Summertime in New York City—Hotels that Celebrate the Season

The city is hot—according to recent Google Flights data, summer travel to New York City is one of the top five queries. These 11 hotels are some of NYC’s best spots to celebrate summer—thanks to splashy rooftop pools and lounges, lovely Central Park views, and fun summer packages and discounts.

Loews Regency New York Hotel
With a swanky Park Avenue address, this UES boutique hotel, known forever for its signature Power Breakfast at its Regency Bar & Grill, is all in this summer, and flaunting its Summerfest by Loews Hotels experiences—with a New York City accent. Like the seasonal Park Avenue Spritz cocktail made with locally-sourced ingredients/garnishes and Summerfest Cultural Safaris, concierge-curated adventures in Central Park (the park is a wink away from the hotel.) Also offered: the Summer Family Package which includes four tickets to the Central Park Zoo, a welcome amenity and late check-out; available through Labor Day.

The Rockaway Hotel + Spa
A world away, but actually in Rockaway Beach, Queens, this hotel offers complimentary wellness classes on the roof deck, an outdoor heated pool area with cabanas and is just a swim stroke away from the only designated surfing beach within New York City limits. In fact, the hotel has partnered with Locals Surf School for one-on-one surf lessons for all levels/ages. Hang ten and then hang on The Rooftop with a sip and intoxicating ocean-and-city skyline views.

Virgin Hotels New York City
Sun worshippers can escape the city’s steam bath at the outdoor pool and Pool Club (boozy popsicles, cabanas) here, a summer scene that’s 60 feet above Broadway with Empire State Building views. The recently debuted block-long hotel has made quite a splash in its NoMad neighborhood.

New York Hilton Midtown
For many, baseball is summer, and baseball fans, especially of the Yankees, will want to book the decked-out Grand Slam Suite at this 1,907-room hotel, which includes complimentary tickets to a game and game day gear. The suite is swanked up with Yankees-themes robes, blankets, pillows, pennants and themed snacks, too. The package runs through July 19 and again August 24 to September 16.

Gild Hall, a Thompson Hotel
The FiDi district has come a long way, and this 130-room  boutique hotel is a Lower Manhattan neighborhood cornerstone, located close to the South Street Seaport District and Battery Park, both spots that shout breezy summer days, thanks to waterfront dining spots and boat tours. This summer, guests can take advantage of hotel discounts to attractions like nearby One World Observatory and On Location Tours, as well as complimentary use of Pure Cycle, vintage-inspired bicycles to explore Battery Park’s bike paths.

Baccarat Hotel
Town and country, a sweet summer pairing. This jewel has a shiny midtown location across from MoMA, a five star five diamond rating, two Michelin-starred Culinary Director Gabriel Kreuteh and a terrace for cocktails and nibbles. This summer, it’s all about the Day at the Beach, Night on the Town Summer Escape package in conjunction with The Roundtree, Amagansett. The package features two nights at each property with spa treatments, breakfast, yoga, gourmet picnic baskets, fire pit s’mores and more; chauffeured roundtrip car service is also available for an additional charge. The package is available through September 4. 

The Knickerbocker Hotel
The St. Cloud Rooftop at this iconic luxury hotel is a city sanctuary in the middle of bright lights Times Square. The rooftop features three corner Sky Pods overlooking Times Square and lots of indoor and outdoor seating, too. Built in 1906, the Beaux-Arts hotel gives a nod to the Gilded Age and, in 1919, Red Sox owner and frequent hotel guest Harry Frazee, met with the team’s manager in the hotel’s café to inform him that Red Sox’s Babe Ruth was being traded to the New York Yankees.

Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
Those guest room views of Central Park’s lush green treetops bring much-welcomed nature into a city summer vacation. The UES luxury hotel had a little work done, as they say, in late 2019, and the reimagined suites, La Prairie Spa (one of only two in the U.S.), on-site restaurant Contour and expansive Club Lounge make this Ritz property as ritzy and desirable as ever this summer.

TWA Hotel
For a unique stay just outside the city at JFK International Airport in Queens, the airlines-inspired, 1960s-themed hotel is all about time travel—literally. It’s a hub of aviation and NYC history. The TWA Hotel also features a rooftop infinity pool and bar for a dip and a sip—like the Jet Fuel (cucumber mint water, Aperol, fresh lemon juice, and muddled watermelon)—while watching some of the most active runways at JFK including 4 Left/22 Right.

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg
A pool grows in Brooklyn this summer on the rooftop of this hotel in Williamsburg. The deck and terrace offer sunny views of Manhattan and the Williamsburg Bridge dazzles at night. Guests also can borrow bikes from Brooklyn Bicycle Co for a day of exploring the borough.

Gansevoort Meatpacking Hotel
A rooftop pool with panoramic views of the city is one reason to book the annual Summer Sessions package at this trendy Meatpacking District hotel—the deal also includes 20-percent discounted rates and summery amenities, including suncare from Grown Alchemist, complimentary poolside reads, two poolside Chandon Garden Spritzes and a $25 credit at European style café Coffee + Cocktails or the bar at the Gansevoort Rooftop. Book a suite, and you’ll get a chilled bottle of Whispering Angel Rosé. Package available through September 4.