Briar Black / 29 January 2025 / Categories: City, Hotels & Travel, Hotels

The Fitzpatrick Hotel Manhattan

Refurbished in 2019

I travel a fair bit on business. I have used Trip advisor a lot but I rarely get it right when picking somewhere based on reviews alone. What’s good for someone else, a reviewer I don’t know is rarely good for me I’ve found. Why these days I’ve done all my research and stick to what I know meets my needs and the low key discreet hospitality I like when I’m away on business.

Staying in New York City can be challenging. There are loads of options and very easy to lose your shirt paying hundreds of dollars a night for something that’s actually not all that.

I first stayed at the Fitzpatrick about 20 years ago by mistake. And we had such a great time I’ve been back 5 or 6 times since. They say “we’re an upscale lodging with an Irish bent” The most lovely thing about this hotel is this unpretentiousness.

When you first visit the website the Fitzpatrick looks like every other 4/5 star hotel fighting for our business. Gorgeous professional images of delicious food and comfy beds but you get something you cannot feel on a website you get real heart too. At only 91 rooms and suites it’s actually not a massive property so it does feel homely and intimate kind of, for the big Apple.

The reasons I love it. Firstly it’s Irish through and through and that may sound strange but you can feel the Emerald Isle in the walls. It’s five star yet family run. There’s an Irish pub adjacent and the smarter more cosmopolitan Fitz Bar for cocktails. And the hotel underwent a major refurbishment in 2019.

The furniture and style is traditional, the rooms have dark mahogany wardrobes and super comfy big sleigh beds.

The hotel could be of another time, when NYC was more merchants and meddlers than bustling metropolis so you get the combination of modern home comfort and luxury in the warmth and relaxation of a time gone by.

Pure hospitality in a way only the Irish really know how to execute with a twinkle.

The last time I was there I did end up meeting and having a few jars with the owner John.

It’s a special hotel in an absolutely superb central location on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 5th.

Cannot recommend highly enough and expect a cheeky room rate too with breakfast. It’ll always be a few dollars less than other equivalent properties that won’t treat you so well.

What the Fitzpatrick are selling is a feeling. When you leave all you can think about is when you can return.

They also have a sister property in Grand Central.