The Standard

The Standard Review

André Balazs's architectural statement on the West Side is still one of New York's hottest hotels. It helps to have the High Line Park running underneath it, but the Standard earns much of the buzz in its own right, with a lobby full of glamorous types, an authentic beer garden (open year-round; dig the Ping Pong tables), and the 18th-floor nightclub that is one of the toughest doors in town. Rooms, with low platform beds, are on the small side (even by New York standards) but floor-to-ceiling windows add a sense of space. Some rooms have showers separated from the bedroom by little more than a glass partition. As you'd expect in a space (and neighborhood) that's so sceney, it can get loud at night. The Standard Grill restaurant, which is almost always packed, handles room service.