Aman New York – Hotel Review

The most luxurious resort brand in the world finally arrives in one of the world’s best cities – what’s not to love? Aman New York lives up to the hype with a hotel so elevated it makes everything else in Manhattan look shabby.

Where is Aman New York?

Situated on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street (also known as Billionaire’s Row), Aman New York occupies the historic Crown Building at the very top of Midtown Manhattan. Access is a breeze by taxi or the N, R, and W subway lines.

What’s near Aman New York?

The Aman is fittingly situated at the centre of luxury retail in Manhattan. Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton and Bergdorf Goodman are all just across the street, and Bulgari is literally downstairs in the same building. The hotel is two blocks south of Central Park, and three blocks north of the Museum of Modern Art. Everything from Rockefeller Center to the Met are within convenient walking distance, though the hotel would be more than happy to arrange a driver.

Room types

New York hotel rooms are notoriously tiny. Not at the Aman, where even the Junior Suites start at 72 square metres. Each of the 83 rooms are meticulously decorated with oak, bronze and more marble than an Italian quarry. Furnishings are custom, while the amenities – Toto bidet, Fellow kettle – are all top of the line. A particularly nice touch are the ink murals on rice paper, a homage in each guestroom to Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu) by Hasegawa Tōhaku. Splurge on a Corner Suite for the dedicated living room, though the reading nooks in the Premier Suites overlooking 57th Street are hard to pass up with a copy of the Sunday New York Times.

Restaurants and bars

The Jazz Club, a low-lit speakeasy in the Aman’s basement, offers nightly musical performances to anybody who makes a reservation. But with the exception of the Jazz Club, all restaurants and bars at the property are exclusive to hotel guests and members of the Aman Club (with its US$200,000 initiation fee). As you might expect, the restaurants are top notch. Arva, overseen by Executive Chef Dario Ossola, offers classic Italian (such as wild rabbit cappelletti) in a dining room surrounded by Grand Cru wine cabinets. Nama is Chef de Cuisine Takuma Yonemaru’s Japanese kitchen, complete with omakase bar where the chef decides what to serve. After sushi with exquisite Alaskan king crab, retire to the Lounge Bar for a nightcap New York Sour beneath Peter Gentenaar’s paper lantern sculpture.\

Travel for work

Aman New York is more of an escape from work but hotel staff can arrange anything a business traveller needs.

Spa, gym and pool

The centrepiece of Aman New York is undoubtedly the flagship Aman Spa, an “integrative health and wellbeing destination” that sprawls over three floors and 2300 square metres. It is difficult to overstate just how elaborate this facility is: yoga studios, private hammams, Chinese medicine, an on-site Harvard-trained physician. The pool alone would be the star attraction of many lesser establishments, an indoor oasis surrounded by day beds and fireplaces. An enormous gym offers a full range of Technogym equipment, plus an infrared foam roller. Then there are the cryotherapy chambers, where the body is subjected to minus-110 degrees Celsius. If you’re more interested in relaxing, order the Purifying Scrub & Wrap Ritual, where a masseuse scrubs you down with pulverised quartz and seaweed.

What you need to know

Aman staff are so attentive that they will quietly take note when you go for a run in Central Park and have a bottle of water waiting on your return.

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