Editorial score of 8.6 of 10, the composite average of the three factors above (Rooms, Service, Location). Method at our methodology page. Affiliate disclosure: booking links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, and never change our verdict.
Why stay at the Refinery Hotel?
You stay here for industrial architecture and a rooftop that most Midtown hotels cannot match. The Refinery occupies a 1912 hat factory at 63 West 38th Street, and the conversion treats the building's manufacturing bones as the design: 12-foot ceilings, distressed hardwood floors, large factory windows and a brick-and-steel materiality that a purpose-built hotel would have to fake. The 197 rooms inherit the factory's floor plates, so the vertical volume and the natural light are unusual for a Midtown room. The hotel is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and the design carries the reference to the Garment District's making trades without tipping into theme-hotel literalism.
The headline is the roof. Refinery Rooftop runs year-round under an openable enclosure and faces the Empire State Building at close range, roughly at the altitude of its upper floors, a direct sightline that the Midtown West rooftop inventory rarely offers. Bryant Park is two blocks south, which puts the New York Public Library, the Fifth Avenue stores and the Times Square theaters inside an easy walk, and makes the hotel a practical Garment District base for fashion and business travel. Set expectations for a style-led boutique rather than a full-service grande dame, know that the rooftop is a genuine destination bar with the crowds that implies, and the Refinery delivers a distinctive, well-located Midtown stay.
Who is it for? The Refinery is a strong fit for a fashion or apparel-industry traveler whose New York business sits in the 35th to 42nd Street corridor, for a design-minded visitor who wants industrial character over chain uniformity, and for a group that wants a rooftop bar in the building. It is a weaker fit for anyone who needs a spa, a pool or a quiet residential address, or for a light sleeper unwilling to request a high floor away from the roof. The rate is accessible for four-star Midtown most of the year and climbs sharply around fashion week and December, so timing matters more here than at a chain with steady pricing. Booked on the right dates and the right floor, it is one of the better-value character hotels in the district.
The neighborhood is worth understanding before you book. The Garment District has been the center of American apparel manufacturing for a century, and while the showrooms and workrooms have thinned, the daytime energy of the trade still defines the streets around the hotel. That gives the Refinery a genuine reason to exist here rather than a marketing story: the building was a hat factory, the district still makes and sells clothing, and Fashion Week uses Bryant Park two blocks away. By night the wholesale blocks empty out, which is why the hotel's own rooftop and Winnie's carry the evening, and why the short walk to the restaurant streets around Bryant Park and Fifth Avenue matters.
What are the best rooms to request?
Request a high-floor room away from West 38th Street and, if you can, one of the junior suites for the full benefit of the factory's ceiling height. The categories run from Classic up through Deluxe and junior suites, and the higher and larger you go, the more the industrial architecture works in your favor: the 12-foot ceilings open up the space, the oversized windows pull in light, and the distressed hardwood, exposed structure and Le Bois Maison bath products give the rooms their loft character. Corner and upper-floor rooms are the ones to ask for, both for light and to sit farther from the rooftop and street noise.
The honest caveats are real. The rooftop is one of the busiest hotel bars in the city, so on weekend nights music and crowd noise can carry, which makes a higher floor and good soundproofing worth requesting directly. Some room categories run small and deliberately dark, part of the raw factory look, so if you want bright and traditionally plush this is not the aesthetic. And the Garment District, while central, is a workaday, commercial address that empties out once the showrooms close. Book a higher category away from the roof and the street, and the room delivers the industrial-chic stay it promises.
Book the rooftop ahead on weekend evenings and go early for the Empire State Building at sunset before the crowd arrives. For sleep, ask for a high floor set back from West 38th Street, and use the two-block walk to Bryant Park for morning coffee before the neighborhood fills up.
What are the restaurants and bars like?
The Refinery packs a lot of food and drink into one building. Parker & Quinn, the ground-floor restaurant, serves refined American food in a room that reads as part 1920s diner, part speakeasy, and handles everything from a working breakfast to a client dinner. Off the lobby, Winnie's is the hotel's intimate jazz bar, with nightly live music, a serious American whiskey list and a cocktail program that has become a Midtown fixture in its own right. The two rooms together mean you can eat and drink well without leaving, and the neighborhood's lunch options fill in the rest.
Is the Refinery Rooftop worth it, and is there a spa?
The Refinery Rooftop is the reason many guests book, and it earns the attention. It runs year-round thanks to an openable enclosure that lets it operate in any weather, and the outdoor patio faces the Empire State Building directly, one of the best hotel-rooftop views in Midtown. Cocktails come from the In Good Company team, and there is an indoor Living Room lounge for the colder months. On wellness, set expectations low: there is a fitness center but no pool and no spa. This is a design boutique in a converted factory, and it spends its character on the building and the roof rather than on a wellness floor.
Signature amenities
Two blocks from Bryant Park
Garment District, two blocks from Bryant Park
What's nearby
- Bryant Park
Seasonal programming3 min walk - New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue landmark4 min walk - Fifth Avenue shopping
Flagship stores5 min walk - Times Square
Broadway theaters7 min walk - Grand Central Terminal
Trains & subway9 min walk
The factory, the rooms, the rooftop
Facade
Loft room
Rooftop
Parker & QuinnHow does the Refinery compare with other Bryant Park and Midtown boutiques?
Against the field, the Refinery is the industrial-design, rooftop-view choice, and the decision turns on what you want the building to feel like. The Ace Hotel New York in NoMad is the lobby-culture original, all communal tables and a downtown crowd. The Knickerbocker is the grander Beaux-Arts option on Times Square with its own well-known rooftop. Freehand New York near Gramercy trades up-market polish for a younger, social energy and the Broken Shaker bar. The Refinery's own trade-off is that it is a converted factory with no spa or pool, and its signature rooftop brings noise as well as the view.
| Hotel | Style | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refinery Hotel | 1912 factory boutique | Industrial design, rooftop view | No pool or spa; busy roof |
| Ace Hotel New York | NoMad lobby culture | Scene, value, work-friendly | Compact rooms, buzzy lobby |
| The Knickerbocker | Beaux-Arts Times Square | Grand rooms, rooftop | Times Square bustle |
| Freehand New York | Social boutique | Bars, younger energy | Less polished, off-Midtown |
Frequently asked questions
What building is the Refinery Hotel in?
The Refinery Hotel occupies a 1912 former hat factory at 63 West 38th Street in the Garment District, two blocks from Bryant Park. The industrial conversion keeps 12-foot ceilings, distressed hardwood floors and large factory windows, and it is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
How many rooms does the Refinery Hotel have?
There are 197 rooms and suites, from Classic categories up to junior suites, all drawing on the factory's proportions with high ceilings, oversized windows and Le Bois Maison bath products.
What are the restaurants and bars at the Refinery Hotel?
Parker & Quinn serves refined American food on the ground floor, Winnie's is the lobby jazz bar with nightly live music and a whiskey list, and the year-round Refinery Rooftop looks straight at the Empire State Building from a covered, all-weather terrace.
Does the Refinery Hotel have a pool or spa?
No. There is a fitness center but no pool and no spa. This is a design-led boutique in a converted factory rather than a full-service hotel, and the rooftop bar is its headline amenity.
Where is the Refinery Hotel and what is nearby?
At 63 West 38th Street in the Garment District, two blocks from Bryant Park and the New York Public Library, with Times Square, Fifth Avenue shopping and Grand Central Terminal all within about a ten minute walk.
Other luxury stays in New York
NoMadAce Hotel New York
Times SquareThe Knickerbocker
Flatiron