A New, Family-owned Hotel Was Voted Best in New York City This Year — and I Visited to Find Out Why

The Wall Street Hotel only opened to guests in June 2022, but when Travel + Leisure’s 2023 World’s Best Awards came around the following summer, it already had readers raving. “Tastefully designed,” one commented. “Impeccable service,” said another. “Incredible addition to downtown NYC.”

It’s not common for a hotel to garner the fanbase needed to be voted the No. 1 hotel in a city like New York within its first year — so while in town to celebrate the award winners, I knew I had to check it out for myself.

Although New York is my hometown, I’ve spent many nights in hotels across the city since relocating to Los Angeles almost five years ago. I’ll admit I had the image of a Financial District hotel in my mind: small, dark, and all business. When I arrived with my fiancé, late on a Monday night, there was a sense of lightness I hadn’t experienced in FiDi before. The halls were warm and bright, the design sophisticated yet fun, the vibe a bit more playful than expected. Coming off a long flight and gearing up for an early morning of meetings, I felt oddly … relaxed. 

Our room, an 800-square-foot Otto Suite, included a living area where blue velvet chairs sat beside a light gray couch, its pastel-colored pillows bringing out the color in the floral painting behind it. The marble bathroom had both a stand-alone soaking tub and a shower that felt as big as my last apartment in the city. An unexpected face painted on a lampshade made me smile, as did the minibar treats, laid out on two levels of a jaunty bar cart.

The lobby bar, Lounge on Pearl, had just closed for the evening, but I suspected we’d be spending at least a few hours with friends and colleagues drinking martinis in its scallop-backed chairs before the end of the trip. That wasn’t my only hunch. I quickly had a hypothesis as to what drew T+L readers to this hotel: It’s a place that makes you feel like a part of the downtown buzz, yet it offers respite from this pocket of the city, which — though extremely convenient for business travelers in particular — can be hectic by day and sometimes too quiet by night. 

The secret, it turns out, comes down to one family's knack for recreating classic New York glamour through a laid-back Australian lens. Or, as James Paspaley, executive director of Paspaley Pearling Group — the family-owned business behind both Australia’s oldest pearling company and The Wall Street, its first hotel — puts it: here, “Old World luxury” meets “Australian approachableness.” 

“The Paspaley family had a vision to create a familial space that would capture the favorite moments of their own travels,” Nick Hanigan, general manager, properties, for the group, told T+L. “We mixed the charm of New York architectural design and embedded the Australian spirit of relaxation.” 

Leave it to the Aussies to teach FiDi how to chill. 

The History

The hotel’s position on the corner of Pearl Street is significant to the history of both the building and the Paspaley family. Standing on the site of the original Tontine Coffee House — the first building to house the New York Stock Exchange in the late 18th century — it was bought by import-export company Otto Gerdau & Co. in the 1930s.

As Otto Gerdau & Co. expanded under the leadership of Allan Gerdau, it started a natural pearl farm in Australia in order to export perfect pearls. A few years after Gerdau died, the company’s greatest Australian pearling rival, the Paspaley family, acquired his estate in 1989, including the Tontine Building. Thirty-two years later, they opened the building as their very first hotel.

“The symbolic nod to our pearling heritage was obvious, but also allowed us to share with our guests the rich fabric of our hotel’s history,” Hanigan said. “There are heritage images in the hallways of the floors, old and new, and several images from family albums. Guests can even enjoy a Pearl Martini in Lounge on Pearl.”

The Rooms

The Wall Street Hotel has 180 rooms and suites, ranging from 290 to 800 square feet, all of which are meant to feel “familial,” Paspaley said — like a “luxurious home away from home with residential touches.” Our Otto suite had views of both Wall Street’s historic architecture and the river. 

Marble bathrooms come with heated floors and Acqua di Parma bath products (a personal favorite), beds are dressed in Frette linens, and entertainment is encouraged with Bang & Olufsen bluetooth speakers. Suites offer spaces for working and lounging, and adjoining room options make it easy for families to spread out.

“For the rooms and décor, we led with a female muse, to add softer touches to the heavy masculine image of Wall Street,” Paspaley added. “Our board went item by item through the rooms to ensure all those little touches that make travel easier are there. A guilt-free minibar, easy access to charging your devices, a few small luxuries.”

On the 14th floor, the one-of-a-kind Great Pearl Suite aims to offer ultra-restorative sleep on a Bryte Balance mattress.

Food and Drink

It’s not easy to create an all-day hotel lobby bar New Yorkers want to hang out in at night, but Lounge on Pearl is just that. With cityscape murals, a marble fireplace, mixed-print furniture, and a glowing array of liquors behind a martini-focused bar, the spot has quickly become a destination for both locals and hotel guests.

“I love to unwind with a Manhattan in the Lounge after a busy day and fall back into the mood of the hotel and slow down from the pace of the city,” Paspaley told me, and almost immediately, I understood. After long work days, my fiancé and I looked forward to meeting back at Lounge on Pearl to destress in what so quickly came to feel like our safe home base. After an exciting World’s Best Awards launch party, multiple T+L editors went out of their way and headed back downtown just to join us there for drinks and a debrief. 

The lounge is also the perfect place to start the night with an aperitif and, if you’re lucky, live music before dinner at La Marchande. The French chophouse-style restaurant’s modern menu is expertly crafted by John Fraser — the chef behind NYC’s Michelin-starred Dovetail and Nix — and its extensive, French-focused wine list is curated by Amy Racine, Esquire’s 2021 beverage director of the year. The candle-lit ambiance somehow works equally well for a date or a business dinner — like the rest of the hotel, it’s stylish without taking itself too seriously, as evidenced by the French onion dumplings and boozy mignonette, an oyster accompaniment spiked with vodka. 

Activities and Amenities

The hotel’s small but top-of-the-line gym features Rogue Fitness equipment, a Mirror (the cult-favorite interactive fitness screen now owned by Lululemon), Peloton bikes, and everything needed for yoga or even CrossFit workouts. 

Guests can take advantage of complimentary bike or scooter rentals to explore the city, and valet parking is available 24/7. A curated concierge service can arrange anything from babysitting to private pilates to a hot shave. Pets are welcome, with bowls, beds, and toys placed in room upon request. 

The hotel also includes event spaces suitable for meetings, conferences, and weddings, including a rooftop with an elegant private bar and striking views.

Accessibility and Sustainability

Sustainability is an underlying goal in all of The Wall Street Hotel’s operations, from construction and design that used reclaimed native materials, to daily efforts to minimize use of non-renewable resources and carefully manage waste and water. The bar and restaurant are free of single-use plastics and prioritize sustainable suppliers. 

Perhaps most notably, the hotel works in partnership with the Billion Oyster Project, a non-profit dedicated to restoring New York Harbor’s oyster reefs. Guests can get in on the action by purchasing oyster-inspired gifts, like the half-shell bottle opener on every minibar, with a portion of proceeds donated to the organization. There’s also an option to make a donation at checkout. For firsthand involvement, take an educational tour on nearby Governors Island, where Billion Oyster Project is based.

All on-site food and beverage venues, as well as the lobby entrance and registration desk, are accessible, and ADA-compliant rooms can be reserved by emailing reservations@thewallsthotel.com or calling 212-688-9255. Wheelchairs are available upon request, as are valet services for accessible vehicles.

Location

On the historic corner of Wall Street and Pearl Street, the hotel is in a convenient location for anyone with business engagements in the Financial District and is well connected by subway to the rest of the city.

It’s walking distance from pedestrian-only Stone Street, a quaint, cobblestone stretch for outdoor dining and imbibing in the warmer months, and the Seaport District, home to the Tin Building, where chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened his popular dining hall; Pier 17, one of the city’s most picturesque concert venues; and Manhattan’s only Ipic theater.