3 Best Hotels in Upper West Side, New York City

A charming but modern boutique hotel for visitors looking to experience living on the Upper West Side, this century-old building welcomes you home with a lobby bar that transitions from a lively café during the day to a lively speakeasy-style bar by night. It has a comfortable living room feel with contemporary artwork and an original antique fireplace, a vintage 1920s French elevator, and a bakery and tempting restaurants that are popular with locals. Compact but bright rooms have wood floors, exposed brick, and tall windows with views of Manhattan's iconic water towers are streamlined and cozy. Some rooms have have Juliet balconies or huge furnished terraces. There's live music six days a week in the lobby, and the seasonal rooftop on the 16th floor features a variety of pop-ups throughout the year.

Overlooking Lincoln Center, one block from Central Park, and convenient to Midtown shopping and sights, the showstoppers of this hotel are a seasonal outdoor pool and a rooftop lounge with live music and entertainment. Rooms are well maintained and comfortable, although the patterned floors and wallpaper in earthy colors in guest rooms could do with updating to be more in line with the bold and graphic lobby. Although there's no on-site restaurant, lively PJ Clarke's is on the ground floor, and the hotel's location across the street from Lincoln Center means there are ample restaurants, cafés, and quick bites within a few steps.

While updated and refreshed guest rooms don't—and maybe just can't—live up to the sophisticated and gorgeous exterior of this 1904 landmark building, they are clean, comfortable, and calm, and best of all convenient to the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park just a few blocks away. Standard rooms are small and decorated with dark-wood traditional furniture and neutral color schemes. Downstairs, the bistro Nice Matin is a popular draw (ask about a guest discount). The upscale residential neighborhood has an impressive array of boutiques and gourmet-food shops, including the nearby Zabar's.