~ The vibe: Subdued luxury on the Upper East Side Location: 20 E. 76th St., New York City | View on Google Maps From: $1,168 | Book now ~ |
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The Afar take
Since its original debut in 1926, the Surrey, a Corinthia Hotel, has been a base for visitors to the Upper East Side, the neighborhood where Audrey Hepburn once walked in her iconic black dress, gawking at jewelry in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The property, which hosted the likes of JFK and Bette Davis, closed during the pandemic and reopened in October 2024 under the management of Corinthia Hotels, a Malta-based luxury hospitality company that put itself on the global traveler’s map with the 2011 opening of Corinthia London. The Surrey is the Corinthia hotel collection’s North America debut.
Checking in recently from my home base in Harlem, I found the Surrey to be an alluring base for both weary travelers and locals like me in need of a quiet respite in the city. Spa services, residential-feeling art deco–inspired lounge decor, and even house-made dog treats were created with Upper East Siders in mind. It’s this homey, living room vibe that the Surrey’s managing director, Pradeep Raman, believes will best serve a new generation of travelers and New Yorkers.
“[The Surrey] has got a storied past, but we’re not even talking about the past anymore, as far as I’m concerned,” Raman told me. ”It’s a new hotel that we’ve launched, which happens to be in a building that’s almost 100 years old.”
The Casa Tua lounge at the Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel
Courtesy of Jonathan Maloney / Inga Beckmann for What The Fox Studio
Italian-inspired lifestyle brand Casa Tua (Italian for your house) runs the lounge, restaurant, and a private members club at the Surrey. Casa Tua’s NYC spot is the latest for the group, which also has locations in Miami, Aspen, and Paris, giving its nearly 3,000 members a proper foothold in the Big Apple.
Who’s it for?
Travelers who want a low-key base in New York City. Overhearing conversations at the Casa Tua restaurant, I learned many Surrey guests are longtime New York City visitors—many of them impeccably dressed—with insider itineraries of the city’s cultural and culinary institutions. While the bottom floors are for Surrey hotel guests, floors 11 to 16 are residences, yet during my stay I found it hard to tell the difference between travelers, building occupants, and UES locals with a spa reservation.
The location
Located at the cross-section of 76th Street and Madison Avenue, the Surrey is a two-minute walk from Central Park. Iconic institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, and the Frick Collection (set to reopen April 2025) are all within walking distance. Some of the city’s most high-profile shopping is within easy reach on Madison Avenue. I took delight in night window shopping, where I admired the decked-out storefronts of Bottega Veneta, Hermès, and more than 100 other designer brands on the mile-and-a-half stretch between 57th and 86th—without the daytime crowds of shoppers hustling in and out.
The Surrey is less ideal for NYC first-timers hoping to see such landmarks as Times Square and Rockefeller Center (they’re 30 blocks south).
It’s this homey, living room vibe that the Surrey’s managing director, Pradeep Raman, believes will best serve a new generation of travelers and New Yorkers.
The rooms
The Surrey features 100 guest rooms, including 30 suites, and 14 private residences on the upper floors. The hotel’s interiors were designed by Martin Brudnizki, whose jewel-toned maximalism can be seen elsewhere in the city including the Beekman and the Fifth Avenue Hotel. At the Surrey, however, Brudnizki tones it down to match the buttoned-up vibe of the neighborhood. Many of the colors are shades of cream and brown, with notes of muted blue and green throughout.
A Deluxe Suite at the Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel
Courtesy of Jonathan Maloney / Inga Beckmann for What The Fox Studio
Rooms range in size from 315-square-foot Deluxe Rooms to its 830-square-foot Grand Deluxe Suites. My Grand Deluxe Room (around 400 square feet) had a king bed. Though the varying neutral palette bordered on being a little too beige for my taste, the colorful artwork, textured furniture, and patterned floor added some personality and a hint of whimsy.
Big windows (which could be opened a few inches for some fresh air) felt oh-so New York with views of Madison Avenue. When it was time to sleep, I operated the blackout drapes with bedside controls. I loved the city-inspired bedside reading options, including Edward Hopper’s New York and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers’s Saving Central Park along with a book of works by NYC-based painter Jansson Stegner—offering some helpful context for the Stegner piece on my wall.
My bathroom, a study in sleek gray and white marble, was stocked with Antica Farmacista products. I particularly enjoyed the wall-integrated Bluetooth speaker that I could connect to my phone for some shower tunes.
The food and drink
Casa Tua serves an Italian/Mediterranean-inspired menu organized by antipasti, primi, and secondi. (Casa Tua founder Miky Grendene’s family pictures are featured throughout the menu, a nice personal touch.) Restaurant patrons will recognize menu favorites from other locations, like Miky’s Salad—featuring lentils, quinoa, and farro with an olive oil and lemon dressing. The dinner menu felt refined but approachable; highlights included guanciale salad, seared octopus with chickpea puree, and mushroom tagliatelle with black truffle and mascarpone. The scallop risotto was adorned with salty capers, which added a lovely crunch to an otherwise mild and hearty dish. At breakfast, if you want to indulge, the brioche french toast with bananas foster and maple mascarpone cream is a dream—and definitely a dish for sharing.
Another surprise hit? The coffee. Having lived in Italy for six months in 2024, I finally had a cup of coffee that took me back to that time of my life. I tried to get espresso at the hotel in any form I could, whether in a breakfast latte or in an espresso martini at the ground floor lounge.
Staff and service
The attentiveness of the staff and service was one of the highlights of my stay. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by name when I passed by employees in elevators and hallways. When room service came to collect breakfast dishes from my room, they insisted that I shouldn’t lift a finger to help them (including holding the door, which I thought was a bit much). Anytime I called asking for anything from Nespresso pods to medicine, they arrived promptly.
A seating area in a Grande Deluxe Suite at the Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel
Courtesy of Jonathan Maloney / Inga Beckmann for What The Fox Studio
Accessibility
The hotel has two elevators and four ADA-compliant Deluxe Kings and one ADA-compliant Grand Deluxe Suite. The intimate Casa Tua lounge and restaurant might be hard for those with mobility issues to navigate (especially when it gets crowded), but the staff seems more than willing to accommodate. While I was eating breakfast, I noticed the staff checking in on the table beside me to make sure someone with crutches was comfortable at their spot.
Spa and wellness
The Surrey’s 2,500-square-foot Cornelia Spa, adjacent to its gym, features two treatment rooms, a steam room, sauna, a sensorial shower, and a relaxation room featuring a salt wall—which is supposed to purify the air and lower stress. Come early and stay after your appointment to fully enjoy the amenities.
I tried the Surrey-exclusive Black Rose Replumping Facial and Scalp Massage (sessions start at $425). My licensed esthetician for the 105-minute session led me through deep breathing techniques, cleansed my skin with Sisley Paris products, massaged my face and scalp (so relaxing that I fell asleep), and advised me on skin impurities she identified. It felt like a consultation, massage, and meditation wrapped up into one session.
