How to Smell Like a Fancy Manhattan Hotel

Just like movie theaters pipe eau de butter popcorn through their air vents to whet your appetite, hotels perfume their lobbies with signature fragrances to set the mood — and some of these bespoke scents are downright addictive. More than a few times we've found ourselves wishing our one-bedroom walkup could smell as rustic chic as the Gramercy Park Hotel's lobby, or as zenlike as the Mandarin Oriental. We've rounded up a few of the city's most aromatic accommodations so you can get a whiff of their boutique bouquets without the room charge.

 

 

The Soho hotel's signature fragrance — Le Jardin 10012, created by UK perfumery Miller Harris — not only infuses its in-room bath products, but perfumes the lobby. Addicted to the scent's bergamot, herb, iris, rose, lavender and cedar notes? You can buy the candle through the hotel for $40.

 

 

Not only does the hotel have its own Chatwal No. 44 scent — a blend of wood, amber and fruit notes created by century-old perfumery Krigler — guests can arrange for one of Krigler's experts to create a personalized fragrance via in-room consultation. That's our kind of room service.

 

 

This new Midtown hotel partnered with olfactory branding company 12.29 to create a custom scent called Heritage. The fragrance, with its notes of clean linens, vetiver, fresh pepper, cassis and smoky cashmeran is available for in-room purchase in the form of candles and scented stationery. That's way more memorable than a Statue of Liberty postcard.

 

 

Using the lobby's fireplace as inspiration, Le Labo created a bespoke scent for the hotel featuring smoky wood and leather notes. The Cade 26 candle is available through the hotel's website for $90. 

 

 

Indie perfumery MiN New York concocted the custom Casa Blanca scent that wafts through this Greenwich Village hotel's lobby. Its bergamot, fresh herbs, clove, oak, labdanum, tobacco, moss, amber and leather notes are inspired by Prohibition-era bootlegger Larry Fay — a perfect fit for the hotel's Art Deco decor.