You’re standing on the corner of 54th and Broadway, looking up until your neck hurts. It’s a classic Manhattan move. Most people assume the famous "Billionaires' Row" towers, those pencil-thin needles piercing the clouds, must be where the tourists sleep. But honestly? They aren't. While the Central Park Tower and Steinway Tower dominate the skyline, they are strictly for the ultra-wealthy residents. If you want the highest hotel in New York, you aren't looking for a penthouse condo; you’re looking for a blue-glass skyscraper known as 1717 Broadway.
This building is a bit of a trick. It’s actually two hotels stacked on top of each other like a giant Lego tower. The bottom half is a Courtyard by Marriott, and the top half—the part that actually claims the title—is the Residence Inn Central Park.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Marriott Southfield Michigan Northwestern Highway is Still the Power Hub of Oakland County
The Vertical Logic of 1717 Broadway
Standing at 753 feet, this is the tallest "single-use" hotel building in North America. By "single-use," I mean the whole structure is dedicated to hospitality. It doesn't have 50 floors of office space at the bottom or condos at the top. It’s just rooms.
The Residence Inn starts where the Courtyard ends. While the Courtyard occupies floors 6 through 32, the Residence Inn takes the "nosebleed" section from floors 36 all the way up to 64. Staying here is weirdly practical. You’ve got kitchenettes, full-sized refrigerators, and floor-to-ceiling windows that make you feel like you’re hovering over the city in a glass box.
Why the Altitude Matters
Height in New York is a currency. Usually, you pay for it at a rooftop bar with a $28 cocktail that tastes mostly like ice. But when you stay at the highest hotel in New York, that view is your wallpaper for the whole night.
From the 60th floor, the "canyons" of Manhattan look more like grooves in a record player. You can see the Hudson River glinting to the west and the green rectangle of Central Park to the north. It’s disorienting at first. The yellow taxis look like Micro Machines. You realize just how much steam actually rises from the streets.
- The View Factor: Unlike the luxury hotels on Central Park South (like the Park Lane or the Ritz-Carlton), which are physically closer to the park but much shorter, 1717 Broadway lets you look down on the park.
- The Price Gap: You’d expect a record-breaking hotel to cost $2,000 a night. Kinda surprisingly, it doesn't. Because it's a Residence Inn, it’s often cheaper than the boutique spots in SoHo.
- The Layout: Every room in the Residence Inn portion is a suite. You've basically got a tiny Manhattan apartment with a view that would cost a local $10,000 a month in rent.
The Competition: Who Else is Scouring the Clouds?
We have to talk about the "Almost" winners. The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown is a beast. It sits inside 30 Park Place, a tower that hits 926 feet. So why isn't it the highest? Because the hotel only occupies the lower 22 floors. The rest is private residences. If you’re a guest there, you’re still pretty high up, but you aren't "tallest hotel" high.
Then there’s the Mandarin Oriental. It’s perched in the Deutsche Bank Center (formerly the Time Warner Center) at Columbus Circle. The lobby is on the 35th floor. It’s spectacular, sure. It’s iconic. But floor for floor, it just doesn't reach the same literal heights as the Marriott tower on Broadway.
And we can't forget the new kids on the block. The Equinox Hotel at Hudson Yards is part of a 1,000-foot tower, but again, the hotel is just a slice of the building. It’s a lifestyle, a gym with rooms, and a very tall one at that—but the Residence Inn still holds the crown for the highest dedicated hotel rooms in the city.
What It’s Actually Like to Stay There
Honestly, the elevators are the real heroes here. In a building this tall, bad elevators can ruin your life. You don't want to spend 20 minutes of your vacation waiting for a lift. At 1717 Broadway, they use a destination-dispatch system. You punch in your floor on a keypad outside, and it tells you which car to get into. It's fast. Almost too fast. Your ears might pop.
The rooms are narrow. That’s the trade-off for the height. Because the building is so slender, the floor plates are small. But when you turn the lights off at night and the city is glowing right outside your glass wall, you don't care about the square footage. You feel like the king of New York. Or at least the king of 54th Street.
👉 See also: Flights to Punta Cana: What Most People Get Wrong About Booking the Dominican Republic
Is the "Highest" Always the Best?
There’s a nuance here that travelers often miss. Height doesn't always equal the best view. If you’re too high, you lose the detail. At 700 feet, you’re looking at rooftops and HVAC systems. Sometimes, being on the 20th floor of a hotel like the Waldorf Astoria—which just reopened after its massive renovation—gives you a more "intimate" New York feel. You can see the people, the architecture, and the life of the street.
But for the bucket-list traveler? The person who wants to say they slept in the highest hotel in New York? There is no substitute.
Expert Tips for Booking Your High-Altitude Stay
- Request the North Side: If you're at the Residence Inn, you want to face North. That's your Central Park view. Facing South gives you Times Square, which is cool for about five minutes until the neon lights start vibrating your retinas.
- Check the Floor Number: Don't just book "Residence Inn." Ensure your reservation is for a high-floor suite. Sometimes people accidentally book the Courtyard (lower floors) and wonder why their view is blocked by the building across the street.
- Breakfast with a View: The breakfast area is shared, and it gets crowded. Go early. Like, 6:30 AM early. Watching the sun hit the skyscrapers while you eat a mediocre bagel is a top-tier NYC experience.
- The "Corner" Secret: Corner suites have wrap-around glass. If you can swing the extra $50-70 a night for a corner unit, do it. It’s the difference between looking through a window and standing on a ledge.
Manhattan's skyline is always changing. By next year, some new toothpick-thin tower might announce a hotel on the 90th floor. But for now, 1717 Broadway remains the undisputed heavyweight champ of height. It’s a weird, tall, dual-branded skyscraper that offers a perspective most people only get from an observation deck.
📖 Related: The Italy Statue of Liberty: Why Florence Has the Twin You Never Knew About
If you're planning a trip, skip the standard tourist traps and look up. The best way to see New York isn't from the street—it's from a kitchen-equipped suite 60 floors above the chaos.
Actionable Next Steps
- Verify your floor: When booking at 1717 Broadway, explicitly choose the "Residence Inn" side rather than "Courtyard" to ensure you are above the 35th floor.
- Compare views: Use a site like Room77 or traveler photos on TripAdvisor to see the specific difference between North-facing (Park) and South-facing (City) views before you commit.
- Pack for "The Pop": If you have sensitive ears, bring gum for the elevator ride; the rapid ascent to the 60th floor is no joke.