The Twenty Two: How five-star hotel moonlights as a private members club
Part hotel, part private member’s club – New York’s The Twenty Two arrives with a sense of opulence and exclusivity.
New York’s Flatiron district is rather quiet and cold as ROAM arrives on East 16th Street to check in at The Twenty Two.
A bitter northerly is blowing and a state of emergency has been declared, forewarning what will turn out to be an historic winter storm, dumping a foot of snow on the streets of Manhattan in the space of a day.
The welcome at this most unique of spaces is, thankfully and not unexpectedly, decidedly warm.
The receptionist, of Antiguan origin, clocks an Australian accent and launches into a lively discussion of — what else? — cricket. The bellhop is ready and waiting with in-the-know dining recommendations for the neighbourhood, pointing in the direction of Coppellia, a 24/7 Cuban diner where the staff chow down between shifts.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It’s easy to walk into a space like The Twenty Two with preconceived ideas of what you might experience. Migrating across the Atlantic last year — the group’s first location opened in London’s ritzy Mayfair in 2022 — the property brings an entirely new concept to NYC.
Ostensibly a five-star hotel, in the evenings the Twenty Two’s bar and dining spaces transform into a private members club, off-limits both to the general public and to guests after a certain hour.
As in the London sibling, where interior designer Natalia Miyar took a youthful approach to the maximalist grandeur of the city’s 18th-century members clubs, the New York location plays on its art deco surroundings to inspire a sense of restrained hedonism.
The hotel sits in the landmark Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt building, a nine-storey Romanesque Revival home commissioned as a safe space for self-supporting women in the 1890s.
London-based Child studio has carried the group’s theme of 18th-century maximalism into the new property, elevating the spaces with a heavy dose of Napoleonic-inspired opulence and centring them in an American context with nods to classic Shaker, craftsman and mission-style vernacular styles.
Rich reds, warm creamy tones and deep woods dominate the public spaces, while the 78 rooms (including a penthouse and 17 suites) have an altogether lighter, airier feel, making optimal use of the hotel’s bountiful natural light. We’re posted in one of the hotel’s Deluxe Rooms, which, at 30sqm, is one of the larger on offer (this is a listed building in New York after all).
The space feels like considered step back from the maximalism that sits lies beyond, a glossy archway opening into an intimate bedroom as the palette softens to tones of cream, caramel and gold.
No expense has been spared on materials, either. Oversized mohair blankets drape crisp white Rivolta Carmignani bed linens, while between the bed and a well-appointed minibar you’ll find The Twenty Two’s signature flourish — a working rotary phone with a direct line to reception (naturally, you dial 22).
The bathrooms, meanwhile, are rendered in Italian Calacatta marble with fittings of hand-painted bronze and frosted glass.
Down at ground level, the building’s public dining room and bar plays host to Cafe Zaffri, an elevated yet distinctly comforting Levantine eatery from the team behind the Michelin-starred Musket Room and white-hot downtown trattoria Raf’s (Zaffri, naturally, has come to be known among NY’s food set simply as ‘Zaf’s’). Think elevated meze like skewers, fried jibneh and fattoush, paired with American classics like dry-aged beef burgers.
Brooklyn design firm Post Company brought the restaurant’s three distinct dining spaces to life, using the central atrium with glass-ceiling as its nexus. The two spaces adjacent nod to the hotel restaurant’s classic role as a cultural space, with grand wood-panelled bars, painted floral wallpapers and playful ceiling motifs.
The true allure of Twenty Two, however, remains discreetly nestled away from the prying eyes of everyday punters.
The property doubles as a private club open to members of both the New York and London locations, one that’s become an increasingly popular haunt of New York’s young and fashionable.
The idea here, according to the founders, is to foster a sense of the space as an elevated community hub both for international visitors and locals, and knowing these opulent spaces are tucked away just out of sight undeniably lends Twenty Two a certain rarefied ambience.
It’s an enticing play for some, likely frustrating to others given a room key does not grant access.
Make it behind the veil and you’ll discover the Living Room and the Dining Room, a combination members-only restaurant and lounge with a private menu of food and drink that takes up most of the second level.
The Living Room also plays host to regular vinyl nights running from the evening into the early morning three days a week, while towards the hotel’s upper reaches sits Louisa’s, an open event space that doubles as a nightclub with front-and-rear open-air terraces.
Membership, naturally, is strictly via application and starts about $US2500 ($3500) a year for under thirties (plus a $US2000 joining fee, of course).
THE TWENTY TWO NEW YORK
16 E 16th St, New York, NY, VIC 3006
PRICE
From about $900 a night
THE INSIDER
The Twenty Two sits in the central hub of Flatiron, a stone’s throw from the bustling Union Square. Hit the square on the weekend to discover a bustling farmer’s market, while directly next door to the hotel lobby you’ll find Breads, one of New York’s most acclaimed Jewish bakeries (try the spinach bureka).
Stroll south for 15 minutes and you’ll be in the lively shopping neighbourhood of Chelsea, while a brief jaunt north will bring you to the foot of the Empire State Building and Grand Central’s jaw-dropping main terminal.
