The London NYC Hotel, New York

Here’s a hotel that comes with some expectations. The London NYC is fresh off a thorough re-imagining at the hands of the Irish interior designer David Collins, as well as the addition of a marquee name to New York’s culinary scene, in the form of the first Gordon Ramsay restaurant on American soil. Despite the name, the London NYC steers mercifully clear of any kind of heavy-handed British-themed kitsch. Suites range from quite spacious all the way up to downright sprawling, a luxury indeed in a city where, as in London, hotel room square footage is at a premium. The look is muted but not minimalist, a sort of understated modernist luxury, with extra attention paid to the tangible comforts, like iPod docking stations and multi-headed showers. There’s a fitness center, which is stylish, for a fitness center, and meeting space, as well as an award-winning concierge service. So far so good. The most eagerly awaited facet of The London NYC, however, has got to be the Gordon Ramsay angle. As with anything Mr. Ramsay does, the headlines threatened to distract from the cooking - but in the end the important point is that London NYC’s restaurant is far enough beyond most hotels' offerings as to be playing in a different league entirely.