Inside New York’s legendary Madison Avenue hotel, beloved by Hollywood stars, US presidents and royals from Princess Diana to Kate and Wills

‘Famous’.

This is how ‘The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel’ in New York is described (in the information pack in my suite).

And rightly so. Every US president since Truman has visited, and the late Princess Diana, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, and stars like Jeff Goldblum, Naomi Campbell and George Clooney are fond of it. The latter three even appeared in a 2018 film about the estate, called ‘Always At The Carlyle’.

Billy Joel once appeared in the hotel’s Bemelmans Bar and played the ivory keys of the grand piano.

We call this 35-story, 192-room institution on the Upper East Side’s Madison Avenue, one block from Central Park, “famous.”

Ted Thornhill checked into The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel to find out why the rich and famous love it so much. Ted writes: ‘The lobby [above] sets the tone – and the tone is unashamed Art Deco refinement’

Every U.S. president since Truman has visited The Carlyle, including the late Princess Diana, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, and stars like Jeff Goldblum, Noami Campbell and George Clooney all love it. The latter three even starred in a 2018 film about the estate, called ‘Always At The Carlyle’

But what is it like to stay there?

I spent two nights in one of the Carlyle Suites, dined at Dowling’s restaurant and had cocktails at Bemelmans to find out.

The lobby sets the tone – and the tone is unashamed Art Deco refinement. Here I am enchanted by the black marble floor and chic mustard yellow furniture.

My fifth-floor stay doesn’t offer much of a view, but there’s plenty to see inside.

The 74 m² suite consists of a bedroom, a private bathroom and a living room, all of which can be closed off separately, giving the space an apartment-like feel.

And what an apartment – ​​an exercise in timeless Art Deco elegance, fit for Hollywood royalty and real-life royalty alike.

The king-size bed is wonderfully comfortable and has a pillow embroidered with my initials—a graceful gesture given to each guest (not mine, but theirs). The marble-clad bathroom has a sunken tub big enough to hold a dolphin in the Hudson River, a rain shower so powerful it must have its own nuclear pump, and silver double sinks.

At Bemelmans Bar (above), Ted enjoys a ‘delicious’ champagne-based ‘Jackie O’ cocktail ‘as a pianist’s ninja-like fingers race across the keys’ and soaks up ‘the seductive speakeasy atmosphere’

Dowling’s at The Carlyle – ‘the glamorous, art-decorated main restaurant’ where ‘guests receive Rolls-Royce service’

LEFT: Ted’s “hookah-inducing herb-crusted rack of lamb with whipped potatoes” that he enjoyed at Dowling’s restaurant. RIGHT: Dowling’s New York cheesecake

Ted’s Residence – The Carlyle Suite, ‘an exercise in timeless Art Deco elegance, fit for Hollywood royalty and real royalty’

Above is the living room in Ted’s Carlyle Suite. Ted notes that the accommodation makes him feel like he’s ‘stepped back in time and into an Agatha Christie novel’

Then there’s the living room, with its golden ceiling and plush sofa fit for a lounging matinee idol, and everywhere, lots of gorgeous dark wood. It’s adorned around the walls and forms the living room’s stunning round table. On this – and here we reach the Carlyle’s highlight – sits a wooden box discreetly concealing a bank of electrical sockets.

The 1930s style lampshades make me feel like I’ve gone back in time and stepped into an Agatha Christie novel.

Modern gadgets bring me back to the present: huge TVs in the bedroom and living room and blazing-fast free Wi-Fi, plus intuitive touchscreen controls for the air conditioning.

The magic continues on the ground floor, where the staff enchants every guest and makes them feel like a Hollywood star.

At Bemelmans Bar I am served a delicious Jackie O cocktail based on champagne, while the ninja-like fingers of a pianist run over the keys and I take in the seductive atmosphere of a speakeasy.

And in Dowling’s, the glamorous, art-decorated main restaurant, guests are treated to Rolls-Royce service that is not only effortlessly charming but also astonishingly efficient.

Ted writes: ‘The staff charmed every guest, making them all feel like Hollywood stars.’ Above – Cafe Carlyle

At the beginning of my Dowling’s dinner, the dining captain introduces himself. He should be promoted to colonel – he is the definition of a top-tier server. He makes every guest feel like the most important person in the room.

Dowling is also a hit in the culinary field.

I am impressed with my starter: Maryland crab cake with charred corn and pickled red onion. I am eager to discuss the main course in more detail: a mouth-watering herb-crusted rack of lamb. The potatoes are so creamy they belong in a cone.

Ted describes the service at The Carlyle as being so good it’s almost a ‘magic trick’. Above – The Gallery

The Carlyle’s public areas are decorated with chic mustard yellow furnishings

Room for dessert? No chance. Oh wait, there’s a New York cheesecake. And it’s so good I almost salute the captain as I leave.

At breakfast, both mornings, there is a newspaper on my table, a delicious pot of coffee, a wonderfully warm and airy croissant and within six minutes an Eggs Benedict is on the table.

And no one is in a hurry.

The service is so well organized that it seems like a magic trick.

Famous? It can certainly be famous.