This $11,000/Night Penthouse in NYC Was Designed to Give You the Best Sleep—As a New Mom, I Put It to the Test

Travel + Leisure

14-06-2025

It started as a distant pulse, a steady metronome, tugging me from the weight of my sleep. Beep, beep, beep. The sound was familiar, but not harsh. It didn't jolt; it nudged, like someone tapping on my shoulder, gently reminding me it's time. Beep, beep, beep. The noise grew closer. Warm, swaddled in a goose-down duvet, I drifted through the last threads of sleep, chasing the alarm with my fingers, a sound I hadn't heard in months. Waking up at the 212-room Equinox Hotel New York, in the popular Hudson Yards on Manhattan's West Side, doesn't feel like an interruption. It feels like a return.
It had been 334 days since I had heard my alarm. With an early-rising 11-month-old, who, without fail, woke before our alarm buzzed each morning, sleep—let alone restful, continuous sleep—was a far-off dream. So when I got an invitation to spend the night at the Equinox Penthouse Suite, designed by actual sleep scientists to create an ideal shut-eye experience, I called in reinforcements: grandparents to report in for babysitting duty. A fire place lights the dining and living area.
From the moment I entered the 38th-floor suite—or as the website calls it, 'sleep chamber'—I could tell this wasn't just a fancy hotel room—it was a space intentionally designed for optimal rest. Yes, it's massive—1,500 square feet or 2,000 with the optional add-on of an adjoining second bedroom—and yes, its past guest list reads like a who's who of Hollywood. But the David Rockwell decor—quiet and confident in its palate of black, gray, and warm beige—was not flashy. Inspired by Equinox Hotels CEO Christopher Nolan's apartment in Toronto, it's meant to evoke a peaceful NYC pied-à-terre. The wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling windows framed the best of the city (on a clear day, you can even glimpse the Statue of Liberty from the see-through fireplace while lying in bed), and the spacious living room and separate dining room were made for entertaining. But I wasn't here to regale; I was here to rest—and sleep is serious business at the Equinox Hotel New York. Panoramic city views from the bedroom.
Jesse Dittmar/Equinox Hotels
The pin-drop-silent suite is kept at a cool 66 degrees—and that and the blackout shades and lighting are easily controlled via a 'Dark, Quiet, Cool' button on a bedside iPad. But let's talk about the bed: Custom made for the brand, the king-sized nest is layered with handmade pillows and duvets using all-natural materials for optimal air circulation. Even better, there are temperature-regulating double duvets, providing individualized comfort for couples sharing a bed with even the greediest blanket hogs (guilty). 'Our Sleep System—which includes the rooms, beds, and everything on them—took two years to develop,' Nolan told Travel + Leisure .
But sleep is top of mind even when you're not cocooned under the covers. The in-room AM + PM Rituals Program, for example, leads guests through meditation and movement on a massive TV to improve circadian rhythms. The apartment-sized bathroom, with a centerpiece tub, has custom Grown Alchemist products for both morning and night, each concocted with a special formula using herbs from the High Line, which sits steps away. The RoomBar, according to Nolan, 'flips the traditional hotel mini bar on its head,' with herbal, sleep-inducing teas, high-performance eye masks, superfoods, and more. And the in-room dining menu offers snacks to support natural melatonin production. Even the 27,000-square-foot spa, which has cryotherapy treatments, IV drips, and an infrared sauna, houses a Wave Table, which claims to provide the equivalent of three hours of sleep in 30 minutes. Suddenly, the $11,000/night Penthouse Suite price tag seemed like a bargain to my bone-tired body. 'We believe sleep is the most crucial aspect of one's health, which is why every touchpoint in the room and beyond is designed with the 24-hour circadian rhythm in mind,' Nolan said.
And the Equinox is on to something: 'Sleep tourism' is a buzzy phrase in 2025, and it makes sense—according to the CDC, roughly 36 percent of Americans are getting inadequate sleep. As a result, guests are increasingly prioritizing their well-being on vacation. They want to do more than relax; they want to sleep, and sleep well—and so hotels are waking up to the importance of providing a good snooze. The deep soaking tub in the suite's bathroom.
Jesse Dittmar/Equinox Hotels
After sleeping like babies, my husband and I, energized, made our way to the 60,000-square-foot fitness club—this is the Equinox, after all—for an invigorating hour with a trainer. Guests get unlimited access to group classes and personal training, plus an indoor saltwater pool, a heated outdoor pool with panoramic views of Manhattan, and our favorite, the outdoor barrel saunas. We moseyed back to our room in our robes, as if we were hotel residents, our bodies reminded of what true rest feels like. A gorgeous room service breakfast spread—among it, what my husband claimed were the 'best blueberries he's ever tasted,' fueled us before we packed our bags and began the journey home. Just a 45-minute subway ride away, it somehow felt like we had been transported to another place and time. But as I learned in under 24 hours at the Equinox Hotel New York, sleep is less something you do and more somewhere you go .