An iconic building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, 83 suites from 70 to 258 square meters – in other words the most spacious rooms in the Big Apple -, 650 square meters of garden terrace accessible all year round thanks to a retractable glass roof, a 20-meter-long indoor swimming pool lined with large bay windows, a spa with ten treatment rooms and a team of 500 people at the peak of operation, i.e. a ratio of three employees for a customer…
Since its opening in August 2022, within the Crown Building, an emblem of Beaux-Arts architecture built in 1921, the Aman New York hotel has accumulated superlatives… And suffered the damage. “Too expensive”, “too dark”, “too exclusive”, “cut off from the rest” – understand “cut off from the city” – we could hear.
Intimacy, tranquility, design. No doubt, staying at the Aman New York is a privilege – and that’s an understatement – with prices starting at $3,200 (around 3,000 euros) per night… Joining your club – the first of its kind within the group – is not cheap either: count on 200,000 dollars as entry fees, to which is added a contribution of 15,000 dollars per year. In exchange for this, the members of this very private circle (there are already 450 of them) have access to all the other Aman clubs (under development), to exclusives in the fields of wine, gastronomy, art and well-being, as well as all the common areas of the hotel, in addition to a cigar smoking room and several lounges with entirely dedicated bar and terrace. A culture of intimacy that annoys some. Not New Yorkers, who are particularly inclined to this lifestyle that is spreading everywhere in the Big Apple.
Another point of concern among the hotel’s detractors: the lack of natural light, right from the entrance. Designed as a decompression airlock between the bustle of Manhattan and the arrival in the lobby a few levels higher, it is in fact devoid of one, but boasts a first fireplace (there are around a hundred in the entire building). hotel) and a selection of works of art. As if to better prepare the visitor to dive into the brand’s DNA, “centered on privacy, tranquility, unparalleled service, excellent design and exceptional surroundings”, likes to recall Vlad Doronin, its owner since 2014, who invested “$1.4 billion in the acquisition and renovation of the building” and was involved in the smallest details.
Praise of sobriety. An elevator and we are on the 14th floor. Past the lobby, also devoid of openings to the outside, but animated by soft and warm lighting, make way for the two restaurants, the double-height lounge bar and the vast green terrace staged with a lot of jets. water, braziers and claustras-moucharabiehs seeming to descend from the sky. Back to the light. Here too, no “wow!” effect. », as many expected, but a sober decoration, as much in volumes and colors as in materials, dominated by wood, stone and fabric. With here and there nods to the architecture of the Crown Building – including its golden pinnacle – and to the Asian roots of the brand, such as this magnificent fresco by the Japanese Hasegawa Tohaku (16th century) printed on rice paper and adorning the walls of the suites. “We are not here in juxtaposition, but in a composition, a coherent whole, explains interior designer Jean-Michel Gathy, who is signing his tenth collaboration with the brand here. All Aman follow the same rules: everything goes together, nothing opposes. The chic thing is that there is nothing “iconic”, nothing ostentatious. All things we perceive are emotionally intangible. We don’t know why, but we tell ourselves that we’re happy there. » And Vlad Doronin added: “We have transposed the “horizontal experience” of our hotels vertically. When you are at the Aman New York, you find yourself in the middle of one of the most hectic cities in the world, and yet you have the impression of being in complete serenity. We have created an urban sanctuary. » Where immersion is shared between an accomplished culinary offer (through two restaurants, Italian and Japanese), a rooftop that is both open and protected from the city, a cutting-edge spa combining Asian expertise and cutting-edge technologies, works of art punctuating the spaces, exclusive experiences such as meeting renowned artists in their workshops, or even a jazz club tending to revive swing in a city which has become a bit apathetic since the pandemic.
One thing is certain, Aman certainly believes in its “vertical” concept: after Tokyo in 2014 and New York this year, new openings have already been announced in Bangkok (2024), Miami (2026) and Beverly Hills (2026). ). And to see the enthusiasm generated, starting with the Amanjunkies, a club of self-proclaimed aficionados (customers or not), this diversification seems to have gone well beyond the first round of criticism§
Aman New York, aman.com
3 nights in a 5th Avenue Junior Suite, from €8,850/person, breakfasts and flights on La Compagnie included, with Exclusif Voyages, specialist in tailor-made private trips in the United States and around the world. 01 42 96 00 76 and exclusifvoyages.com
RIEGER/AMAN New York (x5)
2023-04-16 07:00:00
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