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The Independent UK

Ted Thornhill

Public, New York City hotel review

New York Louis (Organization)

A tower of hipster hospitality with minimalist rooms, epic views and a location that puts guests within a short stroll of SoHo's buzzy bars and brasseries

Location

The 18-storey Lower East Side tower that houses Public hotel, by pioneering American hotelier Ian Schrager, is located on a nondescript portion of Chrystie St. But vibrant Nolita (north of Little Italy) and SoHo are mere moments away by foot to the west. In both areas you'll find chic shops, spirited bars and some great places to eat. In the latter, the legendary French brasserie Balthazar is a must. If you can't get a reservation, try Jack's Wife Freda for moreish Mediterranean fare and buzzy La Pecora Bianca SoHo for comforting Italian dishes.

Exploring the rest of New York is a breeze, with the Second Avenue subway station a two-minute walk away. From there, the F line takes you north to the Empire State Building (1.8 miles away in Midtown) and the Rockefeller Center, and south to downtown Brooklyn. For a wider spectrum of subway options, head seven minutes west on foot to Broadway-Lafayette St.

The vibe

Public's showstopping lobby escalator (Public)

It resembles a dull SimCity skyscraper on the outside, but Public is as eye-catching and Instagrammable on the inside as you'd expect from a man who opened what's claimed to be the world's first boutique hotel — the now-closed Morgans on NYC's Madison Avenue – and founded (with Marriott) the trendy Edition hotel brand.

You step through the revolving entrance door into what appears to be part nightclub, part greenhouse and part stately home, with guests who are older and slightly dazed by it all, or younger and wallowing in the leftfield aesthetics and against-the-grain hospitality style.

Public areas are replete with grand sofas, lush foliage and spotlit concrete walls and ceilings.

The first picture for your social media feed, however, will be of the showstopping lobby escalators encased in distressed steel and lit by orange neon lights.

Service

Service on my visit veered from warm and welcoming to extremely casual (hipster, I suppose), with the occasional bout of indifference.

Louis, billed as a 'gourmet food bazaar and bakery', offers a limited breakfast menu (Public)

For example, I was helped by a very bubbly receptionist when the DIY tablet check-in system wouldn't work for me. But when I checked out and the tablet refused to play ball again, the receptionist was decidedly apathetic, offering nothing in the way of an apology for the 15-minute delay.

The Louis breakfast bar servers, meanwhile, were more upbeat, but spoke to guests like they were buddies. "I ain't got no cash, bro," was the reply for one guest who asked if he could pay with dollar bills.

The rooftop bar team offer a slightly more old-fashioned, polite style of customer engagement.

Bed and bath

Ted's 'King room with great view' offered 'an entrancing panorama of the iconic Manhattan skyline' (Public)

There are 11 room types in the 367-room property, ranging from queen to penthouse.

Ensuite rain showers are standard, with additional bathtubs limited to certain suites (best to check when booking), but each guarantees views through floor-to-ceiling "noise-canceling" windows that range from impressive to breathtaking.

My "king room with great view" offered the latter, an entrancing panorama of the iconic Manhattan skyline.

The view is the biggest lure for lingering, with the design leaning towards minimalist and functional and the square footage limited. The rooms are capsule-like.

However, the beige wood-paneling is inviting and there are neat touches, like the uncomplicated touch-screen panel that controls the lights, blackout shades, and air conditioning; and the reading lights that flip out from the wooden headboard.

Plus, the wifi is blindingly rapid. Public's boast of having the fastest broadband of any hotel in New York is potentially correct.

Food and drink

Drinks on Public's rooftop terrace are served with spellbinding skyline views (Public)

The gold-standard activity on the refreshment front is a drink on the rooftop bar amid yet more foliage, where views of One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building will entrance.

Bar Two Fifteen is a lower-altitude option for cocktails, while a ground-floor pisco bar that specializes in Peru's beloved spirit.

Food-wise, Louis, billed as a "gourmet food bazaar and bakery", offers a limited breakfast menu, but the Greek yoghurt is delicious and the coffee smooth.

It also serves lunch (think wood-fired pizzas and salads), and for extra sustenance options, there's an adjacent juice bar.

For dinner, restaurant Popular takes taste buds back to Peru, with a menu overseen by celebrated Peruvian chef Diego Munoz.

Facilities

Artspace is a heavily mirror-balled "avant-garde multimedia performance space" that hosts dance parties and big-name DJs.

There's also a 24-hour gym, complete with Peloton bikes.

Disability access

The hotel offers accessible guest rooms with wider openings, bathtubs with grab bars and lowered deadbolts and electrical outlets. Service animals are allowed for persons with disabilities.