Renovating in New York City—the land of a thousand permits—is always difficult. Renovating a hotel building like The Surrey, however, is almost impossible: at a century old, it requires both official approval from the landmark commission and unofficial approval from the public. Plenty of New Yorkers have memories of the hotel’s previous iteration, when the clientele included John F. Kennedy, Bette Davis, and Claudette Colbert. Add in an iconic Art Deco facade, and you aren’t just battling bureaucracy, but the warm fuzz of nostalgia.
Yet, after a multi-year closure—which included a change of ownership (the hotel is now owned by the Reuben Brothers) and a change in management (from Relais & Chateaux to Corinthia Hotels)—The Surrey is finally ready to make its grand re-debut.
Jonathan Maloney / Inga Beckmann for What The Fox Studio
Arriving on a Saturday afternoon in November, I was feeling a little burnt out from the realities of city living: construction on Madison Avenue made my trip from the West Village three times longer—and bumpier—than it needed to be. Earlier that morning, a pigeon decided to relieve itself on my just-dry-cleaned sweater. And earlier, earlier that morning (around 5 a.m.) I was awoken by the blare of sirens. I wasn’t necessarily having a bad day, but I wasn’t exactly having a good day either.
Until, that is, I walked into the lobby: cream, marbled, and adorned with artful floral branches, it exuded a distinct sense of visual calm. The interior design of The Surrey 2.0 was executed by Martin Brudnizki, who also designed Annabel’s in London and Fouquet’s in Tribeca. While those projects embraced maximalism, with The Surrey, there’s a sense of restraint. Color palettes are muted, with pops of color mostly arriving courtesy of the art on the walls. Curated with help from Paris’s Visto Gallery, it includes works by George Condo, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the Brooklyn-based contemporary artist Ethan Cook.