New York City may be one of the best cities in the world to find modern, luxury boutique hotels. But it's also a city that embraces the grandeur of its past. In these historic hotels, you can step back in time to the art deco '20s, bohemian '50s and other classic time periods.
The Hotel Chelsea is a red brick, 12-story building erected in 1883. What is now known as the last place Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen lived together was a 1950s and '60s bohemian stomping ground for artists such as Bob Dylan and Allen Ginsberg.
An elegant hotel for elite visitors, the original Waldorf-Astoria was built by distinguished American cousins, financier William Waldorf Astor and businessman John Jacob Astor IV. The current, art deco building has been an official New York City landmark since 1993.
Named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, The Roosevelt Hotel opened in September 1924 to much fanfare and has been known as the Grand Dame of Madison Avenue ever since. Big band leader Guy Lombardo started the tradition of singing "Auld Lang Syne," the New Year's Eve ballad, at the Roosevelt Grill.
Most famous for hosting the Algonquin Round Table, the Algonquin Hotel was opened in 1902. Essentially a daily meeting place for New York's influential literary elite, the Rose Room was frequented by Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Robert E. Sherwood and others for nearly a decade.
William Randolph Hearst, magazine baron, commissioned the building of the European-style, 1926 hotel. Originally located across the street from the famous Ziegfeld Theater to attract stars of film and stage--and friends of Hearst--The Warwick also hosted Elvis Presley and Irving Berlin, and was home to Cary Grant for 12 years.
