The Empire Hotel

The Arrival

The Empire Hotel wears its history on its sleeve, and for the right family that is precisely the appeal. This is a storied Upper West Side address — brass and patterned carpet, old neon and a rooftop with a view, the vernacular of a New York that predates the glass-box era — standing directly opposite Lincoln Center, the city's great temple of music and dance. It is charmingly old-school rather than slickly contemporary, a place where some rooms gleam from renovation and the building as a whole hums with character, and where children sense, correctly, that they have checked into somewhere with stories in its walls rather than a generic node in a global chain. For a design-aware family willing to trade a little uniformity of finish for a great deal of atmosphere and an unbeatable cultural address, the Empire offers something the polished towers cannot bottle: the feeling of being genuinely, unmistakably in New York.

A Day in the Life

The Empire's position is its trump card, and it shapes a particular kind of day. Step out of the door and you are at Lincoln Center, whose vast travertine plaza and central fountain make a free, glorious playground in their own right, and whose family and children's programming — matinees, young-people's concerts, open-air summer events — can become the cultural centrepiece of a trip. Central Park lies a couple of blocks east, with the West Side's playgrounds, the Lake and its boathouse, and the great green expanse of Sheep Meadow all within reach. Northward runs Central Park West toward the cathedral-like American Museum of Natural History, with its dinosaurs and its blue whale, one of the surest hits in all of New York with children. Columbus Circle anchors the southern end with its shops and its market. And after a day of all this, the rooftop — a genuine pleasure, and a favourite in the reviews — gives parents a perch above the Upper West Side as the lights come up.

The Rooms

A clear-eyed word on the rooms, because it matters: the Empire trades in character rather than uniform luxury, and the experience can vary. The renovated rooms are genuinely lovely, and the warmth of the front desk draws consistent praise; some older corners show their age, and the discerning move is simply to ask for a refurbished room when you book. What you are buying is not flawless, identical finish — it is atmosphere, a great address and a sense of place. For families who will spend the bulk of their days in the parks, museums and concert halls across the street, and who calibrate their expectations accordingly, the Empire rewards handsomely. Go in expecting a polished tower and you may quibble; go in wanting a characterful New York base and you will be charmed.

The Table

The hotel's bars and rooftop are its social heart — the rooftop in particular a fine spot for a parental drink with a skyline view once the children are settled — but the dining, as so often on the Upper West Side, is really about the neighbourhood. This is one of Manhattan's great residential eating districts, dense with the kind of unpretentious, family-friendly restaurants, delis and brunch institutions that locals actually use, all within a short walk. The food hall and casual options around Columbus Circle handle the rest, with something to satisfy every member of a hungry, opinionated family.

Beyond the Doors

Directly opposite Lincoln Center and a short walk from Central Park's leafy West Side, the Empire plants a family in the cultural heart of the Upper West Side — concert halls, playgrounds and one very famous museum, all close at hand.

• Lincoln Center1 min walk

  The city's great performing-arts complex, with a travertine plaza and fountain that double as a free playground, plus family matinees and young-people's concerts right across the street.

• Central Park (West Side)5 min walk

  Playgrounds, the Lake and its rowing boats, and the wide-open Sheep Meadow — the park's gentler, greener flank, a couple of blocks east.

• American Museum of Natural History15 min walk

  Dinosaurs, a towering blue whale and dioramas beyond counting — arguably the single greatest day out in New York for a curious child.

• Columbus Circle8 min walk

  Shops, a food hall and the southwestern gateway to Central Park — a handy hub for a meal, a regroup or a rainy-hour wander.

Why You'll Remember It

The Empire is a trade, and for the right family it is a wonderful one: a little unevenness of finish in exchange for atmosphere, history and one of the finest cultural addresses in Manhattan. The memory it leaves is textured and specific — the splash of the Lincoln Center fountain on a warm evening, the hush before a child's first live orchestra, the dinosaurs up the avenue, the rooftop lights of the Upper West Side — the sense, rare and precious, of having stayed not in a hotel that could be anywhere, but in a building that could only be New York.

The Practicalities

Atmosphere and location over uniform luxury. Ask about renovated rooms when booking.