Editorial score of 8.7 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.
What makes the Marlton worth booking in Greenwich Village?
The Marlton is worth booking because it turns a genuine piece of Village history into a small, well-run hotel at a rate the neighbourhood's grander names cannot match. The building at 5 West 8th Street dates to 1900 and spent decades as the Marlton House, a Greenwich Village lodging house whose residents included Jack Kerouac, before the New School used it as a student dormitory. The hotelier Sean MacPherson, the hand behind the Bowery and Jane hotels, restored it and reopened it as the Marlton in 2013. He kept the original room layout, added bathrooms where rooms lacked them and built two penthouses, dressing the interiors in a French, Village register rather than a themed overlay.
What you get is atmosphere with provenance: herringbone wood floors, brass fixtures, crown mouldings and marble bathrooms, one block from Washington Square Park and inside New York University's campus footprint. The trade-off is scale. The rooms are small, and the wellness offer stops at fitness access, so this is a hotel for guests who prize a real Village address and design character over square footage and resort facilities. For a solo creative week, a low-key honeymoon or a couple of nights built around the park and the West Village, it is the correct small hotel, and it is priced like one.
The Marlton rewards travellers who treat the neighbourhood as the hotel. If you want to spend your days in Washington Square Park, the galleries and the West Village restaurants, and return to a small, characterful room rather than a resort, it is one of the best-value beds in the area. If you need space, a gym-and-spa routine or a business-grade desk setup, look elsewhere, because the townhouse cannot stretch to those. Book it for a creative solo week, a low-key couple's trip or a Village weekend, use Margaux as your morning room, and the compact scale stops mattering within a day.
What are the best rooms to request?
Ask for a higher-floor room away from West 8th Street and step up one category from the entry Petite Queen if space matters to you. The 107 rooms are deliberately compact, a Petite Queen runs roughly 100 to 150 square feet, in keeping with the building's original residential proportions. That is small by any standard, so the design has to work hard, and it does: herringbone floors, brass fixtures, crown mouldings, marble bathrooms with rainfall showers and custom linens give the rooms a considered, French feel rather than a cramped one. The larger King and Junior Suite categories buy meaningful breathing room, and the two penthouses added in the restoration are the pick for a special stay.
One honest caveat: if you measure a hotel by square footage, the Marlton will feel tight, and the lower street-facing rooms can catch Village noise on a lively night. There is also no view to speak of; this is a townhouse hotel, not a tower. Treat the room as a well-dressed base for a neighbourhood you plan to spend your waking hours in, book up a category and a floor, and the intimacy reads as charm rather than compromise.
Book a higher floor at the back for quiet, and reserve a table at Margaux for your first breakfast so the ground floor becomes your morning room. Washington Square Park is one block away and best early, before the buskers and chess players arrive.
What is the dining like at the Marlton?
Dining centres on Margaux, the ground-floor restaurant and coffee bar that runs the length of the building's front. It seats around 100 and serves a French, Mediterranean and California menu from breakfast through dinner, so you can start the day with pastries and eggs and end it with a market-driven dinner without leaving. It is open to the public as well as to guests, which gives the room a neighbourhood energy in the evenings rather than the muted feel of a hotel dining room. The coffee bar at the front doubles as the informal lobby lounge, which suits a hotel with limited public space.
Does it have a spa and pool?
No, and it is important to set expectations here. The Marlton is a small boutique hotel, so wellness is limited to fitness access and in-room amenities. There is no swimming pool and no full spa on site. That is the honest trade-off for the rate and the building: a townhouse of this era and size cannot carry a wellness floor, and the hotel does not pretend otherwise. If a spa, sauna or pool is central to your trip, you will be happier at a larger property, in the Village or beyond. If the draw is the address, the design and Margaux, the Marlton covers the stay comfortably.
Signature amenities
In the heart of Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue · one block from Washington Square Park
What's nearby
- Washington Square Park
Village landmark2 min walk - New York University
Campus & galleries1 min walk - West Village dining
Restaurants & bars7 min walk - Union Square
Greenmarket & subway10 min walk - SoHo shopping
Boutiques12 min walk
The townhouse, the rooms, Margaux
Facade
Guest room
Margaux
BathroomHow does the Marlton compare with other downtown boutiques?
Against the field, the Marlton is the value-led, most Parisian of the downtown boutiques, and the choice comes down to how much scene you want with your neighbourhood. The Bowery Hotel is the larger, more atmospheric option at the edge of the East Village, with a well-known lobby bar and more of an event feel. The Ludlow Hotel sits on the Lower East Side with Dirty French downstairs and a livelier crowd. The Walker Hotel Greenwich Village is the closest like-for-like, an Art Deco boutique a few blocks away with the Dante cocktail programme. The Marlton's own trade-off is size: it is smaller than all three and has no bar scene of its own, which is exactly why it feels calm. It is also the most affordable of the four on most dates, so if your budget matters more than square footage and you want a real Village address with period character, the Marlton is the value pick, while the Bowery and the Ludlow are the ones to choose when the evening scene inside the hotel is part of the plan.
| Hotel | Style | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Marlton Hotel | Parisian Village townhouse | Character, address, value | Small rooms; no pool or spa |
| The Bowery Hotel | Atmospheric East Village | Lobby bar, scene, size | Busier, pricier |
| The Ludlow Hotel | Lower East Side design | Dirty French, nightlife | Livelier, less quiet |
| Walker Hotel Greenwich Village | Art Deco Village boutique | Dante cocktails, location | Similar compact rooms |
Frequently asked questions
Who restored the Marlton Hotel and when did it reopen?
The hotelier Sean MacPherson, also behind the Bowery and Jane hotels, restored the property and reopened it as the Marlton in 2013. He kept the original room configuration, added bathrooms where rooms lacked them and built two penthouses, dressing the interiors in a French, Greenwich Village register.
How old is the Marlton Hotel building?
The building dates to 1900 and operated for decades as the Marlton House, a Greenwich Village lodging house whose residents included Jack Kerouac. The New School later used it as a student dormitory before the 2013 conversion back to a hotel.
How many rooms does the Marlton Hotel have?
The Marlton has 107 rooms and suites, including two penthouses added during the restoration. The standard rooms are deliberately compact, roughly 100 to 150 square feet, in keeping with the building's original residential proportions, with herringbone floors, brass fixtures and marble bathrooms.
What restaurant is in the Marlton Hotel?
Margaux, the ground-floor dining room and coffee bar, serves a French, Mediterranean and California menu from breakfast through dinner. It seats around 100 guests and is open to the public as well as to hotel guests.
Does the Marlton Hotel have a pool or spa?
No. The Marlton is a small boutique hotel with fitness access and in-room amenities, but there is no swimming pool and no full spa. Guests who need either should look at larger properties in or beyond the Village.
Other stays in New York
East VillageThe Bowery Hotel
Lower East SideThe Ludlow Hotel
Greenwich Village