By Angela Fairhurst
Entering The Kimberly Hotel located at 50th and Lexington in the midtown east business district, the door is likely to be opened by a staff member that’s been working for the hotel since its 1985 opening. It’s that kind of exceptional service provided by its dedicated staff that make The Kimberly a comfortable place to stay.
DÉCOR
The hotel is designed in classic European style, with a marble lobby complete with oriental rugs, gold leaf furniture and a grandfather clock. When renovations completed in 2012, they stuck to the traditional style that brought the international business and diplomatic clientele in the first place, yet added modern touches including an enormous round tropical fish tank in the expanded lobby. Kitchenettes and expanded closets in all the rooms make long-term stays easy.
The Kimberly was originally built as an apartment building complex before its hotel conversion. Therefore, every room in the collection of 188 guest rooms and luxury suites are different, and they are all more spacious than typical NYC hotel rooms. Other unique features are that most rooms have balconies. Add that to ceilings that range in height from 8- to 10-feet-high with tall windows, creating a memorable experience with some the best views of New York. Bedding consists of Frette Italian linens and sumptuous feather beds. Suites have a Scott Jordan sofa bed expanding sleeping capacity.
AMENITIES
Amenities available to guests of the Kimberly Hotel include a gratis membership to the New York Health & Racquet Club which is in addition to their own fitness center; Interactive Customer Experience known as ICE touch in-room monitoring service; the NY Times Monday-Saturday; and if your name happens to be Kimberly, you get to keep the bathrobe as a gift from the hotel.
FOOD AND DRINK
On the penthouse level, 30 stories above, is The Upstairs, the hotels’ all-seasons rooftop bar with a spectacular view of the iconic Chrysler building as its backdrop. For winter, the floors are heated with glass walls and a retractable roof. Nightly, they serve artistically inspired cocktails and a varied small plates menu. This is definitely old New York. You must be over 21, business casual dress code with no flip flops, tennis shoes or caps allowed. Mornings have a breakfast buffet. Bistango is an Italian restaurant on the ground floor. A second lounge, Ibis, is an elegant cocktail lounge with a seasonal menu.
THE AREA
Midtown East is loaded with restaurants with bigger hotels including the Waldorf Astoria and the W New York around the corner. The St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue stores and Rockefeller Center are a short walk away with Grand Central Station and the United Nations just a little farther.
It’s hard to beat exceptional service, great value, and generous sized rooms in NYC.
