Residence No. 1
The Emerald Suite
Malachite-green walls, a sunken salon and a bath hewn from a single block of veined marble, with the whole park laid out under the moon.
From, per night$1,150
Floor II
The Suites
Three residences crown the tower, each finished by hand in walnut burl, polished nickel and gilt — and each with a window framed like a proscenium.
Residence No. 2
The Sunburst Suite
Facing due east, so each morning arrives exactly as the gilded ceiling promises: in rays. A cocktail cabinet hides behind the marquetry.
From, per night$1,480
Residence No. 3
The Aurelian Penthouse
A private lift, a terrace ringed by stepped parapets, and a black lacquer baby grand beneath the spire's own searchlights.
From, per night$4,200
Floor III
The Salon
On the last night of 1928, the brass doors of The Aurelian opened onto a lobby of black lacquer and emerald, and an orchestra that did not stop playing until the milk carts were out. Nearly a century later the Salon still keeps that hour: the fans on its walls unfold at dusk, the lift dial still ticks from floor to floor, and every chevron is polished by hand before the first guest comes down.
The building was drawn as a single idea — a sunburst climbing a ziggurat — and nothing was allowed to break its symmetry. Even the elevator needle swings the same distance left and right of centre.
- Floors
- 28
- Rooms & suites
- 211
- Leaves of gold
- 4,000
- 1928
Opening night
New Year's Eve. Nine hundred guests, one orchestra, and a ribbon cut with the architect's drafting knife.
- 1936
The ceiling is re-gilded
Six gilders spend a winter on scaffolds laying four thousand leaves over the Salon's sunburst.
- 1974
Named a landmark
The city protects the tower, its lacquer lobby and its brass lift dials from any change at all.
- Today
Restored, not renewed
A four-year restoration returns every sconce, fan and needle to working order — nothing replaced that could be mended.
The Aurelian, its history and its guests are a work of fiction.
Floor IV
The Gilded Fan
Our supper club sits beneath a half-dome of gold fans that open, one by one, as the lights come down. The kitchen cooks the grand-hotel canon without irony — consommé, sole, tournedos — and the band plays from ten.
Jackets are admired but not required. Dancing is required but not policed.
- SupperNightly from seven
- The late setThursday to Saturday, ten until one
- Afternoon teaIn the Salon, three o'clock
Supper
To Begin
- Oysters Aurelian24six on ice, champagne mignonette
- Consommé Madrilène18chilled tomato consommé, crème fraîche
The Main Affair
- Sole Véronique46poached sole, white grapes, sauce vin blanc
- Tournedos Rossini68fillet on a crouton, foie gras, Madeira sauce
To Finish
- Baked Alaska22flambéed at the table, for two
- The Sidecar19cognac, orange liqueur, lemon, sugared rim
Floor V
Reservations
Tell the front desk when you will arrive. We will have the lift waiting, the lamps lit and the key polished.