The first time I visited The Manner was for Marc Jacobs’ after-party during New York Fashion Week in February. Sloane’s, the hotel’s second-floor cocktail lounge, was packed with guests, and the DJ booth was bouncing.

I’d heard the new boutique hotel in SoHo, tucked away on Thompson Street, was where all the best parties were beginning to happen, and in September Willy Chavarria confirmed as much. But The Manner is far more than just fashion’s favourite new hotspot; the hotel was designed to be an inviting and intimate home away from home, complete with a residential-style lounge where guests can enjoy complimentary coffee and breakfast, take work calls, or enjoy an evening drink, as well as three distinct dining experiences. During a month in New York, I popped from my friend’s SoHo apartment over to The Manner to enjoy the best of inner-city hotel living.

Below, postcards from a New York staycation at The Manner.

Designed and curated by…

The Manner was designed by Milan-based architect and designer Hannes Peer in collaboration with Verena Haller, Chief Design Officer for Standard International, with architectural execution by Lubrano Ciavarra Architects. The design team brought a distinct blend of European elegance and contemporary glamour to the hotel’s interiors and overall aesthetic, aiming to lean residential rather than "hotel-y".

Guest room interiors – including custom headboards, chandeliers, upholstery (e.g. velvet banquettes), leather-trimmed furniture, and integrated lighting/audio elements – were developed under the same design direction by Hannes Peer with input from Verena Haller to create that unique "home-like" feel. Contemporary artworks and sculptural pieces by international creatives such as Nicholas Shurey, Giovanni De Francesco, Elvira Solana, Alex Proba, and Ben Medansky were integrated into the interiors to enrich the spaces.

I stay here because…

It’s in the best area to be, while not feeling crazy busy or intense when you step out onto the pavement. It feels like coming home when you walk through the doors, and it has everything you need to be able to happily work or relax during your stay.

What I love about the room…

The fact that there’s intentionally no TV! I used to love watching TV in hotel rooms, finding lying in bed with a "smooth-brained" show on the most relaxing part of a stay. However, I’ve recently been in a few hotels that purposefully avoid them (shout-out to Post Ranch Inn, who removed theirs at the request of women visiting with their partners) and find I spend more time reading – and locked into the space, place, and person I’m with. I also loved the small assortment of fiction on the bookshelf and the overall design, with the wooden accents, brass, and pops of red. The bed is, of course, insanely comfortable, too.

Amenities worth a mention…

The Apartment, the hotel’s incredibly chic residents-only lounge, is the real heart of The Manner. There’s complimentary coffee and breakfast in the mornings (including delicious morning buns I can’t stop thinking about), an honour-bar vibe in the evenings, and enough comfortable corners to make working from a hotel feel genuinely appealing.

It’s the details that count…

The fireplace in the Apartment and lobby, the textured rugs in Sloane's, the ambient lighting, and the tiles. Everything feels lived in, yet perfectly photographable.

Dinner…

I’m a sucker for Google Maps restaurant reviews, so I was incredibly excited to try The Otter, The Manner’s seafood-centric restaurant led by Alex Stupak. Some standouts included the parsley root agnolotti with lump crab meat, topped with Ritz crackers, the crab omelette with red curry, and the (swordfish) steak frites. Salivating.

Room service order…

I ordered dirty martinis for myself and a friend to the room before we went out for the night – look at the gorgeous glasses they came in!

What to expect in the mini-bar…

The perfect assortment of snacks, including Poshi olives and Torres crisps.

Places nearby worth frequenting…

All of the city’s most iconic spots are on the doorstep, including Cipriani, Carbone, Balthazar, and Fanelli’s. Plus, Sadelle’s for a perfect bagel. It’s the ideal spot for shopping with flagship stores dotted all around SoHo, and fab second-hand stores including The RealReal and What Goes Around Comes Around.

The one thing I always return home with is…

A recalibrated sense of how good a hotel can feel when it’s designed like a home. And a packet of crisps from the mini-bar for the plane.