Found this the other day, and thought I should share it with you. The hotel is definitely a piece of work, and the quality of services offered inside is well known. So a little about the building and the interior design, because this is my main focus:

The Empire sits right off of Columbus Avenue in the heart of the Upper West Side, but it feels more like a swanky downtown hot spot, where the happening crowd sips mojitos on mohair stools by candlelight. The décor of the property is anything but modest. A chocolate-brown and gold-flecked palette is jazzed up with fierce but fashionable tiger-print throw pillows and cotton-velvet chairs.

The custom furnishings, fixtures and fabrics make all 420 rooms feel like sexy, modern apartments with a nostalgic feel. Woody wallpaper, ebony accents and walnut floors pay homage to nearby Central Park. The soothing teak bathrooms, rainfall showerheads and L’Occitane bath products offset the otherwise dramatic décor, a retreat from the bustling streets of NYC.

The Empire feels like a swanky downtown locale where the happening crowd sips mojitos on mohair stools by candlelight. – Samantha Marcus Yanks

Neat clean design, with a warm feeling, invites you to sit comfortable and forget about your day to day routine. The lobby has in the corner two walls with shelves carved inside them, and here and there candles to light up the mood.

The hotel’s iconic neighbor, Lincoln Center, has just gone through its own massive renovation. After countless seasons, NYC Fashion Week is moving from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center (September 2010).

It seems change is in the air.

The Empire Hotel is “a modern refuge, with a sleek rooftop lounge, pool deck and sumptuous lobby bar. Despite its giant 1920s neon sign, it now resembles the sort of hotel you’d expect to see in the meatpacking district, not around Lincoln Center.”

– The New York Times