CNBC Business | THE PIERRE

THE PIERRE

NEW YORK

Location With entrances on East 61st Street – a spritz away from the perfume counters at Barneys – and Fifth Avenue, overlooking Central Park – this recently refurbished Taj Hotels flagship straddles one of New York’s grandest locations. Should you tire of the limo jams and taxi-wranglers, you’re a block from a subway station.

Style Monochromatic marble, dinky consoles and dainty chairs, tiny white-gloved greeters operating tiny elevators – The Pierre is for people who would like to stay in an exquisite, over-staffed apartment block, rather than in a buzzy hotel. With the exception of the hidden Two E cocktail bar (named for the address, rather than the drug preference of the patrons), the public areas are basically two fast-track aisles to the human yo-yos. The hotel boasts that staff outnumber guests by three to one. It feels more like 30. One of The Pierre’s big selling points since its $100m (€75m) makeover is the re-creation of London’s Le Caprice restaurant, an institution that has long married a sense of occasion and keenly priced classic dishes with aplomb. Here, the good but unspectacular food is overwhelmed by the theatricality of the surroundings. Unfortunately, Le Caprice also serves as the hotel’s only breakfast room – terrific though the Full English was, it is impossible to relax first thing in the morning with lighting brighter than ignited magnesium ribbon and with a staff quite so overdressed and disinterested.

Guestrooms Although the smaller ones are a little on the snug side, the 140 rooms (and certainly the 49 suites) are worth darting into the lift for. All have high ceilings and are elegantly furnished and fitted out in neutral tones and richly textured fabrics. Beds are supremely comfortable; linens superb. All rooms have 40” (102cm) flat-screen TVs, DVD players and iPod docks. Bathrooms have glass-walled showers with dinner-plate-size showerheads, marble-encased deep tubs and Molton Brown toiletries.

Can I work here? Guestrooms have decent-sized desks with built-in power and data ports; laptop safes with charging capabilities and good lighting. There is a tiny, 24-hour business centre, a far more impressive telepresence facility, six event rooms of varying size, high-speed internet (both wired and wireless) and a host of administrative, audiovisual and translation services.

The Pierre + 1 (212) 838 8000 www.tajhotels.com