This 16-story 1903 Beaux Arts structure was once home to the Chemist's Club of New York. The microscopes and test tubes are long gone, but designer Jeffrey Beers experiments with amber lightboxes suspended from the lobby ceiling, and in a nod to its origins, the hotel provides beakers in place of bathroom cups. Rooms are open and airy spaces, with 11-foot ceilings and large windows, and accented with a mix of muted shades, jewel-toned materials and American walnut furniture; bathrooms are outfitted with beautiful Carrara marble. If you're feeling experimental, check yourself into the Alchemy Suite, which was once a Gothic chamber created to replicate a medieval alchemist's lab. It still has the original stained-glass windows and vaulted ceilings.

Dylan Hotel Amenities:

• 107 rooms. Wireless Internet access. Restaurant, bar. Fitness center. Business center.