Story and photography by Melanie Votaw
LIBRARY HOTEL
299 Madison Avenue at 41st Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 983-4500
http://libraryhotel.com/
You don’t have to be a book lover to enjoy the Library Hotel in midtown Manhattan. If you are a book lover, however, you’ll appreciate the hotel even more. For example, each of the ten floors is named after a Dewey Decimal System category. The floor’s label is displayed via a light on the wall as you exit the elevator. My room number was 906, but the marker identifying the room listed it as “Biography 900.006.”
New York City hotels are rarely described as “cozy,” but that’s a good word to describe this 60-room property where all rooms contain books appropriate to the floor’s topic. Naturally, my room contained biographies, but you can request a room filled with the type of books that interest you most. For example, if you prefer to read the Classics, you could ask for a room on that floor.
Standing on “Library Way” (East 41st Street) and Madison Avenue just a block from New York’s main library (the one with the lion sculptures in the front that you have seen in many movies), the Library Hotel is a small boutique property that is a true gem in the center of the city. The location is so central that you’re close to everything you would want to see or do as a tourist or business traveler in Manhattan. The hotel is only a two-minute walk from Grand Central Station, for example.
Like the other three HKHotel properties in New York (see my review of the Hotel Giraffe), the Library Hotel offers you the kind of complimentary amenities you rarely receive in the city, including a European style breakfast in a Reading Room. This includes boiled eggs, muffins, pastries, fruit, cereal, juices, coffee, and tea. I was happy to see that attendants were available to bring the items I requested to my table. This is another rarity in any hotel that does not offer a custom-cooked breakfast.
Snacks are also available throughout the day, and an evening wine and cheese reception is held from 5:00-8:00 p.m. WiFi is complimentary, and you are given a daily pass to the nearby New York Sports Club during your stay.
The landmark building that houses the Library Hotel is brick and terra cotta, and the interior design is understated in earth tones – appropriate for a hotel dedicated to books. There are several room types, but all include a mini-bar, safe, bathrobe and slippers, complimentary bottled water, hair dryer, makeup mirror, and widescreen television and DVD player. The Single Petite Rooms are 200 square feet, and the Petite Full Rooms are the same size with a larger bed.
My room on the 9th floor was a Deluxe Room Queen, which was large by New York City standards at 250 square feet with a queen sized bed of 60” x 80”. The room was done in dark wood and muted color linens. I had a desk area, a small table, chair, and several windows. In many ways, it felt like a suite.
Also available are Junior Suites with king beds and an extra sofa bed. These rooms are 350 square feet with a bed of 78” x 80”. All rooms in the hotel are non-smoking.
Besides the Reading Room, the Library Hotel boasts a rooftop garden with a curved
bar, a writer’s den, a lounge, and a small outdoor terrace with plants. Cocktails cleverly named the Capote and the Great Gatsby are served. There is also a bistro/wine bar on premises called Madison & Vine and a boardroom that can accommodate 12 people.
Room rates vary from approximately $350 to $650 per night depending upon the type of room you choose.
For a luxury boutique hotel experience in New York, the Library Hotel would definitely be my choice. From both a location and comfort perspective, I have yet to experience a hotel in the city that can beat it, especially if you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of a large, crowded chain hotel.
© November 2011 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
Issue:
January
2012