Perfectly placed in the heart of the Meatpacking District, this nautical-themed landmark hotel, originally built in the late 60s as the headquarters for the National Maritime Union, was transformed into a boutique hotel in 2003. If you’ve been to that neighbourhood then you may well have noticed the Maritime Hotel towering above its neighbours with its distinctive porthole windows and white-tiled exterior.
For those of us who’ve ‘done New York, but not for a few years’, it was a perfect location; around the corner of one of New York’s ‘newer’ attractions – the High Line – providing a pleasant stroll (along the High Line) to the brand new Hudson Yards development where you can scale the visually spectacular Vessel or check out the Manhattan skyline from the Edge observation deck (at 1100 ft it’s the highest sky deck in the western hemisphere). Unfortunately, our trip ended two days before its grand opening which was rather bad timing on our part.
We loved the original nautical décor of the Maritime Hotel, it seamlessly blends with modern touches to create a relaxing oasis. We especially loved the large choice of sofas and seating around the main lobby, really inviting, and the hotel staff were very helpful and friendly, looking after our luggage due to a red-eye flight back to the UK.
We adored our superior room (basic) with its wood panelling, queen-sized bed and rain shower, we were actually pleasantly surprised on the size of the room for a city notoriously known for shoebox accommodation. It and the entire hotel was clean and provided super-fast WiFi.
The complimentary continental breakfast was perfect to kick start a day of shopping or exploring the local boroughs. It’s basic but a great selection of fresh fruit and juices, hot drinks, cereals, pastries and New York’s finest bagels. The takeaway coffee cups were also a nice touch. We didn’t have a chance to eat in the hotel’s steakhouse restaurant, or have a drink at the bar, but would have had we had been in town longer.
Thank you Maritime Hotel for a great stay, you get our thumbs up.
Lobby and room images taken from hotels website.