Hotel openings in New York are as frequent as subway trains but some are better than others. The Knickerbocker was an historic hotel, first opened in 1906, at the southeast corner of Broadway and 42nd Street in New York City. Could here be a more evocative address?  The hotel was built by legendary entrepreneur John Jacob Astor IV. And the martini was said to have been invented by the hotel's house bartender in 1912.  After John Jacob Astor IV died on the Titanic, his son Vincent inherited the hotel. Converted to offices in 1920 the building once housed Newsweek magazine - now it is making new of its own.

This year Knickerbocker is back in all its glory. It has already been accepted into the elite portfolio of The Leading Hotels of the World - which is a very good sign, so we have high hopes of its excellence when it opens in mid-year. 

The hotel is managed by Highgate Hotels which also has properties such as The WestHouse Hotel, NYLO, The Quin. In Cannes for the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) in December Managing Director Jeff David, told The Luxury Travel Bible 'the fourth floor of the hotel will be a destination-within-a destination with a restaurant and bar by Charlie Palmer. We'll also have a state of the art fitness centre.'

The original Beaux-Arts façade stays and inside  the hotel will have 330 guest rooms, including 40 suites, a ground-level boulangerie and a  best of all the 7,500-square-foot rooftop bar and terrace will have unrivalled views of Times Square and New York City’s neon skyline.

What will be drink there? Why, a martini of course.

Also on the Luxe Radar in New York:  Park Hyatt New York, Baccarat Hotel & Residences, SLS Hotel New York, Paper Factory Hotel