6 Columbus

Part of the Thompson Hotel Group, 6 Columbus is a subtler, less attention-seeking property than the group’s first two sites: 60 Thompson, also in New York, and LA’s Hollywood Rooseveltand. The opportunity here was clearly to transpose a tranche of downtown chic several blocks north to this epicentral location.

6 Columbus is housed in a 1920’s-era brownstone building that previously served as a mid-market hotel until the group decided to take it over.

Quite where the ‘retro modernist’ theme came from therefore is less than clear to most guests as they gaze around the Pan Am business lounge circa 1968 reception area, but this is New York after all and artistic licence is never hard to find here.

A three-metre long brown leather sofa is framed by a triptych of abstract photographs on the wall behind depicting abstract details of planes on an airport runway. Dark teak wood combined with pastel blue is a recurring decorative theme throughout the site,  introduced at this early stage in the customer journey via the reception desk and mushroom-shaped chairs in the lobby respectively.

A large, cream-coloured shag pile rug further enhances the natural illumination entering through the ground floor’s glass frontage to create a light, uplifting ambiance in the reception area during the day.
Such thoughtful detailing continues in the upper corridors where lacquered burlap walls (a regular feature in Thompson Hotels it seems) in Jetsons blue meet custom-designed hotel logo carpets and quirkily futuristic door numbers.

A total of 88 guest rooms range in size from the ‘POD’, the smallest with a European Queen-sized bed (American Double) and scant space for much else, through to the 1500ft2 Penthouse and Loft suites being built by architects Edelman, Sultan, Knox & Wood in the five newly added floors on top of the pre-existing site.

All the rooms benefit from striking wall photography courtesy of Guy Bourdin, one of the highlights of the otherwise sophisticated yet undeniably sedate palette of navy blue, slate grey and dark brown that characterises the room design in general.

Custom-made 400-thread count Sferre linens, Dean & Deluca in-room mini-bar nibbles, bathroom amenities by Fresh and complimentary wi-fi are all welcome touches. It is the nautical blue vertical tiling in the bathrooms matched with illuminated mirrors and stainless steel fixtures by Waterworks that stand out as the rooms’ most memorable design features however. On the recently added upper levels, internal flooring is of ebony wood as opposed to the dark tonal carpets of the lower room categories. Working fireplaces, extra-large flat screen TVs, compact kitchenettes and eight-head steam showers only add further to the levels of luxury on offer.

While the group’s bars are typically run in-house, they are savvy enough to let outside operators come in to look after the main F&B outlets, in this case the team from trendy downtown eatery, the Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill.

Located on the ground floor of the building and accessed directly via the front entrance, the confident ‘no reservations’ policy suggests that here too the Group’s stated aim of using destination restaurants to help their hotels integrate into the immediate neighbourhood and become something akin to ‘urban resorts’, may already be coming good.

6 COLUMBUS
6 Columbus Circle
New York
NY 10019
Tel: 212 204 3000
www.sixcolumbuscircle.com

88 guestrooms & suites
Food:  Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill
Drink:  A6 Bar
Heatlh:   Fitness Centre