Aman New York

I stayed on a Friday and Saturday night in July and noticed some odd behavior from the night shift staff that really concerned me. Based on my 10+ years working in medicine, it seemed pretty clear that some of the male employees may have been using cocaine. I’d strongly suggest doing some random drug testing—especially for the night crew—just to be safe. It’s not something I’d bring up lightly, but it seemed serious enough to mention.

We consider ourselves "AmanJunkies" (and have the hats to prove it), and rank several Aman properties around the world as among the best hotels on the planet. The Aman NYC, however, is not among them -- not even among the better hotels in NYC. First, the best part: the rooms are extremely beautiful and quite spacious, and overall the property is extremely well styled and furnished. The rest of the story: the service is very middling (more below), the restaurants and bars are nothing special by NYC standards (although the prices are definitely much higher), and the common areas are crowded with all kinds of non-hotel guests (not the usual Aman experience). As to the service level, while the staff was universally very friendly and tried to be helpful, for many of them it was clear they had limited experience at the property (or even in hospitality). As one example, during our stay there was a public event that resulted in the complete closure of 57th street for several blocks in front of the hotel, blocking any traffic from the main entrance. This event had been planned many weeks in advance by the city--will road closures also announced well in advance--and yet the hotel staff didn't provide any notice to guests (not even on the event day), and was completely unprepared that day to deal with the fact that hotel guests now had to find alternative transportation arrangements that picked up a few blocks from the hotel. Not a huge deal, but the kind of occurrence that even a mid-ranked Marriott would have probably alerted guests with a note under the door. (There was also a fire drill while we were there, the simple kind of thing that most hotels would provide advance notice. Zero communication from the Aman....well, at least, until we all heard the alarms.) We will continue to enjoy numerous amazing Aman properties around the world, but do not have any plans to return to this one...which is sad, becasue NYC should be a place where the Aman hospitality really shines.

The Aman experience was truly present from the moment I arrived. You feel like a VIP the staff is attentive, discreet, and genuinely there for you and your every need. In the heart of this bustling city, the hotel feels like a serene cocoon, a peaceful nest you simply don’t want to leave. The design is absolute perfection. Jean-Michel Gathy, in charge of the interior design, has once again done a remarkable job. The way he mixes textures and colors is a delight, not only for the eyes, but even for the nose, as the entire property smells divine. Our room was spacious, thoughtfully laid out, and beautifully decorated, a true haven of calm and style. As for the food, both restaurants are excellent, but my personal favorite is the Japanese one. It’s intimate, cozy, and offers a sense of calm that’s incredibly rare to find in New York City.

It was my long dream to visit any of Aman hotels, primarily for design and architecture, and then for privacy, and I must say I was not disappointed. Experience went even beyond my high expectations. It is a one of a kind hotel, and the level you will get here is above 5 stars. This is truly an introverted heaven, as you will get all the privacy you want. If you seek serenity, privacy, esthetics and space, this is the place to go. It is a sanctuary, as within a minute you are taken from a rush of NYC streets to a place where your mind naturally calms down. And don't you just love when a hotel is so much more than merely a sleepover in the city? We were astonished with the room size, as the smallest room is the size of an apartment, which will never give you a feeling of staying in a hotel, but very quickly you will settle in and feel like you are home. Everything is spacious, from the mini bar, to sleeping area, to bathroom. We booked the room with 5th avenue view, which will additionally give you the experience of living a dream. We opted every day for breakfast in the room, if however you are more on the extroverted side, you can have breakfast in a lounge or garden area, which is very beautiful. We do appreciate our privacy, so we stayed in our room. The Personnel was extremely friendly, polite and helpful. I would particularly like to pinpoint Nicole (front desk staff) as he always tried to go one step beyond to try to make our stay memorable. We did have a minor incident at the begining with one of the young female staff, having complained about it, all the other personnel really tried to make up for it. Which we deeply appreciated. Doormen staff was also great, each and every one of them. I loved the design, as it gives you a serene atmosphere, almost like stepping into a temple. Materials used in the room are all natural, you will not find plastic, which shows how detail oriented they are. And given my personal experience, the more detail oriented hotel is, the better quality hotel it is. . I could go on and on about how happy we were to have stayed there, and It is absolutely worth the price. I hope that soon I will have a chance to visit other Aman hotels.

We had an absolutely magical stay. Everything was perfect from A-Z and we felt like coming home and not to a hotel. Rooms are beautiful, service is fantastic, views are great. The spa was not 100% ours as the genders were separated, but beyond this, it was definitely a fantastic trip to New York, celebrating our anniversary.