The Elysée New York hotel will reopen in early 2027 with 83 rooms by designer Wolfgang Joop

The Elysée New York, which opened in 1926 in Midtown Manhattan, will reopen in early 2027 after a transformation costing 45.1 million euros. Its 83 rooms and suites bear the signature of German fashion designer Wolfgang Joop, and the address will be the very first for the Wunderkind Hotels & Resorts brand.

☰Contents

1. A €45.1m makeover entrusted to Wolfgang Joop
2. Tennessee Williams lived here for fifteen years
3. 83 rooms from 21 to 74 m², some with orangeries
4. The Monkey Bar keeps its monkey murals
5. What will the Salon Sanssouci serve?
6. Next for Wunderkind: Berlin, Botswana, Mykonos

A €45.1m makeover entrusted to Wolfgang Joop

Bought in 2024, the Elysée is presented by its owner, Hera Hospitality, a Swiss group based in Feusisberg, as its flagship project. Hera puts the cost of the transformation at around 45.1 million euros (50 million dollars), at the ECB rate of 12 November 2026. The official website announces the reopening for early 2027.

The creative vision belongs to Wolfgang Joop, the fashion designer known for the JOOP! label, who is leading the project with his partner Edwin Lemberg. The hotel’s website presents him as its interior designer: he is behind the decor of the lounges and bedrooms, from the blue brocade armchair to the red lacquered cabinet.

Tennessee Williams lived here for fifteen years

Opened in 1926 on East 54th Street, the Elysée was long a haunt of artists. The playwright Tennessee Williams lived there for fifteen years and the actress Tallulah Bankhead for eighteen; Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner and Jimi Hendrix were also among its residents.

The hotel stands at 60 East 54th Street, between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue, in the heart of Midtown. Other New York addresses are also gearing up for 2027: the Viceroy Park Avenue hotel will open on 1 February, and The Wolseley New York will move into the former Lambs Club.

83 rooms from 21 to 74 m², some with orangeries

The hotel will have 83 rooms and suites, split into Chambre, Atelier and Parlour categories, one- and two-bedroom suites and premium suites. Sizes range from 21 m² for the Chambre Queen to 74 m² for the Parlour King Suite + Orangerie. Some rooms will have a private terrace or an orangery, a kind of glazed winter garden.

No spa has been announced, but the hotel will have a fitness studio and a signature collection of wellness and longevity treatments, created with Hamptons BioMed, a specialist in wellness medicine.

The Monkey Bar keeps its monkey murals

Part of the hotel since the 1930s, the Monkey Bar will be kept, with its red leather banquettes and monkey murals by the caricaturist Charles Wala. It will also handle room service, 24 hours a day.

For private dinners and parties, the hotel will offer exclusive use of the Petit Salon, for 12 guests, the Salon Sanssouci, the Monkey Bar, or even the entire hotel.

What will the Salon Sanssouci serve?

New to the Elysée, the Salon Sanssouci takes its cue from Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, near Berlin. Its kitchen will be led by Austrian chef Eduard “Edi” Frauneder.

Every day, from 3pm to 5pm, the salon will serve Kaffee & Kuchen, the German ritual of afternoon coffee and cake. For wine, the hotel has teamed up with Wölffer Estate Vineyard, a Hamptons winery on Long Island.

Next for Wunderkind: Berlin, Botswana, Mykonos

The Elysée will be the first address for Wunderkind Hotels & Resorts. The brand is already presenting other upcoming projects: in Berlin, Germany, in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, and on Mykonos, Greece, with no dates announced so far.

The hotel is also a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a network that passed the 450-hotel mark in 2026. Rates have not yet been published: the website’s booking engine showed no rooms available on 13 November 2026.