PaperCity Magazine

80 W e don't understand the relevance of buzzy New York hotels, of lining up behind a Kardashian and A$AP Mob to secure a coveted room. We prefer stepping off Madison, onto the quiet side street that is East 63rd, seeing a doorman in full regalia, and the crisp white-and-navy awning of Majorelle, one of a breed of restaurants that only New York City can give rise to. There are window boxes with greenery and awnings with a swirled letter L. The hotel name is discreetly etched in a brass plaque: The Lowell. The service entrance is plainly marked with its own awning — no cluttering the lobby — and cords of designer wood are carried through these doors, to warm the nests of those who request a room with hearth. A fireplace roars in the Club Room, and it's said that The Lowell is the only hotel in New York with in-room fireplaces, a grandfathered ruling from its 1927 inception. The lobby is intime and discreet. It doesn't soar, it doesn't rap or invite you to an upstairs club that gets going at the indecent hour of 10. Three marbled steps down is Jacques, where one refreshes before dinner out. W o r l d s b e y o n d c l u b b y , a n x i o u s h o r r o r s l i k e many other hotel bars, Jacques is refined, and blessedly quiet. F ew designers have the steady hand and gimlet eye to pull off the recently completed refurbishment of such an establishment as The Lowell. One must be to the manor born, as they say. Michael S. Smith delivered. No doubt he had a sizable chunk of change to work with — $25 million, if we must talk money — but, still, someone with a lesser pedigree might have mucked it up terribly. A quad of talent, brought together by The Lowell's owner Dina De Luca Chartouni, steered the work: Smith, along with general manager Heiko Kuenstle, architect Mark Pinney, and restaurateur Charles Masson (La Grenouille), who was charged with opening Majorelle restaurant at The Lowell. Smith had recently done over many of the suites and rooms, so the $25 million was earmarked for the first floor: Majorelle, the new Jacques, the Club Room, and the lobby. Smith's elegant and deliberate hand shows wonderfully in the French art deco furnishings, statuary, and art, such as Cy Twombly's Roman Notes II offset lithograph, a David Hockney lithograph, a 1965 Josef Albers screen print, and Bert Stern's photographs of Marilyn Monroe. Smith says the 1932 movie Grand Hotel fed him inspiration. Botticino Classico blue and white marble blocks from the Botticino quarry, Feau & Cie French oak woodwork, leather-paneled walls, and hand-painted paneling give the Club Room and Jacques a certain air … and the distinct whiff of old money. Rates from $960; The Lowell, 28 East 63rd between Park and Madison, thelowell.com. THE LOWELL QUIETLY CHECKING IN AT WANDERINGS Jacques bar at The Lowell Club Room at The Lowell Majorelle at The Lowell

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