Picking a hotel has come a long way since we had to choose between family-run guesthouses, cheap-and-cheerless chains and pricey establishments that delivered a taste of the high life in silver-service cloches. Put it down to the 1990s explosion of boutique hotels, but we have come to expect our bunk-ups to seduce us with kooky cocktails and show-offy Philippe Starck ­furniture. And now minimalism-fatigued style-seekers are craving even more. Today’s hip hotel customers expect home-from-home hideaways that sidestep the banal and reference the locale, with a side order of freebies and some ecofriendly assurance, if you don’t mind.

So it is that the new Crosby Street Hotel fits the bill. The hot New York spot is the first overseas outpost from the hands-on hoteliers Tim and Kit Kemp. The founders of the Firmdale group, which also owns the Haymarket, Covent Garden and Soho hotels in London, have successfully exported their trademark pretty, witty English eclectic look across the pond.

In the vanguard of contemporary interior design since she first paired flamboyant florals with fluoro Perspex, Kit Kemp has been lighting up the London hotel scene for 25 years with her special blend of “cluttered minimalism”. A blip in Firmdale’s share price not so long ago hasn’t ­hampered the Kemps’ foray into the American market. ­Instead they pursued the launch of the new hotel with their customary full-on enthusiasm — and colour palette.

Can the city that never sleeps support a newcomer in the current economic climate, however? Ian Schrager, often credited with drawing up the blueprint for boutique hotels, is probably the best person to gaze into a crystal ball on the subject. Before he opened his own places in London, he would stay at the Kemps’ Covent Garden Hotel, and he is taken by their individualism and attention to detail. He predicts that the hotels that will stay ahead of the pack will be those providing a genuinely unique ­experience. “That’s what got this whole boutique movement started,” he says in his thick Brooklyn accent. “Except today, customers no longer just accept being in the coolest hotel or restaurant in town; they’re not prepared to sacrifice great service and functionality any more.”

Shrager believes that taking great style, then making it accessible at inexpensive prices, is the way forward. “It’s very democratic and very exciting,” he says. “The same thing happened with art. Suddenly, it wasn’t just for rich people, it was available to everybody.” He is also ­optimistic about the recession. “A soft economy means that something has to stand out to hold on to market share,” he says. “I’m really a fundamentalist. It’s not about the bargain. It’s a question of real value, and you have to get what you pay for.” Schrager is currently working with Marriott, the big brand, “to do something between high-end and cheap-chic luxury”. He believes the overall standard of design is elevated when big companies get involved. The trade-off? Hotels across the board can end up looking the same, because where design was once used to attain product distinction, that gets cancelled out by the chain effect.

Meanwhile, André Balazs, another trailblazer in hip hostelry, has seen his wallet-friendly Standard hotels flourish at a time when many middle-grounders are floundering. His new ­hotel and restaurant in the Meatpacking District certainly betray no signs of being affected by the downturn, although there is now the rare chance of getting a last-minute deal at his more upscale celeb-spangled Mercer — arguably the original benchmark for first-class boutique ­hotels, and a modern-day classic by which other style hotels are measured.

New York has no shortage of chic retreats, but — with the exception of Schrager’s Julian Schnabel-enhanced Gramercy Park Hotel — until now, there has been a dearth of primary colours in the monochrome, DKNY-style landscape. Crosby Street is a welcome world away from those global design-hotels-by-numbers, such as the W Hotel chain. Its 86 bedrooms, with 40 different schemes, are the ultimate antidote to “seen one, seen them all” homogeneity. The suites are also spacious: there are no notorious New York shoe boxes here. Only time will tell if the hefty price tag — rooms from $525 (£320) a night — will dampen its success.

“Design hotels now have to combine authenticity and affordability,” says Matt Turner, the editor of Sleeper, the hotel trade bible. “Bespoke craftsmanship is prized more highly than designer labels, and lighting that works is more important than the width of a plasma screen.” Indicators of cool, such as thread count, have been superseded by “added-value” treats, including fresh-from-the-oven biscuits or free WiFi.

James Lohan, founder of the Mr & Mrs Smith hotel guides, acknowledges that luxury travel isn’t losing its sparkle, it’s simply having to work harder. “Guest experiences should be at their very best right now,” he says.

The Kemps agree. They are sure there is always room for a quality product, and there is no question that the Crosby Street Hotel falls into this category. “Until the recession, the market was not crowded. It was in desperate need of hotel bedrooms,” says Craig Markham, Firmdale’s PR director and a creative tour de force at the hotel group for 23 years. “We look forward to those days returning.”

Crosby Street Hotel, New York; 001 212 226 6400, crosbystreethotel.com

Juliet Kinsman is editor-in-chief of Mr & Mrs Smith; mrandmrssmith.com

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