10 quirky, cool and unusual hotels in New York City

New York City is home to luxury hotels, boutique hotels, budget accommodation, hostels and designer hotels. Of course, one of the world’s largest metropolises can offer everything! Like other cities with millions of inhabitants and even more millions of visitors, New York also boasts a number of more crazy and weird hotels. Here’s our unique list of 10 crazy, weird and unusual hotels in New York City.

The Beekman – Manhattan

Charming, luxurious, eccentric. Located near the Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street, The Beekman is no ordinary hotel. With art all over the walls, oak-floored rooms, marble bathrooms and oriental carpets on the floors of public areas, The Beekman offers a different hotel experience to say the least. The hotel is like a work of art in itself!

In the middle of the hotel building there is a courtyard that is open nine floors high. The rooms are placed around the courtyard which is clearly unique and clearly different. A room at The Beekman is a bargain, especially if you choose a suite or one of the hotel’s stunning penthouses.

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

It’s one thing to get a view of New York City once, for example from the Empire State Building. It’s another thing to be able to look out over the city centre whenever you want, not least from a pool ten storeys up. The latter is exactly what 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge offers. New York is literally at your feet!

Is there anything else about the hotel that makes it fit on a list of crazy, weird and different hotels? There is a lot! Roof terrace with restaurant, spa, design with natural and recycled materials, plants from floor to ceiling (almost!). 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is clearly an exciting hotel.

CitizenM New York – Times Square

If kitsch and art deco and colour in general is your thing, CitizenM New York is not a bad option. The design of this Times Square hotel is definitely quirky, but most visitors would say quirky in a good way. Sinking into one of the bright red armchairs after a long day in Manhattan is not wrong!

CitizenM offers more surprises with a difference. One is that the hotel has an app with which you can control the lights and temperature, control the TV, control the blinds and a whole lot more.

The Standard High Line – Meatpacking District

The Standard is a concept that can be found in many places around the world and in New York there are two The Standard hotels. There’s no hotel in New York more hip than the High Line, and it’s different in terms of location, design and food and drink.

Located right on the waterfront and a popular park, The Standard High Line offers over 330 rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the river or Manhattan. At the top of the hotel with a lovely view is a nightclub and on the ground floor is a traditional German beer garden. Needless to say, there is also a lot to choose from when it comes to food. The Standard High Line is hip and different and well worth an extra look.

Freehand New York – Union Square

The Freehand Hotel in New York is weirdly worse, and literally so. There is art on the walls almost everywhere. There is a reason for this. The hotel is housed in the old George Washington Hotel, which for many years was home to musicians, artists and writers. The interior is generally a bit odd and those looking for a common thread will have to look hard!

So what is it like to live at Freehand? This is a four-star hotel with most amenities. There are also no less than five restaurants and bars to visit for food and drink.

The Bowery Hotel – East Village

The Bowery Hotel in the East Village is known for several things. One thing is that many rich and famous seem to prefer this hotel, much because it offers cosy and sophisticated luxury. Another characteristic of The Bowery Hotel is that it appears to be haunted. With a cemetery model larger just a block from the hotel, it’s perhaps not surprising.

As a guest at The Bowery Hotel, you may be lucky (unlucky?) enough to hear the elevators come to life at one in the morning. You may also (maybe!) meet other guests in the corridors, guests who suddenly vanish into thin air.

Collective Governors Island – Governors Island

Governors Island, just south of Manhattan, is home to some incredibly unique accommodation. These are Collective Retreats, which function as a kind of combination of camping and hotel. The owners have really taken the concept of “glamping” to a whole new level!

If you want to stay on Collective Governors Island, you can book either a tent or a cabin. The tents are climate-controlled and equipped with real, sturdy furniture. Since Collective is essentially a campground and New York has real winters, the campground is not open year-round. It is open between May and October. If you want to book a stay Collective Governors Island, you can do it through Expedia, among others. We have several great Expedia discounts and promo codes for you to take advantage of.

The Jane Hotel – West Village

1912 was the year the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic (check out our guide to the Titanic Exhibition in London for more information). Many of the crew members who were lucky enough to survive had to make the trip to New York. There awaited accommodation in the building that is now the Jane Hotel. Since 2008, the hotel has been welcoming visitors who like to take part in the different and slightly strange during their hotel stays.

The Jane Hotel is, for New York City, a relatively inexpensive hotel but the atmosphere and character is priceless. Here you can stay in “cabins” (yes, literally!) and rooms where the legacy of the Titanic really stands out. For a simpler and cheaper hotel stay, you can choose a cabin with a double bed. For a more luxurious feel, try the Captain’s Cabin.

Yotel New York – Hell’s Kitchen

When it comes to hotels with the most photos and mentions on Instagram, Yotel New York is probably high on the charts. This hotel offers lots of different things to share on social media. Yotel is slightly crazy in its Japanese-inspired and futuristic design. If you like your hotel stay to be an experience in itself, Yotel is not a bad choice.

Minimalism and technology, quirky interiors and absolutely stunning views of the city are the hallmarks of Yotel. Another cool feature is the Yobot luggage robot and another is the price tag. For New York City, staying a night at the Yotel New York doesn’t really cost the earth. You can book a room at Yotel via Hotels.com and through us get access to a Hotels.com discount code to get an extra good price on your hotel stay.

Dream Downtown – Meatpacking District

A list of crazy and different hotels should include hotels with architecture that stands out. Dream Downtown in the Meatpacking District is certainly such a hotel. The exterior is polished metal and the windows are large and round. You can almost imagine that the hotel is a stranded cruise ship.

Dream Downtown is cool on the inside too, with metal-covered walls, a cabaret-style restaurant, themed restaurants and bars, suites with private pools and a shared pool. Dynamic and different is just the name of the game for Dream Downtown.