I'm at the Four Seasons New York. At 52 floors, this is the tallest hotel building in New York City and sits in the prime location of East 57th between Park and Madison, covering the expanse of a whole block with entrances on 57th and 58th. It's the work of the genius team of architect I.M Pei, associate architect Frank Williams and interior designer Peter Marino who spent four years on the project. The doors were opened in 1993, and it instant become a post-modernist classic. This is obvious from the moment you arrive. Guests are greeted by the most incredible foyer, the Grand lobby, with towering ceilings onyx ceilings and floor-to-ceiling pillars. It's a vast gem of a space, especially in cramped New York City.
Up on the top floor, the Ty Warner penthouse suite has just been unveiled (named after the hotel's 'Beanie Bag' billionaire owner). The refurbishment cost an eye-watering $50 million and took seven years. The finished product is an impeccable mixture of class, style, design, luxury and service. The best design talents used the finest materials to create a space that is an incredible architectural gem. As well as a huge master bedroom, it boosts its own library, living room and spa.
The views are hypnotic. There are four glass balconies at 45-degree angles, which give you an incredible feeling of floating 800 feet above New York. The Chrysler building, Rockerfeller Centre, the Empire State Building and Central Park all vie for attention. Guests also have a 24-hour butler and a personal Rolls Royce Phantom or Maybach.
And for a mere £25,560 a night, all this can be yours... I keep trying to work out how I could become rich enough to be able to afford to stay here — and have no idea. Apart from perhaps marrying money, which, believe me, I have been trying to do years.
If you're not a millionaire (but still quite wealthy), go for a standard room, which start at £646 a night. They're classic, comfortable, with a backdrop of the city. I awake to incredible sunrises over an expansive view of New York. The standard rooms are 600 square foot and are the largest in the city. Each has its own living and sleeping areas, with a foyer, walk-in wardrobe, plasma flat-screen, DVD player, printer, marble bathroom with huge sunken tub, power shower and another TV.
There's all day dining in a living room style setting to your left, and The Garden Bar and Restaurant to your right. The latter especially is unmissable — opt for a number of tasters from the expansive small plate menu. There's a lengthy wine list of over 700 bottles, which definitely need to be sampled too (but maybe not all of them). As the name suggests, it feels as if you are dining in a forest: during the day, there are leaf reflections on the floor; at night foliage is projected all around. The staff are charming, zealous and fun, or at least our waitress Lisa is. Also try the Michelin star L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, a more formal dining room and is modelled after the chef's French establishment.
The Four Seasons is uncomparable and without doubt one of NY's best hotels. And the new suite is definitely one of the finest experiences for the most seasoned luxury connoisseur. The only problem? The price tag.
Four Seasons Hotel New York, 57 East 57th Street, New York, U.S.A. 10022 (+ 1 212 758-5700; fourseasons.com/newyorkfs/). Rooms start at £646, while the Ty Warner Penthouse suite starts at £25,560 per night, on a bed and breakfast basis (including tax).
