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Lotte New York Palace
New York City, New York, United States · Lotte Hotels · Core Luxury
Harry Helmsley's 1981 Helmsley Palace wrapped a 51-story Emery Roth tower behind McKim, Mead & White's 1880s Villard Houses on Madison Avenue. The landmark courtyard still opens the lobby. After the Sultan of Brunei's 1990s renovation and a 2015 sale to Lotte, the hotel runs 909 rooms, including Towers triplexes, beside St. Patrick's Cathedral.
- 909 rooms
- Opened 1980
- Neighborhood: Midtown
- Architect: McKim, Mead & White; Emery Roth & Sons
- Interiors: ForrestPerkins & Martin Katz with HOK
About Lotte New York Palace
- The Villard Houses form a U-shaped Belleville sandstone ensemble around a Madison Avenue courtyard; the center wing is the hotel lobby.
- Helmsley operated the hotel until 1992; bankruptcy sold it in 1993 to the Sultan of Brunei.
- Northwood Investors bought it from Brunei's government in 2011 before Lotte Hotels & Resorts purchased and rebranded in 2015.
- As of 2021 the count was 822 guestrooms and 87 suites, with 176 Towers luxury units on the upper floors.
- The northernmost Villard house sits on a separate lot at 457 Madison Avenue and is not part of the hotel parcel.
History
Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railway, commissioned six houses on Madison Avenue in the 1880s from McKim, Mead & White. The U-shaped Belleville sandstone ensemble around a courtyard took six years. It later held private New York families, then Random House in the north wing, then the Archdiocese of New York. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Villard Houses in 1968. The archdiocese consolidated ownership by 1971 and left in 1973, hoping for a lessee rather than a sale.
Harry Helmsley leased the houses in 1974 and fought through years of hearings to raise a tower on air rights. Ada Louise Huxtable called early glass schemes a death-dealing solution. After the houses entered the National Register in 1975, Helmsley agreed to keep the Gold Room and public interiors. Ground broke on 25 January 1978. Emery Roth & Sons' 51-story bronze-and-glass slab opened as the Palace Hotel on 15 September 1980 and was soon renamed Helmsley Palace to avoid a Bowery hostelry. Christopher Gray judged the tower without the quality of the old houses, and the Villard rooms the finest hotel public rooms in New York. Leona Helmsley's iron rule, tax trials, and a 1992 receivership ended Helmsley control.
The Sultan of Brunei's Amedeo partnership bought the hotel in December 1993 for $200 million and, with Lee Jablin, renovated from 1996, bringing Le Cirque into the Gold Room in 1997. Brunei's government took the asset after Prince Jefri's disputes; Northwood Investors paid $400 million in 2011 and spent $140 million, finishing in 2013. Lotte Hotels & Resorts bought the building in August 2015 for $805 million and renamed it Lotte New York Palace. In 2017 the archdiocese mortgaged the land to fund abuse settlements; in December 2025 Lotte agreed to buy the land for $490 million. Gossip Girl used the Palace as Serena van der Woodsen's address.
The setting
Lotte New York Palace puts guests toward the east of Midtown, New York City. Rockefeller Center is about 4 minutes on foot. Top of The Rock is roughly 5 minutes' walk, and The Museum of Modern Art is roughly 5 minutes' walk. It is not a village. It is Broadway, Rockefeller Center, and the Public Library's marble pause before a steak. Alive from the first matinee through last call.
Restaurants and bars
- VILLARD — Restaurant · New American, 'farm house' breakfast fare · Chef Oscar Granados (Chef De Cuisine, as of 2018 release)
- The Gold Room Bar — Bar
- Rarities — Restaurant
- Trouble's Trust — Restaurant
- Tavern on 51 — Bar
- Pomme Palais — Café · Parisian-inspired New York bakery
- Le Cirque 2000 — Restaurant · Chef Sirio Maccioni (restaurateur)
Experiences
- The Courtyard — Landmarked courtyard, the original Madison Avenue carriage entrance of The Villard Mansion, with tall iron gates, a wine list and spritz menu.
- VILLARD breakfast and brunch — Signature restaurant serving a New American 'farm house' breakfast menu and weekend brunch in The Gold Room and Bar and Gallery Room.
- ila Spa — Eighth-floor spa with a private yoga studio, seven treatment rooms and three treatment pathways.
- Rock & Rosé at The Palace — Weekly summer cocktail hour on the landmarked courtyard with live music and rosé wines.
Amenities
- Spa
- Steam room
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- AAA Four Diamond (2026)
- Forbes Travel Guide Recommended (2026)
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