Nestled in the hip neighbourhood, Jade Hotel guests feel like locals.
The Jade Hotel 52 W. 13th St., New York; thejadenyc.com; 113 rooms starting at $200 (U.S.).
The Jade offers a different feel than the big brand hotels usually found in New York's busy Midtown. Turn onto the quiet tree-lined, 13th Street in Greenwich Village, and you'll feel like you've taken a step back in time once you reach this art-deco inspired boutique hotel.
The elegant Georgian-style architecture, blazing carriage lamps, restoration glass, lunette windows and huge copper-clad bay window at the entrance will have you convinced that this newly built property has been there forever.
DESIGN
Step into the Jade's sunken living-room reception area and speakeasies and literary salons come to mind as you eye the wing chairs, blazing fireplace and old fashioned wall-coverings.
Look for more antique touches in the rooms, which are inspired by 1920s furniture artisan Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. Discover your flat-screen TV behind sliding deco-decorated cabinet doors, dial up an old friend on the working rotary telephone found on every bed table and admire the textured black-and-white subway tiles in the bathroom.
Also notable about this hotel is its creative nod to New York. The hotel library features a collection of city-themed books by authors who have called Greenwich Village their home. Adorning the wall of the Grape & Vine restaurant and bar are vintage Village photographs taken by Village Voice shutterbug Fred McDarrah.
LOCATION, LOCATION
Set in a hip residential neighbourhood, guests at this Greenwich Village hotel will feel like a local not a visitor. Self-guided tours are encouraged and guests can ask for a curated map of the Village. Top boutiques, bars and eateries are all within walking distance.
BEST AMENITY
The Jade is not a big brand hotel with a plethora of amenities. However, guests looking for a taste from another era will love it. Forget the gimmicky speakeasies where you have to go to a telephone booth to be escorted in.
Simply roll up to the bar, which will be buzzing by 5. Sip and swirl a Sidecar or an Isaac Hendrick's house made with Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain, cucumber, fresh lemon and mint. Or opt for the Rear Window made with Bulleit bourbon, passion fruit and jalapeno. It's as full bodied and spicy as the conversations surrounding it.
EAT IN OR EAT OUT?
You can find endless ambience and top-notch foodie fodder on almost any street in NYC, and the American fare with French flair in Grape & Vine is excellent. Our table started with steak tartare, Montauk scallops, a Cobb salad with duck confit and a beautiful buratta that was worth fighting over. Be sure to schedule an early dinner if you like to linger as some nights the music volume goes from zero to 60 in an instant.
IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING
The rooms are intimate, and that's fine but floor plans should have worked in more space for the desk and in the bathroom. Today's urban traveller needs more room to spread out and get busy, be it for beauty or for business.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
Second-floor guestrooms feature garden terraces separated by a landscaped trellis. Some rooms on higher floors offer a terrace, allowing guests to gaze over the cityscape below.
The writer was a guest of the hotel.