The Lowell

About The Lowell

The Lowell suits travelers who want a quiet Upper East Side base close to Central Park. Couples who prefer a residential street to a busy Midtown block settle in well, and so do families visiting the museums along Fifth Avenue. Business travelers are within easy reach of Grand Central Terminal and the Midtown office district. The hotel sits on East 63rd Street in Carnegie Hill, where the streets are calm and mornings start slowly rather than with through traffic.

The Lowell is a five-star hotel, rated at the top of the official scale. The booking supplier's guest score is 4.6 out of 5 from 357 reviews, which places it among the better-rated addresses in this part of Manhattan. Expect a calm, residential style of stay rather than a large modern chain property, with a concierge and a front desk that stays open around the clock. Rates vary by season and room type, so check the total price with taxes and fees before booking.

Rooms and listed facilities

The listed facilities cover the practical side of a city stay. A 24 hour front desk and luggage storage help if you land late, and lifts are listed for the upper floors. Couples have a restaurant and bar in the building for an easy first evening. Business travelers can use the business center and meeting room, and the terrace gives families somewhere to sit between outings. Free wifi and a free newspaper are listed. Confirm room layout, bed type and any facility you rely on directly with The Lowell before you book.

The listed facilities cover the practical side of a city stay. A 24 hour front desk and luggage storage help if you land late, and lifts are listed. Couples have a restaurant and bar in the building for an easy first evening. Business travelers can use the business center and meeting room, and the terrace gives families somewhere to sit between outings. Free wifi and a free newspaper are listed. Confirm room layout, bed type and any facility you rely on directly with The Lowell before booking.

The setting

The Lowell stands at 28 East 63rd Street, on a residential block in Carnegie Hill on the Upper East Side. Times Square and Grand Central Terminal are each about 1 mile (1.6 km) away in a straight line, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art about 1 mile (1.6 km). Penn Station is about 1.7 miles (2.7 km). The Upper East Side keeps a residential pace, with the Midtown grid a short ride south.

Location and neighborhood

Carnegie Hill fills the Upper East Side blocks from 86th Street to 96th Street, with Fifth Avenue along its western edge and Central Park just beyond it. This is the quieter end of Museum Mile, where the Guggenheim and the Cooper Hewitt stand within a few blocks of each other on Fifth Avenue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art begins at 82nd Street. Addresses split at Fifth Avenue, so an East 91st Street block and a West 91st Street block are different places. The neighborhood is mostly residential, with schools and churches between the apartment buildings, and sidewalks stay calm. The Lowell sits inside this grid.

Most of the island north of 14th Street follows the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which set numbered streets running east to west and avenues running north to south. That regularity makes Carnegie Hill easy to walk: a few blocks carry you from the park to Lexington Avenue, and Broadway crosses the grid diagonally further downtown. Central Park, 843 acres between 59th and 110th Streets, is free to enter and borders the neighborhood across Fifth Avenue, so green space sits close by. Uptown means north and downtown means south, and Manhattanhenge aligns with the cross streets a few days a year, usually in late May and mid-July.

Getting there and around

Subway stations along Lexington Avenue put the rest of Manhattan within reach, and trains run 24 hours a day. Fares are paid by tapping a contactless card or phone at the turnstile; the MetroCard is being phased out, so tap to pay and check the current fare with the MTA. From The Lowell, the middle of the neighborhood is around 1 mile (1.6 km) away. JFK and Newark Liberty are each around 13 miles (21.2 km) by road, and the trip usually takes about 45 to 75 minutes depending on traffic. Grand Central Terminal, around 1 mile (1.6 km) from the hotel, has Metro-North trains. Check schedules before a late arrival.

Nearby sights and food

Museum Mile runs along Fifth Avenue from roughly 82nd to 105th Streets, and three of its museums sit within walking distance of the neighborhood: the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street, the Guggenheim, and the Cooper Hewitt. Central Park, free to enter, begins across the avenue and covers 843 acres between 59th and 110th Streets. The American Museum of Natural History is on Central Park West at 79th Street, a walk across the park. Broadway theaters cluster around Times Square, and the observation decks at the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center look over the whole island.

Eating near Carnegie Hill leans residential. Madison and Lexington Avenues carry most of it: small Italian trattorias, Greek and Turkish kitchens, Japanese sushi counters and a steady run of French bistros, with bakeries and delis filling the side streets at lunch. Along 86th Street and further south toward 79th Street the choice widens to Spanish tapas, Indian and Thai restaurants, and casual places serving pizza, bagels and burgers. Higher up, toward 96th Street and East Harlem, menus turn toward Latin American cooking. Book ahead for dinner on weekend evenings, when neighborhood tables fill early.

A day from The Lowell

A day from The Lowell starts in Central Park: enter at Fifth Avenue and walk the paths before the day warms up. Walk south along Fifth Avenue mid-morning and give the Metropolitan Museum of Art a long morning, then add the Guggenheim or the Cooper Hewitt on the same stretch if time allows. Lunch on Madison Avenue, then ride the subway downtown to the Theater District for an afternoon look at Times Square, or head to the Empire State Building for the open-air deck. Evening curtains on Broadway are typically at 7 or 8 pm, so check the show and leave a margin for the trip back uptown to The Lowell.

Distances

Facilities listed by the supplier

As listed by the booking supplier; a facility not listed here may still exist. Confirm anything important with the property.

• 24 Hour Front Desk
• Babysitting service
• Banquet
• Bars
• Bell boy
• Bicycle rental
• Business Center
• Concierge
• Dry cleaning service
• Fireplace
• Free Wi-Fi
• Free newspaper
• Library
• Elevators
• Luggage storage
• Meeting room
• Multilingual staff
• Restaurant
• Safe
• Terrace
• Wheelchair accessible