HotelChatter

Nor is it a coincidence that The Cosmo and Mondrian Soho ended up at the top of this year's list. Both places opened in a relatively saturated hotel scene (not that we're faulting them for it), and both managed to set themselves apart with bold, highly unique, yet unobtrusive designs, plus the ability to attract a well-balanced mix of VIP crowds, tourists, and regular old hotel geeks (like us!) in one fell swoop. No wonder they managed to capture the hearts of everyone!

Just like we're seeing in Chicago, the trend of over-the-top design seems to be out—current hotels are going for a subtler, more elegant look. When we reviewed The Cosmopolitan back in January, we couldn't get over how efficient and compact the whole layout was. And in order to cram everything in, certain "features" of the hotel require a bit of hunting. Which suits us just fine.

As for the Mondrian Soho, we haven't seen a dreamier hotel hit the downtown NYC in a while. You all loved our video tour of a sixteenth-foor Standard King room—in-room iPads, Alexander Wang condoms, blue ceilings and all.

Well, we couldn't get enough of the space either. When we weren't knocking back cans of PBR in our room, we were lounging in the cloud-like lobby. And when we weren't marveling at the gold leather bench inside Imperial No. 9, we were busy figuring out ways to sneak into the hot nightclub Mister H. Which we had plenty of time to do while lingering inside the beautiful Crosby Garden.

And don't forget—Mondrian is well on its way to world domination! With both London and Istanbul set to welcome new Mondrian outposts in the next few years, we'll certainly be keeping our eye on those developments.

Have we set your wanderlust on fire? Ready to book a stay? Don't forget to check out our tips on the best room to book at Mondrian Soho! Because you're our readers, and, shucks, you deserve the very best.