Hotel Belleclaire

Hotel Belleclaire

On the corner of Broadway and 77th Street, where the Upper West Side still reads as a neighborhood rather than a tourist route, Hotel Belleclaire occupies a Beaux-Arts building recognized as a landmark, designed by Emery Roth and opened in 1903. Zabar's is a short walk from the door, and the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park and Lincoln Center are all within walking distance, a combination few addresses in the city can claim at once. The 240 rooms are spread across ten floors; Premium rooms run 248 square feet with mini bars, blackout blinds and soundproofing, while the Loft King Room with Sofa opens up to 495 square feet, enough to keep a desk and a place to sit apart from the bed. There is no conventional breakfast buffet here. Instead, every stay includes a daily credit toward the in-house Mille-Feuille bakery-cafe or Allure cocktail lounge, which suits someone who would rather pick a pastry and a proper coffee than queue at a hotel spread, and will frustrate anyone expecting a full sit-down breakfast included. A doctor is on call, staff speak English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, and a kids' club runs alongside the gym and business center, so a family splitting days between the museum and the park fits here as easily as someone in town for meetings who wants to walk to Lincoln Center afterward. It will not suit guests who want to be steps from Times Square. Pets are allowed for a flat fee, parking is off-site and charged by the day, and a deposit is required at check-in for incidentals. Rooms are soundproofed, so Broadway's traffic stays on the street. Hotel Belleclaire sits on a landmarked Beaux-Arts corner of Broadway, walking distance from Central Park, Lincoln Center and the Natural History Museum. There's no breakfast buffet, just a daily credit for the in-house bakery-cafe. It suits culture-minded travelers, not anyone chasing Times Square.