London Chic to Hit New York

If you ask any fashionable Londoner what hotel he or she considers the chicest, inevitably the answer will include names like Charlotte Street, Soho Hotel and Haymarket. The three are part of the five-property Firmdale Hotels, which operates one of the most popular and successful boutique hotel brands in U.K. hospitality.

The company is in the process of expanding with its first North American outpost, Crosby Street Hotel in New York's Soho. Slated to open in early 2009, we take a closer look at what makes this chain so popular on the other side of the pond. And what to expect from the new New York hotspot.

First impressions ...