With its striking blue facade, butterfly-friendly garden terraces and Kit Kemp's signature whimsical design, the artsy Warren Street Hotel brings a fresh dose of British creativity to Lower Manhattan, says Ellie Seymour

The 69-room Warren Street Hotel, which opened in February 2024, is the third in New York City for art-loving Firmdale Hotel group – perhaps its most playfully designed yet.

Peace and tranquility, glittering rooftop views, spacious rooms – some with big, landscaped terraces – and seamless discreet service are stand-out hallmarks. Not to mention its showstopping collection of art spread throughout the hotel.

With its Tribeca location, it's a perfect city hideaway for New York regulars, like me, who have done all the mid-town tourist sights, and still like to feel as though they're in NYC but out of the thick of things, or those on business trips who need comfort and room to work.

THE LOCATION

Warren Street Hotel is home in Tribeca, an exclusive, often overlooked neighbourhood of lower Manhattan known for its modern apartment buildings and historic cobblestone streets, lined with galleries, restaurants and bars. It's set on its peaceful namesake, Warren Street, sandwiched between busy Chambers Street and West Broadway, in a striking bold blue steel and glass building. With its huge American flag waving high above the door, you can't miss it.

Staying here is handy for shopping at Brookfield Place and lunch on the water, The Oculus, One World Trade Observatory and the new Performing Arts Theatre. It's also just two blocks from the A and C trains at Chambers Street. This, I discovered, makes arriving here by Subway from JFK airport – one straight train line ride from Howard Beach Station – an absolute dream, even after an eight-hour flight from London and in rush hour with a suitcase.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Vases overflowing with fresh flowers and pots of trademark Firmdale striped pencils sit atop the reception desk in the hotel's striking, airy, high-ceilinged, sculpture-filled yellow lobby. It's a stylish space with big personality, that sets the scene for hotel's eclectic décor, a riot of bold colour, shapes, textures and pattern including plenty of florals, which feels like being in an eccentric, yet impeccably stylish English country house.Everywhere you look, from the lifts to the bedrooms, you can see art. There's a showstopping collection of 700 artworks, curated here and throughout the hotel by Kit Kemp and her daughters, including the two towering sculptures suspended like totem poles next to the hotel's main entrance.

THE ROOMS

There are 69 rooms ranging from superior room to the three-bedroom songbird suite, each with a creative vibe and slightly different colour scheme. If budget allows, I vote booking into one of the dreamy junior terrace suites, unique for their private landscaped balconies featuring a mini lawn and flowerbeds filled with wild grasses, herbs and potted trees, rattan furniture and string lights which frame the scene beautifully.

Sipping my Nespresso in a Kit Kemp bone china cup here in the morning will forever stick in my mind, when a butterfly landed on my table, another on the string lights, in view of Tribeca's glossy apartment buildings, rusty water towers, to the thrum of New York below. These rooms also have bags of space, a sofa, small desk, a dining table for two, a luxurious king bed, big wardrobe, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Tip-toeing over the heated marble bathroom floor in an oversized fluffy robe into the deep soaking tub with TV or the huge rain shower, is the ultimate indulgence.

RESTAURANTS: WHAT TO EAT

Peeling myself away from my terrace suite was a challenge I had to overcome for dinner at the hotel's ground floor Warren Street Bar and Restaurant. It's a destination in its own right, packed most nights of the week with locals and guests alike, here to feast on its crowd-pleasing brasserie-style dishes such as lobster roll with tarragon aioli, squash blossoms with lemon-basil ricotta and Romanesco and hanger steak au poivre, served either in the main dining room or the skylit Orangery. It's also the setting for buffet breakfast and afternoon tea served on Kit Kemp-designed Tall Trees fine bone china.

BARS: WHAT TO DRINK

Thursdays are for jazz nights when it's fun to sip a punchy tequila-fuelled Daisy Clementine cocktail perched at the bar. After dark, grab a negroni from the honesty bar in the Drawing Room and sneak up to the rooftop to catch the twinkling skyscraper views.

WELLNESS FACILITIES

Guests are offered free access to a local gym a five-minute walk away for the length of their stay.

WHERE TO WORK

The rarely occupied ground-floor Drawing Room is peaceful secret sanctuary packed with slouchy sofas and armchairs surrounding a fireplace with chess boards on hand for a distraction. Most rooms come with small desks, such as in the terrace suites where they're beautifully positioned facing out through a floor-to-ceiling window for a view over the landscaped terrace and Tribeca's rooftops.

STANDOUT INNOVATIONS

Firmdale has raised the bar in the level of detail and design within the rooms at Warren Street Hotel. It is the first time they have built a hotel with a colourful façade, which they did in a way that it would appear vibrant without appearing gaudy.

Another innovative feature of the hotel are the landscaped garden terraces complete with a grassy lawn that lead off some of the suites. This makes guests feel like they have their own private garden. They feature two flower beds filled with trees, spring flowers and shrubs, which you can see from anywhere in the room, even when you're sitting in the bath. They're one of the only hotels in the New York to offer these."Many of the suites have private terrace gardens designed with an emphasis on pollinating plants to encourage and sustain the local wildlife, including birds, bees and butterflies. Seagrass, ferns and cherry trees provide colour throughout the seasons, even in deepest midwinter," says Kit Kemp.

INSIDER TIP

Bryan Rosario, the hotel's assistant head concierge recommends: "When visiting Tribeca be sure to visit the Oculus Beer Garden and enjoy the breathtaking city views while relaxing and unwinding in a unique outdoor setting. You'll see tons of artwork alongside the street as well as a shopping centre inside the WTC Oculus. If you're looking for a refreshing drink go with 'The Rock Bottom."

VERDICT

A quietly confident art-filled hotel that feels like a plush home from home, making it the perfect choice for those who enjoy a tucked-away exclusive location, a high standard of hospitality and joyful décor with big personality – and aren't phased by higher-end pricetags.

PRICE

Room rates start at US$925 per night.