Virgin Hotels New York

Virgin Hotels made its Manhattan debut in February 2023 with a 460-room tower spanning an entire block of Broadway in NoMad. It was the brand's first New York property and its largest to date, arriving with a red-staircase lobby, a rooftop pool club, and Sir Richard Branson's signature mix of playful branding and design ambition.

The place

The hotel occupies 1227 Broadway, taking up the full block between 29th and 30th Streets in NoMad, the stretch of Manhattan just south of Madison Square Park that has spent the past decade filling in with hotels, design-forward offices and restaurants. The address puts guests within walking distance of the Flatiron District, Koreatown, Chelsea and the Empire State Building, and a short subway ride from both Midtown and Downtown. NoMad's density of transit lines and its position between the Garment District and Union Square made it a logical entry point for a brand looking to plant its flag firmly in the city rather than at its edges.

The concept

Virgin Hotels New York City opened its doors to guests in February 2023, with an official grand opening that spring, becoming the sixth Virgin Hotels property in the United States and the seventh worldwide. The 39-story tower was designed by Brooklyn studio MARKZEFF with architecture by Stantec, and holds 460 keys, described by the brand as Chambers, Suites and Penthouses, with room sizes ranging from roughly 277 to 770 square feet.

The design leans into Virgin's house style: a signature red staircase connects the third and fourth floors, and the property carries more than 100 works of art, including a lobby mural by Nigel Sussman titled "Where's Richard?", a nod to Branson's habit of appearing, cameo-style, across the brand's hotels. The top-floor suite, Sir Richard's Flat, is a 2,800-square-foot duplex across the 35th and 36th floors with two bedrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel targets the same audience Virgin Hotels courts elsewhere: a lifestyle traveler drawn to design, technology touches and a social, event-driven atmosphere rather than a traditional luxury script.

Dining & wellness

Food and beverage centers on Everdene, a 4,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar occupying the entire third floor, serving shareable, seasonally driven plates and cocktails with nightly entertainment. The fourth floor houses Elcielo New York, a Colombian fine-dining tasting-menu concept from Michelin-starred chef Juan Manuel Barrientos in partnership with musician J Balvin, which opened in fall 2025: more than two years after the hotel itself. The fourth floor also holds The Pool Club, a heated indoor-outdoor pool reserved for overnight guests, while the 38th-floor Sky Lounge and a 39th-floor cocktail bar host events with skyline views.