Crosby Street Hotel – Kit Kemp's SoHo rulebreaker, Three MICHELIN Keys

Crosby Street Hotel sits on a cobbled SoHo side street between Prince, Spring and Lafayette, in a building that gives nothing away from outside. Behind its deliberately plain brick, stone and glass front lies the first hotel Firmdale Hotels ever built beyond London, opened by Tim and Kit Kemp in 2009 as their first foray abroad. Inside, Kit Kemp's design runs loose: colour, pattern and original art fill 86 individually designed rooms and suites spread over 11 floors, each one different by design rather than by accident. The MICHELIN Guide gives it Three Keys, its highest distinction, for 2024, 2025 and 2026. It is the kind of hotel that made its name by refusing to follow downtown Manhattan's old rule that luxury had to be quiet, monochrome and minimal — and a decade and a half on, that refusal still feels like the point.

01The house

Crosby Street Hotel was built from the ground up in the middle of a low-key SoHo block, rather than carved out of an existing building, and it opened its doors in 2009. In keeping with the neighbourhood's industrial past, the architects kept the façade deliberately plain — brick, stone and glass, with the full-length, floor-to-ceiling warehouse-style windows that nod directly to the loft look SoHo is known for. The understatement outside is a setup for what happens inside, where Kit Kemp's interiors take over in full colour.

The hotel was built with sustainability credentials rare for its time: it earned LEED Gold Certification, becoming the first hotel in New York State to achieve the designation. The centrepiece of the lobby is a large-scale piece by the Scottish paper-cutout artist Jack Milroy, setting the tone for a property where original art is everywhere you look rather than confined to a single statement wall.

02Rooms and suites

No two of the 86 rooms and suites are alike, and that is entirely intentional — Kit Kemp designed each one individually, working room by room across the hotel's 11 floors. Sizes range widely, from around 340 up to 1,500 square feet, with layered textiles, custom furniture and small practical touches like well-lit closets and minibars stocked with local treats. Beds are dressed in Frette linen, and the marble bathrooms come with walk-in showers, heated towel racks and Kemp's own Rikrak toiletries, with deep soaking tubs in some rooms.

Insider tip

Two minutes' walk from Spring Street and Prince Street subway stations; valet parking available.

At the top end sit one- and two-bedroom headline suites with skyline views over Lower Manhattan, and the Meadow Suite, which has its own private garden terrace planted with American native species — an unusual feature for a boutique hotel in this part of the city.

03Where to eat

The Crosby Bar & Restaurant is the hotel's all-day brasserie, serving breakfast through to late dinner in an art-filled room that opens onto a planted terrace on Lafayette Street. Its menu has run the gamut from a Moroccan-themed take on the space in its earlier years to the seasonal, locally driven brasserie cooking it serves today, and in October 2026 the kitchen was still operating on that all-day rhythm, with the restaurant open from 7am to 11pm daily.

Afternoon tea here has its own following — Vogue named it among the best in New York City in 2024 — and the hotel's own menu in October 2026 offered an upgraded version with Petrossian caviar and a glass of vintage Champagne alongside the finger sandwiches and sweets. The light-filled Orangery, just off the main restaurant, is used for private dining and events.

04The bar

The ground-floor Crosby Bar has become one of SoHo's reliable gathering points, open to walk-ins from the street as well as hotel guests, anchored by a long bar and spilling out onto the terrace in warm weather. On Monday nights it turns into a small stage, with a regular live music session featuring a New York vocalist performing alongside the cocktail list.

Guests get a second, quieter option in The Drawing Room, a 24-hour lounge reserved for residents, where an honesty bar holds tea, snacks and wine on ice at any hour. Every evening between 5pm and 6pm, in-house guests are offered complimentary Champagne and canapés there — a small, very English ritual tucked into an otherwise very New York day.

05Guest spaces and wellbeing

There is no spa, but Crosby Street Hotel compensates with a run of guest-only spaces built around its central courtyard. The Sculpture Garden is a planted, peaceful counterpoint to the street outside, while a fully equipped gym — large and well-appointed despite having no windows — covers the basics for anyone unwilling to skip a workout on a city break.

Beneath the lobby sits a private screening room fitted with proper acoustics and electronics, used for everything from film-world events to casual weekend screenings for guests, continuing a long-standing Firmdale habit of giving each hotel its own small cinema.

06The neighbourhood

The hotel sits on a quiet cobbled stretch of SoHo between Prince, Spring and Lafayette Streets, inside one of the densest concentrations of independent shops and galleries in the city. The surrounding blocks hold the MoMA Design Store alongside retail and exhibition spaces like The Webster and Quarters, and Balthazar is among the well-known restaurants within easy walking distance.

Spring Street and Prince Street subway stations are both a two-minute walk away, with Broadway-Lafayette Street around five minutes on foot, making the hotel an easy base for exploring everything from Washington Square Park to the Brooklyn Bridge without touching a taxi.

07Making the most of a stay

Turn up for the 5pm Crosby Hour in The Drawing Room before heading out for the evening — it is complimentary for guests and a good way to see the quieter side of the hotel before the bar downstairs fills up. Book the Meadow Suite if a private outdoor terrace matters more than square footage, and ask for a high floor if a Lower Manhattan skyline view is the priority.

The restaurant keeps a smart-casual dress code and, as of October 2026, valet parking was available for $100 for 24 hours — worth knowing before arriving by car in a neighbourhood with almost no street parking to speak of.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.