The hotels with the best executive club lounges in New York are outlined below. These include the two Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York both of which have amazing views. The Ritz-Carlton Nomad, in particular, offers a club lounge set high in the building with a bird’s eye view of New York. The Ritz-Carlton Central Park club lounge has wonderful park and treetop views, which contrast with the urban views from the Nomad club lounge.
Get Complimentary Club Lounge Access
The club lounge at the InterContinental New York Barclay, an IHG Hotel, also has an amazing club lounge which is pictured above. If you book this hotel with our luxury travel concierge, you will get complimentary club lounge access. This has got to be one of the best hotel deals in New York! You will also get relevant loyalty and status benefits if you share your loyalty account number with our agent.
Nothing beats the Ritz-Carlton club lounges for food. Most club lounges in New York charge extra for alcohol. The Sheraton Tribeca New York club lounge offers free alcoholic drinks and is a bargain, although its location is not so central. So in this category, both Ritz-Carltons wins with free beer, wine, cocktails, and spirits, along with specialist wine tastings once a week.
When deciding which hotel to choose for your stay in a city like New York, it is sensible to consider the added extras provided by a hotel club lounge. Offerings usually include complimentary drinks and snacks throughout the day, breakfast in the morning, and evening cocktails with canapés.
Annoyingly, very few club lounges in New York offer free alcoholic drinks, but the food tends to be filling and plentiful. The food and drink offering is often more than enough to replace the need to go for any food whatsoever, even your evening meal is provided in the lounge.
1. Ritz-Carlton Nomad
A second Ritz-Carlton opened in New York in 2022. Ritz-Carlton Nomad is easily one of the best hotels in New York, with one of the best executive club lounges. Newly built from the ground up and situated in one of the tallest buildings in the area, the 250-room Ritz-Carlton boasts spectacular views from the Empire State Building to the Statue of Liberty.
Ritz-Carlton New York Nomad is steps from Madison Square Park, the Flatiron Building, and a short walk to the Highline. Rising 500 feet above New York’s streets, the hotel sits within the city skyline as one of the tallest buildings in NoMad, which for those of us who aren’t New Yorkers, is the birthplace of American popular music at Tin Pan Alley and today is a nexus of art, entertainment, fashion, and technology.
The guestrooms and public spaces all showcase elegant floral expressions, such as natural elements and textures, that reflect the soft curvature of petals alongside sleek accents and lines, which echo New York City’s verticality and city grid.
Many rooms have stand-alone bathtubs next to the window, so you can relax while looking out over the New York skyline. Watch the setting sun cast a warm glow over the skyline as the city transitions from day to night. The views from the bed, the bath, the room are just fabulous.
The hotel also houses the signature 6,800 ft² Ritz-Carlton Spa and Fitness Center, accompanied by complimentary fruit-infused water and cold towels. There is, however, no pool at this hotel. Restaurants and bars are by Michelin-starred chef José Andrés. Zaytinya and Andrés also oversees the hotel‘s rooftop bar, where guests can drink 500 ft (150 m) in the air, as well as in-room dining, and banquet events, including weddings and more.
This Ritz-Carlton feels more modern than the original Ritz-Carlton in New York. The decor in much of the hotel has a jungly feel with dark browns, greens, and lots of foliage. But the bathtubs by the window make this hotel stand out for us.
The Ritz-Carlton Nomad club lounge here offers fabulous views. The lounge combines intimacy, comfort and exclusivity with personalized service and attention to detail. This oasis in a well-appointed, relaxed lounge environment on the 36th Floor of the building offers 180-degree views to Downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The Club Lounge provides continuous complimentary culinary offerings throughout the day by Michelin-starred chef José Andrés and also offers alcoholic drinks for free.
In our opinion, this is the best club lounge in New York, although it comes with a high price tag. You need to book an executive club room here to gain access to this lounge.
Review: Club Lounge At The Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad
The Club Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad is one of the best club lounges in New York. We love the club lounge at the Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad, because: It has birdseye views over New York It Offers Plentiful Food And Drink Book an executive club room or suite to access the club lounge at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad. Book via our luxury travel concierge for extra free benefits, including free breakfast, hotel credit, room upgrades (subject to availability), and more. Club lounge rooms occupy floors 33 to 37, and the club lounge can be found on floor 36.
2. Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park
In terms of sheer indulgence, rather than value, the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park offers a club level which is really only beaten by its sister hotel in position one.
This club lounge does include alcoholic drinks (hurrah!), including beer, wine, cocktails, and spirits. It goes a step further with wine tastings and similar events. For example, on Friday evenings, club lounge guests can indulge in exclusive champagne and caviar tastings accompanied by exquisite hors d’oeuvres alongside picturesque views of Central Park.
It also has a fun location on the second floor with ever-changing views of iconic Central Park and lively 59th Street. The food on offer in this lounge is also very good. Stick around on Saturday evenings to indulge in their sumptuous caviar presentation.
Review: Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park Club Lounge
There are teo Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York, and both have fabulous executive club lounges. We have previously reviewed the club lounge at the Ritz-Carlton, Nomad, and now we detail the club lounge at the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. These two lounges feature as the top two lounges in our listing of the best club lounges in New York. It's worth mentioning that no one can access Ritz-Carlton club lounges for free. Not even top-tier Marriott Bonvoy members.
3. InterContinental New York Barclay
The InterContinental New York Barclay club lounge is one of the best in New York. Club Lounge access is free here if you book via our travel concierge, along with benefits including a room upgrade on arrival, early check-in / late check-out (all subject to availability), and complimentary Wi-Fi.
The InterContinental New York Barclay is located behind Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue store on East 48th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. The hotel rooms here are large by NYC standards, but the bathrooms are quite cozy. There are 702 rooms, including 33 suites, at this hotel, and the interior look is elegant and classy.
The lounge here is called Club InterContinental and is excellent. It can be found to the left of the lobby and is open from 6:30 am – 8:00 pm. It serves a delicious buffet breakfast, including gluten-free options, snacks, afternoon tea, evening cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres. Club guests can check in here and have the use of its relaxing lounge, food, business center and meeting room even before their room is available.
The breakfast here is great. The breakfast is a buffet with hot and cold items and it includes whole fruit; apples oranges and bananas, a fridge containing cold meat cuts, cut tomatoes, cheese and grapes, olives and smoked salmon and another fridge with freshly made muesli, Bircher muesli, cut fruit including melon and blueberries, raspberries, yoghurts and some salad items.
Fresh bread includes bagels, sliced bread to toast, muffins and pastries as well as cakes and donuts.The cakes have chocolate dribbled over the top and the donuts have all sorts of chocolatey and icing sugar toppings making them far too tempting.
Hot metal bowls offer scrambled eggs and egg white scrambled eggs as well as hash browns, cooked tomatoes and delicious icing sugar dusted waffles. For meat lovers there are hot sausages (two varieties) and bacon as well as oatmeal if you’re looking for something warm and healthy.
There is a counter of extras with nuts, honey, chocolate spread, mini pots of Bonne Mama jam, raisins, peanut butter, sliced almonds which you can sprinkle on your oatmeal or spread on your toast. For drinks, iced water, orange juice and black coffee are your main picks and these drinks.
The afternoon snacks and evening drinks are phenomenal. There is a rotating menu of items, which includes short rib arancini, stuffed mushrooms, Nashville chicken skewers, crab cakes, and more.
The evening alcoholic drinks on offer include Brut / Prosecco, white and red wines, and a selection of beer which is served with hors d’oeuvres-style bites.
You can see what we have experienced in terms of food and drink at the club lounge at InterContinental O2 in London and the club lounge at InterContinental Park Lane. These reviews will give you an idea of what to expect.
Review: Club Lounge At InterContinental New York Barclay
Book a room at the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel via our luxury travel concierge, and you will get free club lounge access as well as your usual IHG points. We've previously reviewed the best executive club lounges in New York, and now we detail the advantages of booking a stay at the Barclay to enjoy their club lounge. If you don't book via our concierge, access costs around $150 USD for double occupancy on top of the room rate. If you are traveling with children, club lounge access is free of charge between 0 and 6 years old and then costs $35 USD for a child 7 - 13 years old.
4. JW Marriott Essex House Club
JW Marriott Essex House is located on 59th & 7th and is close to Central Park, making it a good base in the city. The club lounge is on the ground floor near the lifts. Breakfast is noteworthy here, served from 6:30 – 11:00 am on weekdays. Breakfast is served in a room that standard and Club lounge guests can access via two separate entrances. This means the offering is enormous. Piles of fruit, a massive variety of cereals, muffins, bread, yogurts, and an array of hot food; eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, etc. This is undoubtedly the best club lounge breakfast in New York.
In the evening, you get crackers, cheeses, salad, and also a couple of hot items like eggplant lasagna and veal pasta that should fill you up. The alcoholic drinks offering is, however, paid for. This is still an excellent lounge, although a notch below the Ritz-Carlton Club Lounge.
5. Hilton New York Midtown
This huge Hilton has 1,985 rooms and is located on 54th Street at Sixth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The art deco-style lobby has swathes of cream marble and is ultra-luxurious. Executive-level rooms (187 guest rooms and 41 suites) are located on floors 39-44 and have been recently refurbished, so they have a super modern look, with 55 square inch flat-panel TVs. Room perks include robes, bottled water, and access to the Executive Lounge. The Hilton Executive Lounge is open seven days a week and has the usual daily continental breakfast, hors-d’oeuvres in the evenings, and coffee and teas plus snacks and soft drinks throughout the day.
Ritz-Carlton New York Nomad Vs. Central Park. Which Is Best?
There are two Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York. The original, older, Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park Vs. Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad. Which Ritz-Carlton in New York is best? We outline the pros and cons of each hotel below. Ritz-Carlton New York Nomad is well located, steps away from Madison Square Park, the Flatiron Building, and a short walk to the Highline.
Once again, there are beautiful views from this lounge on the 44th floor, with windows that line both sides of the room. It’s your very own penthouse above the city. The breakfast includes fruit, bagels, pastries, bread, spreads, and more. There are soft drinks and cookies during the day, and in the evening, the complimentary hors-d’oeuvres buffet includes items like dim sum, shrimp, crackers, and cheese. There’s a bar service in the evening, but as usual in New York, this is a paid-for bar. However, this is a superb place to enjoy a bagel and coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening while looking down at Central Park from the 44th floor.
6. Sheraton New York Times Square
The Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel Club Lounge is open 24/7. It offers gorgeous views through large panoramic windows on the 44th floor. As the hotel is located close to Times Square, the Club Lounge has views overlooking 7th Avenue toward Times Square, Central Park, and the Hudson River.
The hotel offers true luxury and recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. Rooms are spacious, and you can upgrade to use the club lounge for $50 USD a day per room; good value when you consider what is included. Location wise, it is hard to beat this hotel. Broadway is also just a few steps from the hotel for a show. Central Park, with its walks, playgrounds, and zoo, are just a short walk away.
Ritz-Carlton Vs. JW Marriott Vs. St Regis New York. Which Is Best?
Which hotel is best, Ritz-Carlton Vs. JW Marriott Essex House Vs. St Regis New York? We have already reviewed whether Ritz-Carlton Vs. JW Marriott is best overall. Generally, Ritz-Carltons are better hotels, but there are exceptions to this rule. Now, we specifically review these four properties in New York. There are two Ritz-Carltons in New York, along with a St Regis and a JW Marriott, so you are spoiled for choice. All have excellent facilities, so which is best for you? We have outlined the best JW Marriott hotels, best St.
The Lounge offers continental breakfast from 6:30 – 9:30 am on weekdays and 7:30 – 10:00 am on weekends. The spread includes fresh whole fruits, yogurt, cereals with a selection of toppings, assorted pastries, hard-boiled eggs, juice, and coffee.
There are snacks and drinks available throughout the day. In the evening, hors d’oeuvres are served daily from 5:30 – 7:30 pm, including a vegetable crudité with a cheese display, fresh fruits and crackers, and an antipasto salad.
The alcoholic drinks on offer in this lounge but must be paid for and are available from 5:00 – 11:00 pm.
7. Sheraton Tribeca New York
Sheraton in Tribeca has one of the best hotel Club Lounges in New York if you like a terrace with a view (pictured above) and crucially, free beer and wine. I love the outdoor terrace with relaxing outdoor sofas and sweeping views across the panoramic skyline of New York City, including the Empire State Building and Hudson River. Located on the 21st floor, this Club Lounge is spacious inside, and the outdoor terrace also has plenty of comfy seating. I’ll be honest; the inside is not overly luxurious. It has all the right offerings in terms of food and drink, but the feel is more luxury cafeteria than 5-star Club Lounge.
Best Ritz-Carlton Executive Club Lounges
Ritz-Carlton executive club lounges are some of the best club lounges in the world. Usually, they include five daily meal presentations, complimentary drinks and snacks throughout the day, and alcoholic drinks and events such as wine flights in the late afternoon and evening. Add in a sophisticated environment and often amazing views, and you will understand why these lounges can be worth paying extra for. Marriott Platinum members do not get free access to Ritz-Carlton club lounges.
This Club Lounge is open 24 hours a day. There is a daily continental breakfast between 7:00 – 10:30 am and snacks and drinks all day. Most noteworthy is the Starbucks® Coffee, which is also included. As you would expect, there is free Wi-Fi along with a business center.
In the evening, there are complimentary hors-d’oeuvres, which includes fruit, salad items (sliced cucumber, carrot, tomatoes), cheese, crackers, and two hot options (like spring rolls, chicken wings, etc.) along with some alcohol; beer, and wine, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.
The hotel’s location is in Tribeca, a trendy area of New York with a completely different vibe from midtown or the Financial District. This means the hotel is not overly central. The corridors of this hotel (a feature I don’t usually mention) are a bit dingy and narrow. They do not feel particularly luxurious, although the rooms are fine. I particularly love the super comfy Sheraton “Sweet Sleeper’ beds along with the views across the New York skyline.
Bottom line, this hotel offers one of the best Club Lounge terraces across New York, but if you are used to a Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental level of luxury, you will not be impressed with this hotel or the interior of this Club Lounge. There are more luxury SPG properties across New York, including the St. Regis and the Chatwal.
Other Marriott Bonvoy hotels that feature club lounges include M Club Lounge at the New York Marriott East Side and the New York Marriott Marquis, which also has an Executive Lounge.
8. New York Marriott East Side
New York Marriott East Side is a Rewards Category 6 Marriott Bonvoy hotel. Located on Lexington Avenue and 49th Street in Midtown East, the hotel has an enviable location near Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, and the United Nations Headquarters.
Reboot at the 24-hour fitness center and refuel with an expertly prepared espresso at Illy Cafe, the on-site coffee shop. Settle into contemporary guest rooms and suites, all smartly accessorized with plush featherbeds, sleek marble bathrooms, and high-speed Wi-Fi; for special stays, reserve your Terrace Suite, which boasts a private outdoor patio overlooking NYC’s East Side.
There is a really nice M Club lounge at this hotel where you can grab a soft drink, water, or light snack whenever you want. This M Club offers American breakfast, coffee, tea, snacks, a Napa Technologies wine dispenser, a Hydration station featuring purified and flavored waters, cold beverages: waters, sodas, juices, Honor bar, Free premium Wi-Fi, and business services (computers, phone, fax, scanner, and copier).
9. New York Marriott Marquis
New York Marriott Marquis is a Rewards Category 7 Marriott Bonvoy hotel. This hotel is a vibrant fixture of Times Square and brilliantly captures the city’s spirit in modern style.
Located on West 46th Street and Broadway, you are ideally positioned for attractions, including the Theater District, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall. After an eventful day of sightseeing, retreat to your thoughtfully appointed, spacious hotel accommodations, some of which feature stunning views of Broadway.
Dine in an array of restaurants, including New York’s only revolving dining destination, where views of Times Square are spectacularly on display. There’s also a 24-hour fitness center and all-day in-room dining.
The 16th-floor executive lounge is complimentary for Marriott Bonvoy Platinum or Titanium elite members and has a fair to decent breakfast. It also offers evening light bites, which are noted to be very similar or even the same most nights. Expect two or three hot options, including vegetarian and a cold buffet (cold cuts, cheeses, and so forth). After this, there are free cookies available. It is also worth noting that this lounge closes on weekends.
There’s no free alcohol in this lounge, which is similar to most domestic Marriott hotels, but the honesty bar has plenty to choose from if you want to pay for your alcohol (at the same price as the bar) and drink it in the lounge.
10. Hilton New York JFK Airport
Hilton New York JFK Airport is in Jamaica, NY, within three miles of government buildings and businesses such as DHL and Swissport. A free shuttle service departs every 30 minutes to destinations, including JFK International Airport and Federal Circle station. This hotel has a heated indoor pool, 24-hour fitness center, Starbucks coffee, and a Hilton HHonors Lounge, where you will receive complimentary breakfast, evening snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. In fact, this looks to be the best hotel club lounge at JFK airport.
11. Hyatt Grand Central New York
The Grand Hyatt New York closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and re-opened as the Hyatt Grand Central. The hotel’s best feature was its club lounge with indoor and outdoor seating, but this lounge is no longer present at this hotel and never reopened. Apparently, this hotel is set to be demolished. For now, it remains open and offers good rates and a central location but no club lounge.
Conclusion
Club or Executive hotel lounges provide an interesting environment for working and relaxing. Some lounges also offer dedicated meeting rooms, although I prefer to hold smaller meetings in the main lounge area. I’m not particularly eager to sit in restaurants alone when I travel for business. Room service is also rather lonely, so a club lounge provides the ideal environment to enjoy good food and atmosphere while comfortably sitting at a table for one and is one of many reasons why we at Luxury Travel Diary love a club lounge. The Ritz-Carlton Nomad club lounge in New York is best for views and InterContinental Barclay is the best for value.
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