The BIG architecture, the Mikic interiors, and the two major artworks already justify a visit. La Boca is legitimately one of the best new restaurants in Chelsea. The High Line location is unmatched in West Chelsea luxury hotels. The spa and theater will lift the property meaningfully once they open in spring 2026.
The Living Room on the ground floor operates as a pass-through lounge during the day with full barista service and the Keith Haring corridor running past it. Non-guests can book an espresso and walk the gallery without a room key, which makes it the only legal way to see the largest non-museum Haring in the city for the price of a coffee.
Bjarke Ingels Group designed the twin twisting One High Line towers as a pair of rotating glass volumes that lean slightly towards the river. Faena occupies the first ten floors of the east tower, which means every room has the High Line or the Hudson through floor-to-ceiling windows. The architecture alone has been photographed from every angle on the West Side Highway since topping out in 2023.
Peter Mikic is the London interior designer who built his reputation on Mayfair townhouses and maximalist restaurants and his Faena work is the biggest project in his portfolio. Red velvet, blackened brass, tiled bathrooms and hand-painted ceilings throughout. The Diego Gravinese lobby mural is the signature artwork. The Keith Haring Montreux Jazz Festival piece runs the length of a 160-foot gallery between The Living Room and El Secreto.
Francis Mallmann is the Argentine chef who cooks everything over open fire and his ground-floor restaurant La Boca is the most serious restaurant Faena has opened anywhere. The room holds an open Patagonian grill and serves dry-aged steaks, burnt vegetables, and wood-fire breads on an all-day menu. El Secreto, the speakeasy bar, opens off a back corridor after 10pm with a shorter menu and a DJ programme.
120 rooms in BIG-designed twisting tower above the High Line opened Sept 2025: half-open. Tierra Santa spa plus Faena Theater don't open until Spring 2026. Service inconsistent.
No published Instagram signal but Alan-Faena-Buenos-Aires/Miami-Beach 12-year wait pulls Faena-brand-loyalists and Bjarke-Ingels-architecture-press readers. Less Aman-quiet than Mikic-glamour demographic.
120 rooms: one Bedroom Suite floors 7-10 facing Hudson is the BIG-twist plus widest terraces. Lower-floor standard rooms don't show the architecture. Mikic interiors sharpest in suite tier.
At $$$ above High Line, Faena competes with The Standard. Wins on BIG architecture, Mikic interiors, Keith Haring corridor, Mallmann's La Boca: not on track record.
Alan Faena built his reputation in Buenos Aires and Miami Beach and everyone has been waiting twelve years for him to finally open in New York. Faena New York opened on September 9, 2025 inside one of two twisting towers designed by Bjarke Ingels Group at 500 West 18th Street, directly above the High Line in West Chelsea. One hundred twenty rooms across the first ten floors. Interiors by the London designer Peter Mikic in collaboration with Faena's in-house team.
A 105-foot lobby mural titled The Sefirotic Journey by Argentine artist Diego Gravinese, which took three years to paint. A 160-foot corridor holding the largest Keith Haring mural not in a museum, installed behind protective glass. Francis Mallmann opened La Boca on the ground floor. Rates start around $1,395 and the property is only partially open, which makes now the most interesting moment to book it.
Late April–early May beats Met Gala. First two weeks of September beat UNGA. Anything Sep–Dec needs 60–90 days of lead time.
Signal stable — composite holding within ±2 points over 17 days (currently 61). No single dimension moved more than the rest.
File closes at VERY HIGH. Book direct six to eight weeks out for Frieze, Fashion Week, and gallery openings. Skip if you want quiet luxury; the BIG twisting glass attracts the architecture crowd.