Artful Escapes: W New York—Union Square
Just in time for warmer weather, the Beaux Arts–style property is welcoming guests to Guardian at the W, the newly designed rooftop bar with craft cocktails and light bites
Twenty-five years after it first conceived the interiors of the buzzy W New York in Union Square, Rockwell Group orchestrated a $100 million refresh of the hip downtown hotel. Now, just in time for warmer weather, the Beaux Arts–style property is welcoming guests to Guardian at the W, the newly designed rooftop bar with craft cocktails and light bites by Mercer Street Hospitality, which also oversees the menu at atmospheric main-floor brasserie Seahorse. Set behind the recognizable hotel sign, the new scenic gathering space is just one of several within the property, which greets visitors in the lobby with a soaring Shantell Martin mural and a serpentine stair lined in a lava-like carpet that pays homage to a Faig Ahmed artwork.
Saturated jewel tones punctuate the interiors—from the 256 rooms and suites to the Living Room, the former ballroom turned lounge where towering Corinthian columns frame plush sofas, custom dandelion-shaped floor lamps by Tom Dixon, and Art Deco accents perfect for hosting a glamorous new guard.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Summer Issue in the section “Artful Escapes.” Subscribe to the magazine.