Lonely Planet Review
Looking up from Bryant Park - one of New York's highlights - the eye naturally gravitates towards this gem, a black-brick tower trimmed in golden-coloured stone. Originally the American Standard Building (1924), this now 130-room hotel is worthy of even more attention inside, with bare-bones minimalist rooms that don't skimp on comfort.
The Bryant Park continues to be a place to be seen - the adjoining KOI is a new upscale Japanese restaurant with a giant web-like structure lining the ceiling and back wall. Elevators up to the rooms are padded in red leather. Carpeted 'superior' rooms are the cheapest, but face away from the park. Classy extras include 32-inch LCD flat-screen TVs with in-room movies, fax/copy machines, Internet access, goose-down comforters, cashmere robes, soaking tubs and Pipino soaps and lotions in the bathroom. If you have the bucks, opt for a suite - these face the park, and some have enviable terraces on higher floors. A cheaper one, the giant junior suite, has two wall-mounted flatscreen TVs, bare white walls and wood floors, and fantastic views.
Review by author
Robert Reid