Firmdale Hotels, the U.K.-based parent of New York's Crosby Street Hotel, has opened its second New York hotel, The Whitby.
Located at West 56th Street at Fifth Avenue, a few blocks from Central Park, The Whitby has 86 individually designed rooms on its 16 floors, including a top-floor two-bedroom suite. The property features a lounge with a 30-foot pewter bar, floor-to-ceiling guestroom windows, a 130-seat state-of-the-art theater, and a public area with a fireplace called the Drawing Room. The Reading Room, available for special events, has 2,500 books that line its walls. The property has 5,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Whitby's sister property, the Crosby Street Hotel, opened in SoHo in 2009. Both hotels are overseen by Firmdale Hotels, which is run by the wife and husband team of Kit and Tim Kemp. The company operates 10 hotels, including London's Ham Yard Hotel, Haymarket Hotel, and Charlotte Street Hotel.
Kit Kemp's design elements are found throughout The Whitby with offbeat wall art, wallpaper of Kit's own design, and a giant wooden bear that overlooks the bar in the lobby of the private event space.