Distance to the park: 3-minute walk
Where to catch Central Park views: Central Park Suites, Empire Suite, Presidential Suite
Since it opened in 1930, The Carlyle has become something more than the sum of its extremely alluring parts. A living legend that embodies, if not the spirit of NYC, at least one of her spirits: her brightest, most sparkling, most elegant self—witty, worldly, and nostalgic. An entire movie has been made about this property—Always at The Carlyle—in which George Clooney, Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Naomi Campbell discuss their fondness for the joint. Broadly speaking, the rooms get better the higher the floor. Plus, you get to spend more time in the elevators—not an activity to enjoy in everyday life, but this is not everyday life. The ones at The Carlyle are the stuff of legend, as much admired as the astounding Dorothy Draper lobby or Bemelmans Bar. Imagine if you had been there when Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Steve Jobs all piled in (true story). You would have been in awe. Not of them, of course, but of the real superstar—the unflappable, icy-calm, white-gloved Carlyle elevator operator. —Steve King
