IHG Hotels & Resorts has opened Kimpton Ashbel New York-Park Avenue, a 205-room boutique luxury property at 70 Park Avenue, returning a Midtown Manhattan landmark to the Kimpton fold and giving business travellers a new townhouse-style base within walking distance of Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park.
The opening marks the latest addition to IHG’s luxury and lifestyle portfolio and breathes new commercial life into a Beaux-Arts building first constructed in 1928 as the Doral Park Avenue Hotel. After a wholesale repositioning, the hotel now trades on a deliberately residential approach to hospitality, modelled on the proportions and character of a classic Manhattan townhouse rather than a traditional corporate property.
For frequent flyers and corporate guests, the location is the headline. The hotel sits a short walk from Grand Central, putting Metro-North commuters, Long Island Rail Road passengers and the wider Midtown East corporate cluster within easy reach. Bryant Park, the Chrysler Building and the Park Avenue financial corridor are equally close at hand.
Inside, the 205 guestrooms include 14 connecting rooms aimed at families and small groups travelling together. Interiors have been pitched in soft palettes with generous proportions, intended as a calmer counterpoint to the pace of the city outside.
The traditional hotel lobby has been dispensed with altogether. In its place, a series of interconnected residential-style spaces, a foyer, living room and family room, run across the ground floor, framed by oversized wood portals that incorporate the building’s original architectural columns, steps and historic windows. The intention, the operator says, is to encourage guests to linger, gather or work throughout the day rather than retreat upstairs.
The interior scheme has been delivered by Busta Studio, layering warm woods, soft palettes and curated gold accents with what Kimpton describes as “playful flushes of colour” and eclectic artwork. Furnishings have been custom-designed for the property, combining refined metal accents with organic textures. A commissioned art programme from Soho Art Gallery brings original mixed-media pieces into the public spaces, while a curated collection of Assouline and Taschen titles reinforces the residential tone.
At the heart of the hotel, the living room doubles as a gathering space and library, anchored by a floating open-plan banquette. Adjoining it is Park & Bel, the property’s all-day café concept and the element most likely to interest business travellers in search of a flexible work-and-meet space along the avenue.
Park & Bel is being positioned as a neighbourhood destination in its own right rather than a captive hotel outlet, a long-standing Kimpton brand signature. The menu shifts through the day from artisanal baked goods, seasonal fruit and hearty sandwiches in the morning to small plates in the evening, designed for sharing and informal meetings. A curated bar cart adds à la carte premium cocktails, craft beer and fine wine to the line-up.
Two complimentary guest programmes complete the offer. The signature Kimpton Kickstart provides morning coffee and tea, while Kimpton Social, the brand’s nightly hosted social hour, brings guests together over beer and wine, a useful touch for solo corporate travellers looking to network on the road.
The restored limestone-clad façade has been retained as the building’s calling card, anchoring Kimpton Ashbel firmly in its architectural past, while the interiors signal the brand’s intent to make 70 Park Avenue feel less like a hotel and more like a private Midtown residence with a café attached. For business travellers weighing up Midtown East options, the return of the Kimpton name to Park Avenue adds a fresh, full-service contender to one of Manhattan’s most established corporate hotel corridors.