The Times Square EDITION

The Hotel

The Times Square EDITION at 701 7th Avenue was, for the year and a half it operated, the hotel the category had been missing: Ian Schrager's argument that Times Square, a location the hotel industry had long treated as a logistical necessity rather than a hospitality opportunity, could support a genuinely excellent hotel. The 452-room property brought the EDITION brand's design intelligence, an ambitious restaurant under chef John Fraser, a performance venue, and Marriott's operational standard to a neighbourhood that had previously offered tourists a choice between the serviceable and the cynically overpriced. It opened in early 2019 and closed for good in 2020.

The rooms occupied the building's upper floors with the views that 7th Avenue at 47th Street provides: Times Square below, the Midtown skyline extending in every direction, and higher up, the city stretching north toward Central Park. The EDITION's design vocabulary applied, warm materials, considered lighting, quality linens, within a building that the Times Square context required to be larger than the brand's other properties.

John Fraser's dining programme was the hotel's most significant departure from the Times Square category norm: a serious, destination-minded restaurant in a neighbourhood whose kitchens have historically served pre-theatre tourists rather than diners who travel for the food. The Paradise Club performance venue, the bars, and the public-space programming formed the social infrastructure the EDITION brand built around its dining.

The 7th Avenue location in the heart of Times Square gave immediate access to Broadway, Lincoln Center to the north, the Museum of Modern Art six blocks east, and the full Midtown grid. For guests whose New York itinerary centred on cultural programming rather than neighbourhood exploration, Times Square's position at the centre of the city's entertainment infrastructure was a practical advantage the EDITION made an asset rather than a compromise. That central location is the one thing a closed hotel cannot take with it; the open alternatives below sit within the same few blocks.

What it got right

For business travellers, the EDITION briefly made Times Square's central position in the Midtown grid, equidistant from the Avenue of the Americas towers, the 57th Street institutions, and the Penn Station transit hub, work in a five-star package, with John Fraser's restaurant handling the client dinner at a level the district had not previously offered. For families, the room size and service quality paired with Broadway, the TKTS booth, and proximity to Central Park. The closure leaves an open gap in this specific slot, which the open alternatives below address.

Where to stay instead

For the same Midtown-central footprint with hotels that are open and bookable today, look to the Park Hyatt New York on 57th Street, The Peninsula New York on Fifth Avenue, or the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, all within a short walk and all reviewed on this site. Our full New York hotel guide covers the rest of the field, including current Times Square options.

The Times Square EDITION closed permanently in 2020 and is not bookable. The links above lead to open New York hotels.