Location, location, location. If you're a coolhunter, you've just found your new hotel of choice in New York. Located right in the heart of the very happening Lower East Side, the Thompson Lower East Side is perfectly situated to explore the area's edgy boutiques, record stores, funky bistros, bars and clubs.
The hotel's 141 rooms embrace an industrial, pared down design. Ceilings and columns are unadorned concrete, walls are either black or white, rugs are grey — colour barely gets a look-in. Tropical wood paneling and decorative, illuminated light box headboards (in every room) by artist Lee Friedlander soften the feel, a little. Sleek black mirrored walls, boxy glass coffee tables and black floors make it seem like you've just made it through the doors of some impossible to get into 1980s nightclub.
So if you're looking for chintz and an abundance of decorative cushions weighing down your bed, you've come to the wrong place. Decked out with peachy soft sheets by Sferrra, beds, however, are extremely comfortable and welcoming. And once you sink into one and switch on the flat-screen TV you might not want to leave, particularly if you're on a high floor. Views are stellar: less high-rise development in this neighbourhood rewards you with far-reaching views to the Brooklyn Bridge and beyond if you're on the south side and all the way uptown if you're looking north.
Other attractions inside the hotel include a gym and a bijou yet beautiful pool, whose base displays a portrait of Andy Warhol by his confidant, Gerard Malanga.
The hotel also houses Shang, with famed chef Susur Lee at the helm creating "fusion Chinese" cuisine. While there are a host of bars in the neighbourhood, the hotel has an alfresco guest-only bar, Above Allen, on the 7th floor, which is an extremely pleasant if sceney spot to sit and watch Manhattan streetlife.
Thompson LES, 190 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 Tel: 212.460.5300 Rooms from $250. thompsonhotels.com
