The Mercer Hotel

Like other celebrity-friendly boutique hotels in New York, the Mercer offers trendy design, exclusivity, and highly personalized service. The Christian-Liaigre-designed lobby, featuring 14-foot ceilings, exposed brick walls, a lending library of books, and plush, intimate seating, doubles as a late-night lounge for New York's entertainment and fashion industry players. The subterranean Mercer Kitchen draws well-heeled customers with high-end, adventurous dishes. Fancy as it is, that whole scene takes place behind careful urban camouflage. The tourists and shoppers that crowd the sidewalks in the Mercer's SoHo neighborhood would have a hard time picking out the hotel; there's no sign, and the red-brick building blends in fairly seamlessly with the designer shops that surround it. Despite the exclusivity, the hotel exudes a warm and unpretentious ambience, thanks largely to the staff. Each is trained as a concierge, so just about anyone working at the hotel can help with nearly any request.

The Mercer is on the northern border of SoHo, New York's haute, bohemian fashion epicenter that’s chock-full of art galleries, design shops, and trendy restaurants with staying power. SoHo is a safe place, and many of its dining and drinking establishments are still hopping well past midnight. Seven subway lines are within three blocks of the hotel, and the Prince Street Station is only one minute away on foot. Downtown SoHo doesn't have the same tourist attractions (other than nearby Chinatown) as uptown, but it’s still only a 20-minute cab or subway ride to Central Park and Rockefeller Center, and 14 minutes via subway to the Theater District (25 minutes by cab). It’s approximately 30 minutes to LaGuardia Airport and about 45 minutes driving (90 minutes by subway) to JFK Airport.

Steel doors, 11-foot ceilings, and understated, modern design make these clean and meticulously maintained rooms feel like luxurious (albeit smaller) versions of the SoHo neighborhood's many studio-style lofts. Large windows bring in lots of natural light and look out onto the bamboo courtyard or SoHo’s cobblestone streets. Subtle earth tones are featured in the rather minimalist decor, with blond-wood furniture, tan drapes, dark brown carpet (or hardwood), and white walls (or exposed brick) with no art. Courtyard Rooms are a bit small at 250 square feet, but they’re comfortably arranged, with large armoires, small leather sofas, and oval tables with chairs for work or dining space. Other room categories -- 11 in all -- are significantly larger. The Mercer Deluxe and Studio Rooms clock in at 350 square feet. Courtyard Rooms have walk-in showers, but many rooms feature separate two-person soaking tubs. Amenities are a highlight, including nightly turndown service, robes, slippers, and FACE Stockholm toiletries. Free Wi-Fi, safes, fax machines, and flat screen TVs with DVD players also are standard, and loaner laptops, CDs, DVDs, and video games are available. Bathrooms are bright and generously sized, with white tiling and roomy white marble vanities. The rooms are generally quiet. One caveat: smoking is allowed in all guest rooms.

It’s all about providing a high-level of service for discerning guests at the Mercer Hotel. Guests can access 24-hour concierge services that include car rentals, translation services, and currency exchange. Other services include free shoe shining, dog walking, babysitting, packing, and in-room spa treatments and exercise classes. The 40-seat cafe adjacent to the lobby is an extension of Mercer Kitchen, the subterranean restaurant run by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The cafe is open 24/7, serving breakfast and lunch during the day and drinks and light fare in the evening. Room service is available 24/7. The main restaurant features a diverse menu and extensive wine list for dinner. Free day passes are available to the nearby Equinox gym. Same-day dry cleaning and laundry services are offered, and the hotel has 24/7 valet parking, but plan ahead because the parking garage is 15 minutes away. 

The Mercer's chic location and discreet service draws a huge variety of celeb visitors from Leonardo DiCaprio, to fashion designer Calvin Klein, to oddball rock star Marilyn Manson, to Russell Crowe -- who, incidentally, made headlines for allegedly throwing a telephone at a Mercer check-in clerk in 2005.