Ink48 - A Kimpton Hotel

Whether it’s officially Midtown West, Clinton or good old-fashioned Hell’s Kitchen, the neighborhood around Kimpton’s Ink48 Hotel is a bit of a surprise to the uninitiated. On the one hand the hotel sits at roughly the same latitude as Times Square, which is four avenues to the east. But this is Midtown’s less chaotic side. It’s perhaps better characterized by the eminently strollable, joggable and bikeable Hudson River Greenway, a block from Ink48, than by the busy sidewalks and towering skyscrapers one might expect. And in the unlikely case that the old Hell’s Kitchen moniker raises any concern, know that the neighborhood where West Side Story took place feels about as threatening today as you’d expect from a place whose street gangs dance in unison, snapping their fingers, as a method of intimidation. For many years it’s been the actors, not the rough-and-tumble characters they might play, who have lived here.

The building that Kimpton converted into Ink48 used to house a printing press, and there are hints of this past life embedded in the design. Guest rooms are loft-like, a common enough approach to former industrial spaces, but here done in a subtler, more thoughtful key. A wash of natural light through floor-to-ceiling windows only amplifies the effect of airy, open-plan spaces, and if you’re looking for excellent views of the Manhattan skyline or the river through those windows, the deluxe rooms and suites are the ones to get.

The best views of all, however, are reserved for The Press Lounge, the rooftop cocktail bar. With the city and the Hudson wrapped around you as you settle into a cushiony rattan lounger, you probably won’t be tempted to move too far from your seat. Though for an off-premise dinner, the neighborhood’s famously diverse restaurant row is nearby, and it puts to shame the cluster of mega-chains under all those bright lights to the east.

If you want to be right in the middle of everything this may not be the hotel for you, but let’s keep that in perspective. Only in midtown Manhattan could a three-avenue walk to the subway be considered a serious schlep, and only here could a neighborhood with so many dining options (and the hotel’s own killer cocktail venue) be viewed as a backwater. And there are always taxis.

• 222 Rooms
• Style: Modern Design
• Atmosphere: Lively

Tweet