When playing Fantasy Real Estate, we tend to put together a portfolio based around favourite cities and ideal locations. Anything with a beach front will do in The Hamptons. Our London home will be in Barnsbury: classic, spacious, accessible and most importantly, not Notting Hill. For warmth and ironic cheer we’ll have a little holiday place in Ibiza because it’s still a classic…
When it comes to New York though, the decision becomes tougher. There’s a part of us that wants a mammoth Meat District conversion, probably because we like those big lifts. Another part of us has a little hankering for Greenwich Village – hey, we are media types here at LUSSO towers, after all. And then we see 80 Columbus Circle and all bets are off.
If the address is familiar, it’s because you’ve probably stayed there: it’s at the Mandarin Oriental, one of the New York City’s finest hotels. As well as all the amenities that implies (you certainly have an excellent spa in your “basement”), that means sweeping views of NYC, across Central Park and from river to river, either from the balcony or via any number of the 10ft high floor-to-ceiling windows – although we suspect the jaw-dropping effect might pall after a decade or so…
As you would expect from a residence associated with and attached to one of the city’s finest hotels, this is a five-star home of considerable space (it’s 4,822 square foot, to be exact), light (those windows again) and exquisite detail. There are seven reception rooms, including one modestly – but accurately – called The Great Room, which leads to the private terrace: suppers here would instantly be the most sought after invite in town. There are four bedrooms, and five bathrooms, two of which provide his and hers options for the master bedroom. Well, when you have his-and-hers walk-in closets, why not? The interior is spectacular, with custom built wood cabinetry and – as if you need a conversation piece here – a uniquely suspended salt water aquarium. Best of all, there’s a Crestron control system throughout. Look, we’re media types, we love a gadget and these babies are undoubtedly the daddy, the sine qua non of interior electronics.