The Renwick Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton (New York City)
Our Verdict
While we were in New York City over the Labor Day Weekend, we had the opportunity to try out several Hilton Hotels including the newly opened Hilton Brooklyn and the Conrad New York. While we love nearly all of the upscale Hilton Brands, our favorite collection of Hilton Hotels is the upscale, independent and boutique hotels that fall under the Curio Collection such as the Renwick. Housed in an iconic 1920s brick building, the Art-Deco Renwick Hotel was once home to John Steinbeck, Thomas Mann and other celebrated writers and artists. The Renwick joined the Curio Collection in December of 2016.
The Location
The hotel is in a great location, just two blocks from Grand Central Station and a short walk to the United Nations, 5th Avenue and Central Park. The Hotel has 173 guest rooms and suites, all of which were fully renovated prior to the hotel joining the Curio Collection.
As you enter the lobby of The Renwick Hotel, you'll step down into a small, art-centric lobby (it is a bit of a pain that you have to carry your luggage down the stairs). Adjacent to the lobby is the front desk and the Bedford and Co. Restaurant. The Renwick was featured in 2015 by CNN as one of America's Arsiest New Hotels.
The Room
There is an elevator off of the lobby. Rooms are located on the 2nd - 5th floor with a fitness center in the basement. With our Hilton Honors Diamond Status, we were upgraded to a suite.
The suite had a separate living and bedroom along with a bathroom. Overall the suite was plenty big, but even for New York City standards, the bathroom was quite small. Brooklyn-based Apotheke supplies handmade bath amenities created solely for the Renwick Hotel.
The lobby, hallways and rooms are decorated with art along with murals paying tribute to the building’s former tenants.
The Food
The Bedford and Co. Restaurant, ran by award-winning Chef John DeLucie, offers contemporary American cuisine in a vibrant setting that fuses art, culture and a powerhouse menu of shareable plates and bold mains from the restaurant’s wood fire grill.
Hilton Honors Gold & Diamond Members get complimentary breakfast. The Gold & Diamond Member breakfast benefit is a special menu which features pastries, oatmeal, Greek yogurt or a homemade waffle. You'll get to select three of the four items and breakfast includes juice or coffee. We were a bit disappointed that we weren't able to order off the actual breakfast menu, but surprisingly the Hilton Honors Menu items were quite good. We had the Greek yogurt which came with honey and fruit and the waffle, which was quite tasty. We did not have a chance to try the restaurant for lunch or dinner.
Overall the Renwick Hotel lived up to our expectations as a Curio Collection property. It had historical significance, truly felt like a boutique and independent hotel and offered great Hilton Honors benefits like the room upgrade and free breakfast.
We definitely recommend the Renwick Hotel and it lived up to the Curio Collection feel that we've come to love.
The Renwick will soon be joined by a second Curio Collection hotel in New York City. The Martinique Hotel is a historic hotel at 53 West 32nd Street. The hotel is part of the Historic Hotels of America and was built in 1897. The hotel is located just down from the Empire State Building and will soon be joining the Curio Collection. So if you love Curio Collection hotels as much as we do, you'll soon have two options in New York City.
