New York City‘s artists and scenesters have congregated in Downtown Manhattan for decades: Andy Warhol pitched up in the East Village when he first arrived in 1949; Claes Oldenburg and pals gave 1950s Greenwich Village a fright with their guerilla street performances; and the 1980s spawned Keith Haring’s avant-garde nightclub in St. Mark’s Place. The new ModernHaus SoHo — taking over The James’ coveted spot on a quiet side street off Sixth Avenue — pays tribute to the neighborhood’s artsy identity with MOMA-worthy walls and a clean, Bauhaus-inspired aesthetic. Here, four reasons why this buzzed-about hideaway is a modern masterpiece.
The Walls Are Talking
Sure, some of NYC’s most venerated galleries may be a hop-skip away, but there’s no need to fork over 20 dollars for entry when you can see the masters right here: the walls at ModernHaus SoHo are studded with priceless works from KAWS, George Condo, Jean Dubuffet, Hans Hoffmann and many others. The art-clad interiors make the 14-floor building feel more like a collector’s tastefully designed townhouse than a towering Manhattan hotel.
Pools in High Places
Who can resist a rooftop pool? (Especially in Manhattan, where swimmable bodies of water are exceedingly hard to come by?) ModernHaus can claim serious bragging rights for top-floor Jimmy, a sleek, mahogany-clad bar with sweeping views and a sought-after pool deck. In the sweltering days of NYC summer, cool dips and sips of Grilled Pineapple Mojito are a blessing.
Location, Location, Location
In Manhattan real estate, location is everything, and ModernHaus has truly nailed the New York jackpot: it’s a stone’s throw from Canal in buzzy, busy SoHo, but on a street so quiet, it feels more like it belongs in the boroughs. The hotel’s prizewinning perch ensures it’s a sociable place — on weekends, its restaurant, Veranda, and two bars morph into sought-after meeting spots for local cool kids, who wait in curb-snaking lines to get in.
Room With a View
Feather-soft king-sized beds, walk-in showers with rainfall heads, ample tubs lined with Le Labo bath products — the amenities in each room at ModernHaus SoHo are top-notch. But the best part? It has to be the floor-to-ceiling windows, which look out onto the upper level of Manhattan. You’ll get the feeling you’re suspended in mid-air, floating high among the city’s glinting skyscrapers — and you’ll never want to come down.
