After a multi-year renovation, Hotel on Rivington took a step up in style, much like the blossoming Lower East Side neighborhood around it. With chic interiors, creative artists-in-residence and new, upscale dining and drinking experiences, this luxury boutique hotel lives up to its unique category.
The building itself is a sight to behold, with floor-to-ceiling windows from which you can take in illuminating views of the city, scanning the sky from One World Trade to the Chrysler Building. The hotel’s lounge-y lobby area is painted with original work from artist-in-residence Domingo Zapata—each piece is for sale, and featured artists will continue to change with time. The lobby scene, while quiet on a Friday night, is about to change with a bar opening in 2017.
For now, make your way to the floor level to head to Cafe Medi for a Mediterranean-inspired meal. Opened in summer 2016, the ample space has high ceilings and tiled walls adorned with what look like ancient Greek drawn figures of humans and birds. Start with creamy burrata and bits of the cast iron skillet-served bread before dipping into truffle polenta with mushrooms and perfectly runny eggs. Keep the party going with a stop-in next door to the recently opened (hotel-owned) Jia Lounge, a cocktail lounge that looks like your stylish grandmother’s dressed-up living room (in a good way), complete with plush furniture and walls, all in varying velvet floral patterns.
Back upstairs in your hotel room you’ll find wall-to-wall windows through which to gaze upon the New Yorkers bustling below. If you’re staying in a unique king room, as I was, you’ll find a 15-foot long tiled shower with three showerheads that doubles as a personal steam room—perfect for inviting new friends over for a nightcap or three. If you can rouse yourself in time, take another peek through those looming windows at sunrise.
TIME OUT TIP: Stop into Mmuseumm, one of New York's smallest and quirkiest museums, located in an elevator shaft. Fifteen exhibitions fit into the tiny space all at once, with socially poignant themes.