Entering the Hotel Giraffe is like stepping back in time. With its floor-to-ceiling windows pouring in light by day and night, a charming piano man tickling the ivories during cocktail hour, and the sumptuous settings, the ideally situated Gramercy Park gem will have you humming “Take Five”, “At Last”, and “Fly Me to the Moon” long before you’ve reached your well-appointed suite. The distinctive art deco influences instantly amp up the cool cachet quotient with interiors that are understated, refined, and elegant. The property evokes a feeling that great jazz legends may have once stayed there. My suite had a terrace overlooking Manhattan’s tony Park Avenue. Upon arrival, I was welcomed by a lovely fruit basket and refreshing sparkling waters!

The architecture and floor plan enhance this sense of luxury with a quality that is especially rare in New York—spaciousness! There are only seven guest rooms to each floor. The accommodations include 10ft ceilings, antique-rose velveteen upholstered chairs, and ottomans as well as black and white original photographs from the ’20s and ’30s. Chic and contemporary linens, chocolate leather headboards and pearlized platinum wall coverings offering a touch of regency glamour to each guest room. The hotel offers smoke-free accommodations in More >