The Warwick Hotel in Manhattan: Historic Hollywood Style in Midtown

Last week we visited Kimberly Cucinotta, the group sales coordinator for the Warwick Hotel in midtown Manhattan. We had met Kimberly when she stopped by our booth at the Great Bridal Expo. Both Kimberly and the Warwick Hotel itself embody the phrase “relaxed formal” – they combine a refined elegance with a friendly, open personality.

Kimberly explained to us that the Warwick Hotel was originally built by William Randolph Hearst as a residential hotel for his Hollywood friends (and his mistress, Marion Davies). Because of this, some of the public spaces in the hotel have a more intimate feel than the grand expanses you might find at the Waldorf or the Plaza.

Above, the chandelier in the lobby is from the set of the movie Marie Antoinette.

The hotel is actually bigger than it might seem on first impression. It has 426 rooms, some of which are spacious suites with terraces overlooking Midtown and Central Park.

One of these suites is the Cary Grant Suite, where Cary Grant actually lived for twelve years. Kimberly told us about one event the hotel is hosting in that space this summer: they are removing the sleeping furniture and converting the suite, which has several bedrooms and bathrooms and a terrace with spectacular views, into a multi-roomed cocktail lounge for one couple’s wedding rehearsal dinner. We could imagine the martinis being passed and Frank Sinatra crooning in the background….

The Warwick Hotel would be the perfect venue for a couple having a smaller wedding (perhaps 50 to 100 guests), and who appreciate a space with 1930s/40s historical ambience.