French brands are synonymous with luxury. Looking for couture and some bling to go with it? You’d better be up on Chanel and Cartier. Need some celebration wine? Think Dom Perignon and Margaux. In New York, where you can find all those things (for a price), the hottest French name in luxury hospitality is Baccarat.
When it opened in 2015, this first-of-its-kind hotel from the French crystal company was immediately iconic for its shimmering, Instagram-worthy, grand design. Enter through the all-black lower lobby on 53rd Street, and 1,800 Harcourt glasses (the brand’s most famous style) flickering in the dark signal that this isn’t your average NYC hotel. Emerge from the elevator, turn the corner, and the opulent Grand Salon sports five chandeliers — you’ll find 17 hanging throughout the first and second floors — silvery upholstery, jet-black shelves, objets d’art, and clusters of roses in classic Baccarat red.
Upstairs, rooms have more of that silver-and-splash-of-red motif with soft, Mascioni sheets; a mini-bar stocked with Ladurée patisserie; crystal sconces; and a Champagne button on the phone. Even something as mundane as the glass that holds your toothbrush is a cut-crystal tumbler.
As if that’s not enough, Baccarat also boasts an underground, 55-foot, marble-floor pool and the Spa de La Mer, the only of its kind in North America, featuring facials and treatments with the ultra-expensive, celeb-favorite brand.
Rooms from $800/night
www.baccarathotels.com
