There’s a masculinity about this New York mainstay – a property that was styled up and rebranded a couple of years hack, the hotel formerly known as 60 Thompson now marching under an arguably cooler moniker that immediately outs its location. Because location’s key, right? It’s certainly what those two TV Brits, flogging thatched cottages in Cornwall (or worse) hang on about and it’s true here – an ultimate address from which to explore a city that never ceases to enthral, even if certain boroughs have been over-gentrified and sanitised.
Not to say there isn’t enough at 60 Sol Io to keep you cocooned for a couple of days. The rooms are large (for NYC]) and lavish, with that manly touch attached to the leather headboards and dark wooden flooring. The minibars are stocked with Dean & DeLuca snacks, bathrooms are an advertisement for international marble sales and, most importantly, the beds come smothered in linen with thread counts that demand at least one sleep-in.
And be sure to request a room with a balcony, to drink in the views. In-house dining runs to some southern Italian fare at Sessanta – check the weekly pasta board or dive into the halibut – with drinks to be had at either The Gordon Bar or the luxe rooftop space, Above 60 (get it?). The latter’s a spring/summer treat open only to guests and members, offering exclusivity and views across rooftops and instantly recognisable New York water towers.
Back on the ground, it’s about meandering – this is ‘South of Houston’, after all, and everything alluring is walkable (and if not, Canal St subway station is a short stroll). Acclaimed bistro Balthazar (Spring St) is just a few blocks, but Raoul’s (Prince St) is our current French go-to, while the Macao Trading Company – a bi-level, former gambling parlour from the ’40s just south of Canal St – serves tantalising Chinese-Portuguese small plates.
Elsewhere, we’re fans of the old-world Temple Bar (Lafayette St), late night action at the not-so-far NeverNever Lounge, with a necessary morning-after coffee from original Aussie cafe, Ruby’s (on Mulberry), and afternoon green tea ice cream at Cha Cha Matcha (Broome St). All things sartorial are also in easy reach – think ACNE Studios (Greene St), Opening Ceremony (Howard St), with BAPE (if that’s more your scene), Oliver Peoples and a Bloomingdales a stroll from the front door.
