Archer Hotel New York

Character and identity

Archer slots into the Garment District a few blocks from Bryant Park, Times Square and Grand Central, behind a brick-and-glass facade that designer Glen Coben has worked into an industrial-meets-elegant register: chesterfield sofas, subway-tiled bathrooms, and a curated collection of local art (including a Thea Lanzisero patio-dress sculpture) nodding to the neighbourhood's tailoring past. The 22-floor, 180-room property opens into AVA Social, a gastropub-style lobby with a sculptural central bar, while the 22nd-floor Spyglass rooftop puts you eye-level with the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Rooms are compact but stylishly turned out, with MoMA-designed umbrellas and Malin+Goetz amenities.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The draw here is location and design intelligence at a Midtown price point: a genuinely characterful boutique within walking distance of nearly everything a first-time or returning New York visitor wants to see, capped by one of the better rooftop bars in the neighbourhood. Book an Empire-view room for the skyline payoff, and travel light given the modest room footprints.