The conservatory of the penthouse suite from «The Mark». (Image: PD)
Hoteltipp «The Mark», New York
French star designer Jacques Grange has created a jewel on the Upper East Side with a secret on the top floor.
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If US President and real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump knew that. Someone has had the gall to put up something bigger than he owns in his hometown of all places. Yes, The Mark hotel can boast of having the largest penthouse suite in the USA for wealthy guests (and their entourage). We actually get lost on our sightseeing tour with Victoria Menechella. The mega accommodation option measures 12,000 square feet, over 1,100 square meters. Arriving on the roof terrace – again more than 230 square meters, the marketing manager is speechless again. The view over the rooftops of the Upper East Side is, no, not priceless. In fact, it costs $75,000 a night.
Who lives there? Celebrities like to rent for a night, for example when “Vogue” boss Anna Wintour invites you to the annual Met Gala.
Business people converting the suite into an office for months of negotiations. Royal heads who sometimes book a year and a half at a time. “In the beginning I was a little star-struck,” says Menechella.
But she mentions all this in passing. The marketing manager prefers to explain what the slogan “New York’s Most Boldly Lavish Hotel” means to all employees in the hotel. This can roughly be translated as “radically wasteful” and precisely describes the experience offered to the guests.
«The Mark» has been styled from A to Z, obviously without paying much attention to costs. It starts in the lobby with the zebra look that runs through the entire building.
–crosswalk? We need to be in The Mark. (Image: PD)
The radical design will spread to the furniture, furnishings and works of art, until it reaches even the smallest unit in the hotel: the soap and shampoo containers, which are decorated with lovingly frivolous illustrations.
There is a simple reason why the hotel has an unmistakably European touch. The owners of «The Mark», the hotel belongs to the real estate group Alexico of the entrepreneur Izak Senbahar and is completely independent, had given the French star designer Jacques Grange a completely free hand during the complete renovation x years ago.
–Radical creative drive down to the last detail: entrance to “The Mark Restaurant by Jean-George”. (Image: PD)
The result: Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, plagued by jet lag, you can immediately feel that you are a guest at The Mark in New York – a “service” that many chain hotels are jealous of should be.
The audience in “The Mark Restaurant by Jean George” and in the bar is also unmistakably “New York”.
–Where the locals take their nightcap: The bar in «The Mark». (Image: PD)
Just two minutes from Central Park, The Mark is located in one of the quietest corners of Manhattan. Opportunities to go out are rare here, so locals also take a nightcap here or meet for a business breakfast. The tone of these guests is of the selected gruffness that is something of the city’s trademark.
The staff remains polite in every situation, sometimes with an ironic undertone, for example when commands are barked at the hotel’s own hot dog cart in front of the entrance.
This too has a zebra look and can therefore easily be confused with the pedicabs. Attention, they like to drive you directly to the personal shopper Bergdorf Goodman!
–Can be confused with the hotel’s own hot dog cart: the pedicabs lead directly to New York’s legendary temple of consumption. (Image: PD)
