and cinnamon woods are used for finishes, floors, doors and custom furnishings, while bronze, brass, and stainless and blackened steel add warmth. Japanese influences are found in elements including textured stone floors laid in a pattern reminiscent of woven rattan baskets.

• The arrival experience at Aman New York sets the tone for an aesthetical and transformative journey which honors the Crown Building’s gilded and historic splendor. Behind a rather unremarkable and discrete entrance lies the hotel’s intimate ground floor lobby, whose purposefully dark design exudes luxury and privacy, transporting guests away from the frenetic pace of Manhattan. From here, two elevators go the hotel’s 14th floor, where a double-height atrium instantly instils a sense of grandeur, featuring some subtle Asian influences in tribute to Aman’s Asian roots. Featuring a graceful floral-inspired ceiling installation made from recycled cardboard, the atrium is home to a chic bar and several lounge areas which are arranged around a couple of gas fireplaces. The monumental space also connects to Aman New York’s two restaurants (more on that below) as well as a magnificent wraparound outdoor terrace. The latter features a reflective pool with a dramatic firepit at its centers and benefits from a retracting glass roof allowing year-round access. A corner bar adds to the terrace’s allure, offering spectacular views of the iconic crossroads of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street.

• Aman New York features 83 magnificent suites, which rank among New York’s largest hotel rooms. Room categories range from Deluxe Suites on 56th Street to Three Bedroom Residences. An invitation to switch off from the outside world, every suite offers a functioning fireplace, a first in New York City, while bathrooms are opulent and oversized with oval soaking bathtubs, marble rain showers and double vanities. Large windows offer dynamic views, and the use of organic, natural materials and muted tones brings a sense of balance and harmony reminiscent of that found in Aman resorts of the East. In a further nod to the brand’s roots, each suite also features a large-scale art mural inspired by the 15th-century masterpiece Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) by Hasegawa Tōhaku. One of Japan’s most celebrated works, Pine Trees, owned by the Tokyo National Museum, was designated as a National Treasure in 1952 and is internationally acclaimed. The piece perfectly captures its eminent pre-Edo influence, and is a homage to Tōhaku, printed on delicate rice paper and spanning the walls as a captivating focal point.

• From the Jazz Club to the year-round Garden Terrace, Aman New York abounds with sociable spaces for dining, drinking and relaxing, guided by the legendary pulse of New York:
  • Located right next to the double-storey atrium, Arva is a convivial Italian restaurant which features an indoor dining room as well as an outdoor terrace. Paying homage to Italy’s rustic, cucina del raccolto tradition (literally ‘harvest cuisine’), ingredients are transformed into elegant dishes that showcase the exquisite flavours of the finest seasonal ingredients. Arva is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  • Also located on the 14th floor is Nama, which celebrates the Japanese washoku dining tradition with authentic, uncomplicated and elegant dishes. The restaurant also features a Japanese Hinoki wood counter for hosting omakase fine dining experiences. Nama is open for dinner by reservation only, with two sittings per evening.
  • A quintessential New York concept reimagined by Aman, the Jazz Club – which has its own separate entrance – brings a sense of occasion back to Midtown Manhattan in speakeasy style. Nightly live performances include jazz, alongside a range of other genres that stem from this great class of music, while an array of New York DJs invoke the energy of celebration and the nostalgia of years-gone-by.

• Bringing to life the fullest expression of the Aman Wellness concept yet, Aman New York’s Spa is the brand’s new flagship integrative wellness destination in the western hemisphere. Spanning three storeys, the wellness center offers a full spectrum of health-enhancing facilities, centered by a 20 m (65 ft) indoor swimming pool flanked by firepits and daybeds and warmly lit by the glow of magnificent copper light installations. Other facilities at the spa include a cryotherapy chamber, hair salon by John Barrett, fully equipped fitness center, infrared zone, Yoga and Pilates Studio ​featuring Reformers, as well as hanging rooms each with their own sauna, steam room and cold bucket shower​. For those seeking a dedicated wellness experience, two vast Spa Houses comprise double treatment rooms, Banya and Hammam rooms, and private outdoor terraces with hot and cold plunge pools, daybeds and fireplaces. Available for private use, the Spa Houses are comparable to those of Aman’s remotest retreats and introduce a totally new concept to the city.

• Aman New York is a self-contained world of lavish luxury, representing everything that its mother brand Aman tries to achieve: tranquility, exclusivity, and a sense of place. Aman is one of the world’s most exclusive hotel brands and the company manages a fabulous collection of intimate properties across the globe. The brand is known for the understated elegance of its resorts, exquisite attention to detail, minimalist design, heartfelt service, and otherworldly locations. Among Aman’s habitués is a group of passionate repeat customers who call themselves ‘Aman junkies’ (count me in) and whose travel plans are determined by Aman locations. It’s a misconception that Aman junkies are always incredibly wealthy people: I prefer to spend my money on two nights at an Aman resort than two weeks at any other resort, as you pay for a unique and life-long memory. In all honesty and without exaggeration, an Aman resort makes some Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton resorts look like a mediocre Holiday Inn hotel.

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CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

• Upon arrival, finding the entrance to Aman New York might be more difficult than expected. The entrance is discretely tucked away in the corner of the Crown Building on 57th street (and not Fifth Avenue, which is the Aman’s official address). While that’s probably not an issue for most guests, my taxi driver could not find the entrance of the hotel (based on his GPS and the hotel’s official Fifth Avenue address). We kept screening the area for the hotel entrance for approximately 15 minutes (around midnight), before finding out it was on 57th Street (just around the corner of Fifth Avenue).

• Aman New York designates all of its hotel rooms as ‘suites’, with the Deluxe Suite 56th Street being the entry room category. However, the suites in the lower room categories are not really suites since most of them have an open-plan layout and do not feature separate living areas. I assume Aman designates its rooms as ‘suites’ simply based on the room size as Aman’s bedrooms and bathrooms rank among the largest in New York, and are far larger than most hotel suites in the Big Apple.

• Aman New York is the most expensive hotels in New York. When the hotel opened in 2022, room rates started at $4,000 per night for weeknights and up to $5,500 per night on weekends, making Aman New York the world’s most expensive city hotel by a long shot. Aman was clearly testing the market, and since them, room rates have come down to a more reasonable $1800 USD per night in low season, although that’s still twice the price you pay at the competition in New York. That said, when comparing the rate of suites (not regular rooms) at other top hotels in New York with the suite rates of Aman, there’s not that much difference. Whether you want to pay the price or not will finally depend on you, but IMHO, it’s worth paying for a stay at Aman New York, since the hotel offers fabulous rooms, top-notch service, a phenomenal design, a world-class spa, and it’s an Aman after all.

• Like most Amans, the food at Aman New York’s restaurants is reasonably priced (with the exception perhaps of room service, where I paid a whooping $80 USD for a rather mediocre Caesar salad with an add-on of chicken). However, not everyone can simply step by and have lunch or dinner here since access to the restaurants is currently limited to hotel guests and Aman Club Founders (with the exception of The Jazz Club). And although the food was delicious at both restaurants (Avra and Nama), I was not completely blown away by the culinary offerings, especially at Avra which serves traditional Italian cuisine in a high-end decor. Although it probably doesn’t fit the overall experience that Aman New York aims to offer its guests, I would have preferred the hotel to collaborate with some of the world’s top chefs, aiming for some Michelin stars at its dining venues and opening them to the public (IMHO, it’s the one thing where Four Seasons – which offers terrific restaurants at its properties – is doing a better job than Aman).

• Aman New York is an ultra-luxe urban resort, where you could spend days without leaving, especially at the spa which feels world-class (and is priced to match, with $500 USD for a spa treatment). And that’s the big ‘first world’ dilemma when staying Aman New York as you might feel like you are missing out by not venturing beyond this exclusive enclave. One the one hand you want to stay in the hotel and enjoy all of the fabulous facilities that the property has on offer. On the other hand, you need to drag yourself out of the hotel to explore one of the most exciting and dynamic cities in the world (with dozens of attractions). But once you find a balance, you’ll enjoy one of the best hotel stays you can have in a city.

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MY VERDICT

• Location: 9/10
• Design: 10/10
• Pool: 10/10
• Rooms: 10/10
• Food: 8/10
• Breakfast: 9/10
• Spa: 10/10
• Service: 10/10
• Wow factor: 10/10
• Value for money: 9/10
• Overall experience: exceptional 9,6/10

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TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

• Save money: get complimentary VIP perks at Aman New York when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, daily breakfast, early check-in, late check-out, and $100 USD hotel credit).

• Save money: read here my tips for getting the best deal at a luxury hotel like Aman New York (and/or receive many free perks).

• Read my tips for preparing your trip in time.

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BEST TIME TO VISIT

Anytime! Each season in Gotham offers visitors plenty of reasons to visit. Early fall offers crisp breezes, bright sun and comfortable temperatures (indian summer) , and may the best time for a visit.  Winter can be cold, but that also means better hotel rates. Spring is glorious and New Yorkers celebrate the thaw by taking to the streets, shopping at outdoor markets, frolicking in Central Park and dining outside. Summer can be unbearable hot, so try to avoid July and August.

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HOW TO GET THERE

Aman New York is located a 30-40-minute drive from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and 45-90 minute drive from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), handling both international and domestic flights. Additionally, Westchester County Airport (HPN) is located 60-75 minutes from the hotel by car, handling domestic flights. Aman New York’s concierge team can arrange transfers in preferred car accommodations from all airports upon request.

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PHOTOS

Below is a selection of my photos of Aman New York. To view more hotel photos (including breakfast, lunch and dinner at Aman New York’s restauarants), click here.

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