The Nell New York

Little Nell makes its first expansion beyond Colorado with a 134-room hotel across 10 floors of 10 Rockefeller Plaza, the first and only hotel inside the historic Rockefeller Center complex. Since July 2026 the project is branded The Nell New York, debut property of Aspen Hospitality's new Nell Hotels collection, and its opening has been moved to fall 2027. It is a more than 350 million dollar conversion of former office space above NBC's Today show studio, designed by Rockwell Group with Pierre & Co.

The place

Ten floors of 10 Rockefeller Plaza, a pre-war tower above NBC's Today show studio, the first and only hotel inside the historic complex. Guests arrive on the seventh floor, a lobby level designed to give a sense of discretion and calm above the pace of Midtown, and the lower floors of the tower remain offices.

The Nell New York is meant to offer insider access to New York's galleries, studios and institutions without requiring a membership, the same access model that the Little Nell uses in Aspen.

The concept

Little Nell's first expansion beyond Colorado, and the debut of the Nell Hotels brand that Aspen Hospitality launched in July 2026, drawing on more than three decades at the Little Nell in Aspen. Those familiar with the Aspen property will recognise the brand's commitment to highly personalised service and deliberate restraint, an unusual posture for a Midtown opening of this scale; the group says it prefers measured and intentional growth to scale, and its chief executive Jeff Toscano puts it as "not to be everywhere but to be exactly where our guests are".

Rockwell Group and Pierre & Co designed the hotel, drawing on the Art Deco grandeur and ambition of Rockefeller Center itself, with a significant art collection of emerging and established artists, continuing a Little Nell tradition. It will be New York City's only Relais & Châteaux property.

The project grew from a plan first reported with 130 rooms and a 2026 delivery for ten vacant office floors; Aspen Hospitality is owned by the Crown family of Chicago, which co-owns Rockefeller Center with Tishman Speyer. Paula Crown described the concept as a hybrid: neither a business hotel nor a resort hotel. The original Little Nell in Aspen will close temporarily in April 2027 for a full renovation, reopening for the 2027-28 ski season.

Dining & wellness

The programme includes an all-day dining venue, a lobby bar, a wine lounge that brings The Little Nell's acclaimed wine programme to New York, and a full-service spa. A signature fine-dining restaurant is planned on the 17th floor, with views of Rockefeller Center and beyond. Chefs and menus have not been announced.