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This article is part of the guide to FT Globetrotter in New York
Opened in 2022, Ned Nomad is more than just a hotel. Soho House cousin, Cousin, is also a club that costs at least $5,000 a year and offers access to a variety of venues and events. Ned Nomad is not the first either. It is a derivative of London’s NED, and there are high hopes for this.
The original NED opened its doors almost a decade ago with an incomplete former HQ at Midland Bank, just a few blocks away from the desk at Bracken House, the FT’s home base. It bets claims as the city’s most spectacular and most luxurious hotel (not the tightest race as London’s most intense hotels tend to be outside the financial district), and was often referred to as “Soho House for adults.” It is named after the building’s architect Sir Edwin Lutiens and his vast size and buzz. The ground floor banking hall has transformed into an evolving matrix of multiple bars and eateries, a variety of live music and a creepy mixologist.
As I headed down Broadway from the subway, I was curious to see what that new New York brother would bring.
Expectations, expectations (atmosphere)
Stepping on the door reveals that the Ned Nomad is of a different size. It is a clean-sized boutique with no touch of the mother ship’s commanding height: not a big night, but rather a gentle, understated, refined refined. As the noise and bust of Broadway quickly settle, there is a rafish mix of dark woods and fabrics, Art Deco nods to an era when travel was synonymous with glamour. The first floor is a relatively compact space that includes a small club-like reception area and a branch of Cecconi, which is open to the public (an Italian restaurant popular with London’s finances and art crowds). Behind you will find a series of bars, snug and library rooms. One of these bars, Art Deco-inspired Little Ned, is also open to everyone.
Details, details (room)
The Ned Nomads exist in the historic 1903 Johnston Building, known for their Beekia Art details, bent corner towers and dramatic dome depola. The hotel reflects this gorgeous attention to detail through 167 rooms, ranging in sizes and prices, ranging from a compact 300-square-foot “crash pads” to luxury suites (building nests in the curved rotunda of the tower). My deluxe room was neatly spaced and came with a freestanding claw-footed bath and a walk-in shower. The signature note included a covered travel trunk, dark wood panelling and a minibar hidden in a burgundy damask screen. The vintage rotary dial phone and the old style brass angle poisoning lamp remained on the right side of the pastiche.
And, ah, accessories: from Kaushd Bathroom Products (Signed by Soho House) to Rufa, Posh Anglo Florantin toothpaste, earplugs, condoms, tampons, chargers, adapters – neatly packed in every fabric string bag. More importantly, for me, the king size bed was extremely comfortable. Even if the seven pillows are over-touched, the windows are open properly.
The breakfast was Sekconi’s, and it served a calm moment with a crisp white table cloth and a spacious environment before starting out into the fast world outside. The menu is just about everything normal, including pastries, “continentals” and various egg dishes. Of course, it has an avocado function. More bold, there is a full English breakfast offering (but no black pudding). I went for eggs and salmon. Around me, the scattered English accents suggested that the link to the London mothership was healthy.
Membership, membership (bar and lounge)
Luckily, hotel guests can sample profits reserved for their members, including access to the stunning rooftop clubhouse and terrace with beautiful views of the Empire State Building. After certain busy days between appointments throughout Manhattan, this rooftop was a welcome place to deal with it in Negroni. I wish I had a good chance to see the corner dome of that quirky, octagonal silly structured on the rooftops reserved for private events.
Hotel guests also have access to the Atrium (the club’s largest social hub), the library (the luxurious workspace that becomes a bar at night), the elephant bar on the ground floor, and the fine dining restaurant known as the dining room. It was a welcoming, comfortable and distinctive hideaway from the bustle. You would have been happy to relax in these shared spaces for a long time and invite people to the meeting.
Location, location (area)
Nomad sounds like a suitable name for a hotel serving luxury travelers who are familiar with moving from one business or cultural center to the next. However, NED Nomad is responsible for its name not a customer description, but a neighbourhood just north of Flatiron.
It is an area that takes pride in the theatre and slightly Louche’s reputation. And surrounded by the shadows of the Empire State Building, it also feels at the heart of the familiar bustle of New York. A place that is well connected in the central and has some degree of edge and character, not bad as a bolt hole while in town, business or on holidays.
At a glance
Suitable for: distinctive features, and easily cross Manhattan – it is a good home base for exploring
Not very good: If a quiet conversation band is hitting stride and wellness services, there is a gym facility, but no pool or spa
For reference: There are two more neds besides London and New York. One opened in Doha and the other recently opened in Washington, DC.
Rooms and Suites: 153 and 14 Suites
Price: Classic Room ranges from $420 to $893
Address: 1170 Broadway, New York, New York 10001
Website; Directions
Frederick Stademan was a guest of Ned Nomad
Been to Ned Nomad? How are Ned compared? Please let us know in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @ftglobetrotter for all the latest stories
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