Hotel Review: The Langham Hotel, New York.

 

Last year I had a staycation at the Langham Hotel in London, and after experiencing such incredible service there, their sister hotel, The Langham NYC, instantly sprang to mind when Anna and I were choosing our New York City hotel. The thing with New York is there are so many to choose from, but we knew we wanted something central, and modern and sleek rather than old school and stuffy. The luxury five-star Langham Hotel NYC on Fifth Avenue turned out to be absolutely perfect for us, and they even kindly upgraded us from a Langham Suite to a Residence Suite!

Arriving at the Langham Hotel NYC

Our stay started on the Friday; I’d landed at 2am that morning so had a very quick stay at The Knickerbocker, and then got a taxi to Langham Hotel NYC to meet Anna, one of my closest friends who I went to school with back in Australia. She’d been staying in the City with friends for a coupla weeks, and I flew out there to have a girlie weekend with her! As we hadn’t seen each other for almost a year, lots of excited shrieking and hugging ensued, which I think scared the staff a little, but they handled it very well, haha!
We checked in and the lovely man on the desk told us we’d been upgraded to a Residence Suite (Langham Hotel NYC have since refurbished and the closest suite to the Residence suite is the One-Bedroom Empire State View Suite) – could this weekend get any better!? We headed up to our room on the 22nd floor, and when we let ourselves in we were in total awe of how incredible the suite was. I mean…just look at it.

 

And check out the fab view!!

 

Our Suite at Langham Hotel NYC

The suite contained a kitchen, lounge area, guest toilet and sink, a very large bedroom, a huge walk in closet…

And the most beautiful hotel bathroom I have ever seen, with the most incredible view from a hotel bathroom I have ever seen…I treated myself to a bath and a Lush bath bomb on Sunday evening, and the bath was so huge I couldn’t lay in it and had to sit up – it was like a swimming pool!


There was also a decent mini-bar selection and a fridge filled with cans, alcohol (vodka etc), juices, and complimentary bottled water. There was also an all-important Nespresso machine!

Langham Hotel NYC’s amenities and services

After checking out our room at the Langham Hotel NYC, we unpacked and then went out to grab a late lunch and explore some more. That evening we went to see An American in Paris on Broadway, and were lucky enough to have use of the Langham’s complimentary house car to drive us to our dinner location. The service is completely free, and you don’t even have to tip, but we gave the driver around $5 each time we used it just as a general nice thing to do.
The one thing that did annoy me a little (wait for it…this is literally the biggest first world problem ever), is that on the hotel website it says the house car is a Jaguar XJL, however it’s actually a Lincoln town car, which is far less impressive and was a bit of a let-down for a car enthusiast like myself. Like I said, biggest first world problem ever, and not a big deal, but it’s just not the best looking car in the world and very different to the Jaguar XJL.
Anywho, while we’re on the topic of the negatives, unfortunately, as of 2016, the spa at Langham Hotel NYC is currently closed due to renovations, I think it’s reopening towards the end of the year. Also we had to ask a few times to have peppermint tea brought up to the room, even though it had been requested before we arrived. The breakfast was also not great – when I think of American hotels I think of the huge buffet breakfasts with every food imaginable, however their buffet was just a light continental affair, and you could order extra (very expensive) items from the A La Carte menu.
However, aside from those little niggles our entire three-night stay at the Langham Hotel NYC was perfect. The hotel itself was beautiful, the suite was pristine, and the staff? Well. The staff were outstanding. I think it was probably the best service I’ve ever had in a hotel.
The doormen were friendly, helpful, and weren’t afraid to have a laugh with us (so refreshing), and they remembered each guest by name. Every time we entered the Langham they’d say ‘Welcome back Miss Lux! How has your day been?’ and we’d have a chat with them about what we’d been up to. The concierge was also really helpful, and directed me to the nearest post office when I needed to send a package.

 

Oh, and they have complimentary tea, coffee, and jars of sweets in the lobby. Yeh, I ate a lot of these.

 

Everything about the Langham Hotel NYC was pure luxury, and we loved every minute of our stay there! They even organised a transfer to the airport for me in a fancy-pants Mercedes SUV for the same price as a normal taxi! I was so grateful to the driver for giving me such a send-off (he was so American; so chatty and happy, and we had interesting chats about the presidential race and Brexit), that I gave him such a huge tip I may as well have taken a normal taxi, haha!It’s been pretty tough coming home to the UK and no longer having a view over the Chrysler Building at sunset…

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Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

Find me on: Web | Instagram

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8 Comments

  1. Angie SilverSpoon
    March 10, 2016 / 10:03 am

    What a stunning hotel! And I love it when you have a view that reminds you exactly where you are 🙂

  2. Leanne
    March 10, 2016 / 12:39 pm

    Oh gosh that view from the bathroom! Can just imagine a relaxing night time bath overlooking the lights of the city *heart eyed emoji* xx

  3. angloyankophile
    March 10, 2016 / 4:41 pm

    I love, love, love the Langham. The service is 5 star and the rooms are so swanky! I think it's one of the most comfortable hotel beds I've ever slept in. I loved the tv in our bathroom mirror – convinced I need one now! And yup … I dipped into those jars of sweets a few times haha! So glad you loved your stay too!

  4. Unknown
    March 10, 2016 / 5:06 pm

    Now that is a wonderful way to catch up with a friend!
    Ps. I adore the silhouetted photo

  5. Aftab Pathan
    March 11, 2016 / 2:17 pm

    Wow, that's completely and utterly stunning Catherine. NY is one of my favourite places in the world and Langham equally has a great reputation. Especially the spectacular view from the bathroom, I could just imagine sitting in the tub watching over the city and the lights. Ah, beautiful! Very jealous.

    Aftab X

  6. Suze @LuxuryColumnist
    March 11, 2016 / 5:45 pm

    The view from that bathroom takes some beating! Shame about the spa, but a reason to return!

  7. Andrea Petersen
    March 17, 2016 / 2:47 pm

    My god what an amazing view and room! And haha yes that is a first world problem issue BUT it's always disappointing when expectations are not meant so I completely get it. So jealous of your trip! Lots of love, Andrea xxx

    Andrea's Passions

  8. Shikha (whywasteannualleave)
    March 20, 2016 / 8:40 am

    What a fantastic place for an upgrade and the first world problem comment definitely made me chuckle!😀

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