The Greenwich Design Story

An infamous New York landmark, The Greenwich Hotel TriBeCa, owned by hollywood celeb: Robert De Niro, is a design residence synonymous with considered architecture, detailed interior decor and a dedication to Old-World craftsmanship – underneath that, it is also a treasure trove of hand-crafted artefacts, effortless heritage and flawless design.

It is these hidden nuances that make The Greenwich Hotel so much more than just a cool contemporary canvas, and that resonate even more boldly in the fact that they will inevitably occasionally go unnoticed.

Re-claimed civil war era wood can be traced throughout the whole hotel, from ceiling beams, to guest doors, to hallway panelling, while each of the 20 different shapes and sizes of the iconic red bricks were hand-made in Pennsylvania, every one unique. 

Each design element, architectural nuance and hidden piece of history is so intrinsically special that they are each a tale in themselves, so we cobbled together some hidden, yet notable highlights. 

Lobby

The terracotta and marble floors in the lobby were inspired from flooring found in a 14th-century palazzo in Italy. 

A family-owned company of Italian artisans then produced the replica custom floors in the same style as their 14^th century predecessors, hand-moulding each tile.

Guest Rooms

Every guest room is completely unique, with recycled heart pine used for each of the entry doors and corridor panelling. 

Similarly, each room has a one-of-a-kind Tibetan silk or antique rug – just to make you feel that bit more special.

Shibui Spa

The incredible Shibui Spa is an absolute one of a kind in vision and architectural capacity - a luxuriously calm oasis of peace floating above the bustle of New York. 

The pool itself is surrounded by a 250-year old Japanese farmhouse assembled by a team of craftsmen without using a single nail, instead constructed using wooden pegs and an ancient knot-tying technique. There are only three people left in Japan able to do this knot-tying technique. 

Locanda Verde

New York’s firm favourite of a local Italian, Locanda Verde has a ceiling made up of 90,000 corks collected by Canadian girl scouts for a charity drive, and a bar top made of a stone called Goshen Schist. This stone is over 400,000,000 years old, and there are only two quarries in the world where this stone is mined - one in Massachusetts, the other in Peru. 

Another little nugget of insider design info – the fireplace in Locanda Verde is modelled after owner Robert De Niro’s very own, don’t ya know.

For more on The Greenwich Hotel have a peek at Axel Vervoordt's wabi sabi penthouse, an icon of design, jot down what shops to hit in TriBeCa's design district and tread the streets in Greenwich Village local - FEIT footwear.