A Holiday Staycation at This Luxury NYC Hotel Comes With a Private Tour of the Iconic Window Displays, Champagne Brunch, and More

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but crystals are the way to catch a traveler’s eye.

At the Baccarat Hotel in NYC, a jewel of a property from the 256-year-old namesake French brand, everything glitters: A prismatic glass façade gives way to a dazzling light installation, dangling crystal chandeliers, iridescent vases filled with roses, and pleasantly surprising scarlet flourishes. You might be thinking, could this be a taste of Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors in the heart of Midtown Manhattan? Mais oui.

Here, more is more — and it’s enchanting enough to get you in the holiday spirit, even in a year where the magic seems to be missing.

The hotel — nay, crystal palace — occupies a prime piece of real estate, just across the street from the Museum of Modern Art and mere minutes from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, ice-skating rink, and Saks Fifth Avenue’s famed window displays — all necessary ingredients for a quintessential NYC winter holiday. On top of that, it’s offering festive packages and seasonal experiences, too.

For starters, the hotel’s in-room holiday brunch, as decadent as its décor, includes a tiered tower of indulgent sweet and savory bites, a choice of an entrée, fresh berries, coffee or tea, a bottle of Champagne, and of course, Baccarat crystal flutes. In-room dining is also on offer until 2:30 p.m. every day, and Champagne can still be summoned to your door with the click of a button on the room telephone.

For procrastinating shoppers, the hotel also recently debuted its Saks Fifth Avenue Holiday Shopping Experience, which comes with a private tour of the holiday windows, lunch at L’Avenue, a personal shopping consultant, $500 Saks gift card, and more. Or, the concierge can arrange a private, Champagne-infused VIP shopping experience at the nearby Baccarat Boutique on Madison Avenue.

One of the few luxury hotels open in NYC for the season, the Baccarat, like many other properties, has had to adjust for the times. The unabashedly opulent Bar and Grand Salon are temporarily closed, for example, though the hotel’s dreamlike pool and Spa de la Mer remain open with new safety protocols in place. Guests are required to reserve a time to use the former, which often means enjoying a dip or lounging in one of the plush cabanas uninterrupted — a luxury in the city, where peace and quiet come at a premium. At the adjacent Spa de la Mer, masks are required for both attendants and guests during treatments.

Most recently, the Baccarat became the first NYC hotel to earn the Sharecare Health Security Verified badge, a designation it obtained for meeting more than 360 global health security standards.

Those wanting even more peace of mind can book into Maison Privé, complete with not one, not two, but 11 rooms and suites for a more spread-out experience. A stay here also includes a dedicated guest experience manager, complimentary 60-minute treatments at the hotel’s spa, a holiday brunch created by two Michelin-starred culinary director Gabriel Kreuther, daily breakfast, and a welcome amenity that includes a bottle of Champagne and a Baccarat crystal keepsake. Perhaps most notably, though, guests get to take over the entire 12th floor, accessed by a private elevator for the utmost exclusivity.

It’s a roomy, away-from-it-all experience in a city famous for its crowds and constant stimulation — and, well, isn’t that just the greatest holiday gift of all?

For more information about the hotel’s holiday experiences, COVID-19 regulations, or to book a stay, visit baccarathotels.com.