Forget diamonds: This hotel is a girl's best friend, thanks to its prime location around the corner from Pucci and Japanese department store Takashimaya, and with the famed De Beers boutique right in the lobby. Back at the hotel, the opulent 1904 Beaux Arts landmark building (restored in a $100 million undertaking in 2006) is an impressive throwback to old-school New York elegance. The lobby is outfitted top to bottom with gilded cornices and Italian marble, and if that weren't glitzy enough, a large glittering chandelier hangs over the reception desk from the soaring Trompe l'oeil ceiling that resembles a bright-blue sky. A visit to the legendary King Cole Bar—with its famous 1906 Art Nouveau oil mural by Maxfield Parrish—is definitely in order. Ask for a Red Snapper (people call it a Bloody Mary everywhere else, but don't try that here—the bar claims to be its birthplace) and then head to Adour, chef Alain Ducasse's on-site restaurant. Rooms are lavishly decorated with silk wall coverings and antique furniture, and beds come with soft Egyptian-cotton sheets and feather-down comforters. If you have any last-minute needs before falling asleep, each floor has its own 24-hour butler.

The St. Regis Hotel, New York Amenities:

• 256 rooms. Wireless Internet access. Restaurant, bar. Airport transportation available. Fitness center. Spa. Business center.