London Chic to Hit New York

I'd like to check in

Sleepy-eyed guests arrive to an efficient reception located at a traditional plank-wood reservation desk that hits you mid-chest. A fresh-faced staff in slim vests and matching trousers navigates a straightforward check-in, as a bellman looks on ever so patiently, advising of each hotel's gym and lobby facilities. Old-fashioned cubbyholes contain laser-cut room keys with leather chains and embossed-gold numbers. With yours in hand, you pass through to a stainless-steel elevator well-stuffed with you, your bellman and wheeled entourage of luggage.

Right this way to your room

You're in England, which you're reminded of as you navigate the narrow interior hallways of the hotel with occasional step-down, step-up and unexpected turn that reveals your guest room. The heaviest door you will ever open in a hotel swings to reveal a crisp and bright room with wallpaper wainscoting, striped drapery, upholstered sofas and plaid chairs that you would never think really work but do. Oversize flat-screen TVs are opposite super-fluffy beds tucked 16 inches high with feather pillows and small bottles of aromatic sleeping fragrance that fills the room in a single jasmine-freesia spritz. Bedside tables include chunky modern radio, art-house books and a personal note from housekeeping as well as the on-site manager.

Bathroom scoop

We've stayed in three of the five London hotels, and virtually every bathroom is identical. Either a marketing ploy or really good mind game, a familiar sight of speckled gray granite welcomes the foreign eye to an all-stone space with white basin sink surrounded by Miller Harris toiletries in a refreshing lemon verbena scent. Rain showers are nothing short of bliss, like the luxury version of a Silkwood scrub to wash away any long-haul travel woes. Soaking tubs are complimented by recessed plasma-screen TVs with surround sound and additional second chunky radio playing the local classic music channel anytime the housekeeping makes its morning or evening pass-through.

In-room dining

Who doesn't like a 1a.m. raid of the mini-bar? Firmdale stocks its hotels with a high-end collection of gourmet treats, high-end chocolate and premium alcohols well-priced to encourage noshing. Those looking to indulge a more intense craving flock to an all-day dining menu offering morning continental breakfast, mid-day sandwich or 3 a.m. burger presented in no more than 30 minutes under silver-domed plate and tray. All on-site restaurants are open till around midnight, as are the in-house lounge or lobby honor bar that tests the honesty of heavy-handed drinkers.

Coming to America

Firmdale's Crosby Street Hotel is an all-new construction with 85 individually designed rooms in a loft interpretation of floor-to-ceiling warehouse-style windows. Like all other Firmdale properties, the hotel's interior design is by Kit Kemp, who creates her stylish hocus-pocus over an outdoor garden, drawing room, gym and a 100-seat screening theater room much like the one found at Soho Hotel. Utilizing the latest in environmental building materials and recycled products, the hotel is attempting to attain gold LEED status. The hotel will be managed by Jakob Hansen, formerly of Charlotte Street, who is looking to duplicate the Firmdale experience from housekeeping to the lively lounge scene that have made them a London cult phenomena.