The Carlyle opened in November 1930 on the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street, an Art Deco apartment tower with interiors by Dorothy Draper, finished just as the Depression arrived; its developer lost it within two years. Robert Dowling, who bought it in 1944, made it social: the hotel's managing director, Robert Huyot, commissioned Ludwig Bemelmans to paint the bar, which opened in 1947, and Café Carlyle followed in 1955. Bemelmans is said to have painted the murals in exchange for a year and a half's lodging. Presidents from Truman to Clinton stayed, John F. Kennedy kept an apartment high in the tower, and part of the building is still private homes. Rosewood has run it since 2001.
There are 192 rooms and suites, and tonychi studio redesigned most of them in a renovation finished in 2021, with black lacquered panelling and Central Park wallpaper that nods to Bemelmans. The entry Superior Room is 360 sq ft (33 m²) on the courtyard side, with a marble bathroom and a rain shower. Madison Rooms take the street side and the daylight at 375 sq ft (35 m²), and Premier Rooms add space and a soaking tub at 450 sq ft (42 m²). The suites climb from 600 sq ft (56 m²) Rosewood Suites in the tower to Central Park Suites on the 27th to 33rd floors, and many of them have a piano.
The reason to book is the ground floor after dark. Bemelmans Bar is the room people mean by the Carlyle: Bemelmans's Central Park through the four seasons around the walls, Madeline and her classmates among the scenes, bartenders in red jackets, a pianist from 5:30pm and a jazz trio from 9pm. Next door, Café Carlyle has staged cabaret since 1955 under Marcel Vertès's murals, with Broadway, pop and jazz names on short runs and the show at 8:45pm. The Gallery, which Renzo Mongiardino designed with Topkapi Palace in mind, serves afternoon tea, and many of the staff have been here for decades.
The trade is money and space. Even in January the entry room costs about $1,300 a night before tax, looks onto the courtyard and has no bath. There is no pool, only a small 24-hour gym and the Valmont Spa. Bemelmans seats on a first-come basis, so the wait can run to two hours once the music starts. Book it for the Upper East Side done properly: Museum Mile on foot, a martini under the murals and a cabaret seat after dinner. If you want a rooftop, a downtown scene or a big room for the money, this is the wrong address.
