The Fifth: Reflections on Our Journey
Come each October, we celebrate our birthday here at The Fifth. For us, it’s a time to honor our journey as well as the inspiring guests who have made it possible. 2025 marks two years since opening our doors, and every success has stood as a love letter to our flâneurs (our team), who shape our guest experience with discovery, wonder, and curiosity.
Looking back, we’re proud to share a snapshot of the milestones that speak to The Fifth Avenue Hotel as a destination unlike any other in the world.
Travel + Leisure #1 Hotel in New York City (2025)
Being named the #1 Hotel in New York City by Travel + Leisure in the 2025 World’s Best Awards is an honor that fills us with gratitude. Since opening, The Fifth has always stood by the belief that no detail is too small. The result has been the creation of a sanctuary and an experience that speaks to guests from near and far, igniting their imaginations. As one guest shared in the Travel + Leisure review, “Everything was on point from the moment I walked in the door. They think of everything.” This kind of recognition gives us the momentum to carry our mission forward, welcoming each day with fresh eyes and creating moments of awe for all those who walk through our doors.
Hosting the Cast of The Gilded Age (2025)
The Fifth Avenue Hotel’s mansion was built in 1856 by the socialite Charlotte Goodridge, and ever since, it has stood as a monument to elegance and craftsmanship, evolving with the times. We welcomed the cast of HBO’s The Gilded Age, including Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, and Denée Benton, for a New York Times editorial feature and interview on the series’ portrayal of Black families. These conversations, and the caliber of creatives they gathered within our walls, were part of the unveiling of our 24th floor, contributing to the story of how Fifth Avenue’s past is both preserved and reimagined today.
A Place Among The World’s 50 Best Hotels
With great pride, The Fifth Avenue Hotel has been named to the first-ever extended list of The World’s 50 Best Hotels. To be recognized among the finest hotels across the globe is a testament to the vision, care, and creativity behind every detail of The Fifth. As our proprietor, Alex Obhebshalom, shares, “At The Fifth Avenue Hotel, our mission has always been to open hearts, minds, and souls. To remind the world that beauty, connection, and meaning still matter. If that earns us a place among the best in the world, well, we’ll take it and keep going all the way to the top!”
Two MICHELIN Keys
For the second year in a row, The Fifth Avenue Hotel was awarded two MICHELIN keys, a distinction that speaks to “an exceptional stay, where a memorable experience is always guaranteed.” Presented each year in Paris, this prestigious recognition represents the crème de la crème of the luxury hospitality industry, taking into consideration excellence in design, architecture, service, and character. Receiving this honor truly speaks to the kaleidoscopic world we’ve built, where every detail imagined by our flâneurs transforms a stay in New York into an experience only The Fifth could create.
Café Carmellini #39 on World’s 50 Best Restaurants (2025)
After much anticipation, Café Carmellini has made its first appearance on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list at number 39. As the list mentions, Andrew Carmellini is “one of New York’s most enduring culinary voices.” In just two years, together with the dedication and creativity of our flâneurs, he has shaped a French-Italian restaurant with a distinctly New York twist. The result is a culinary destination not to be missed, where the elegance of fine dining pairs with a special warmth that keeps the room buzzing.
Apollo Bagels x The Fifth (2025)
There’s breakfast in bed, and then there’s Breakfast in Bed, Fifth Avenue style. In September 2025, Apollo Bagels, a modern New York phenomenon, joined us for a one-month exclusive pop-up to offer our guests an extravagant breakfast-in-bed experience: a handmade sourdough bagel from Apollo Bagels with a gourmet selection of toppings, along with a keepsake sweatshirt and a spreader by Sabre in our signature gold and purple. The collaboration of two New York classics honored how even a simple pleasure, like savoring a bagel, can be transformed into an extraordinary experience when reimagined as a ritual at The Fifth.
The Modern Flâneur Film for the Met Gala (2025)
Every May, the Met Gala brings a constellation of stars and personalities to New York in the name of fashion. In 2025, the theme of dandysim reflected the very values of Flâneur Hospitality and The Fifth Avenue Hotel, the ultimate setting for the modern dandy, or as we call them, the modern flâneur. To bring this vision to life, we hosted a VVIP Met Gala weekend featuring five distinct creative voices across tailoring (Charlie Casely-Hayford), fashion (Charles Harbison), fine jewelry (Lauren Harwell Godfrey), beauty (Sophie Carbonari), and styling (Solange Franklin Reed). During their stay at The Fifth, we commissioned the inaugural film, The Modern Flâneur, to celebrate the flâneur and explore how this way of being manifests in their personal and professional journeys.
Two years in, our journey is only beginning. For the remainder of 2025, we look forward to countless more moments with our guests and milestones worth celebrating. The upcoming festive season promises new gatherings, traditions, and opportunities to share the spirit of The Fifth. At the same time, the 25-year celebration of Martin Brudnizki’s design firm (MBDS) brings renewed excitement for the exquisite storytelling woven into our interiors. With each new check-in and each new happening, The Fifth continues to grow, evolve, and discover new ways to surprise and delight.
