In New York, all eyes are now on the unmissable 104-storey, 1,776ft-tall One World Trade Center. Having slowly risen from the site of the fallen Twin Towers, it is now complete and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. With its One World Observatory opening this weekend, the 100th to 102nd floors of this locally divisive building are finally open to the public.
The views are, of course, unparalleled but with all the attention the attraction has been getting the crowds are certain to be significant, even by Manhattan standards. For panoramas of the city that are a touch more tranquil, I last week visited a trio of more exclusive destinations that are well worth considering.
First stop, New York’s Mandarin Oriental hotel at Columbus Circle. For visitors new to the city the overall location is good – MoMA is moments away, Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera stand nearby, Central Park lies directly across the road – but it’s the hotel positioning that distinguishes it from other luxury hotels in the city. Occupying floors 35 to 54 of the north tower of the Time Warner Center, its rooms offer vistas that other luxury hotels in the city struggle to compete with.
It’s a selling point that the property is only now fully capitalising on. It is currently rolling out 42 new one- and two-bedroom corner suites, each one featuring interiors that reference a particular time of day, be it sunrise, dusk or night, and structured to make the most of the enveloping vistas. On the 49th floor, my one-bedroom suite was decorated in shades of plum and taupe, but I barely registered the “night-time” palette, the décor by designers HOK or the New York-themed artworks installed by curators Rare Culture. Agreeable though they were, nothing could quite match the spread of the city before me.
A luminous, effervescent green under searingly blue skies, Central Park resembled a verdant forest from up above; a ribbon of canary yellow – honking taxis slowly moving through traffic – formed a gently meandering border at its side. Beyond that, a panoply of slender towers stretched ever upwards to make the most of their place on this prime slice of Manhattan real estate. Moving from the lounge to the bedroom, I could see the shimmering Hudson come in to view, another side of New York suddenly unfurling before me. I could have stayed in the suite all day, but it’s hard to resist the temptation to explore the city when it’s so enticingly placed before you.
One of the best addresses from which to consider New York further is the Rainbow Room, perched on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Reopened last October following a five-year closure, this listed room serves as one of the city’s most prestigious wedding venues on Saturdays but is most famous for its Sunday brunch, perhaps the most glamorous in the city. An abundant buffet, laden with oysters, luscious chicken-and-truffle pies, freshly prepared sushi, curries and innumerable other international delicacies caters handsomely to all tastes.
We dined contentedly as an immaculately attired band played Parisian jazz and neighbouring couples with something to celebrate sipped champagne cocktails. Angled mirrored panels embedded into window frames’ edges offered views that would otherwise remain out of sight and cascades of prismatic crystals, hung like curtains from up on high, cast sparkling rainbows, appropriately enough, on tables and walls. It was hard not to be enchanted.
It was much later that we felt capable of further indulgence, but a trip to New York demands an examination of the city’s cocktail bars. Of those that offer impressive views as an inducement, the newest to attract attention is Skylark.
In the Garment District and occupying the 30th floor of a building that is headquarters to various fashion brands, it’s as stylish as expected and finished in exemplary fashion. Slender coffee tables are finished in walnut burl, bar tops are clad in leather and tinted mirror walls give a muffled reflection of the enveloping view. And what a view it is.
Though occasionally disturbed by an unexpectedly and disagreeably rowdy weekend crowd, we were placated by excellent cocktails – Fort Knox is a warming mix of Elijah Craig bourbon, mescal and honey syrup, with a whole grilled lemon embedded in its single over-sized block of ice; Soi Cowboy offers a spicy, punchy kick of Don Julio Reposado tequila with cucumber, Thai basil and lime juice – and the sight of the city transitioning from day to dusk before us. There was the glowing sheen of Times Square (a sight perhaps better enjoyed from afar than amidst the tussle at ground level), the Hudson and, most dramatically, the Empire State Building.
Still considered by so many to be the city’s most impressive skyscraper, it stood directly before us, solitary and magnificent. And then another surprise. As darkness fell the landmark building’s upper levels were suddenly illuminated in bands of blue, white and gold. Literally highlighting special causes and events, the building is lit in different colours each night. During our Memorial Day weekend visit it was, of course, the colours of the American flag that were deemed most appropriate. From our perch, to see one of the country’s most beautiful buildings lit in its national colours was something that immediately called for another toast.
Suites at the Mandarin Oriental New York cost from $1,795 (£1,175) per night, excluding breakfast.
Brunch at the Rainbow Room costs $95 (£60), excluding drinks and gratuity.
Return flights from London Heathrow to JFK cost from £381 in economy class or from £2,712 in business class with British Airways; all-business-class British Airways Club World London City services to JFK cost from £2,708 return.