The Mercer sits at the centre of SoHo’s cast-iron district in a Romanesque Revival building on Mercer and Prince streets. Its 73 rooms and suites are shaped by a restrained aesthetic, using high ceilings, generous windows, warm woods and neutral textiles rather than decorative excess. Sartiano’s occupies the principal dining room, with Studio Sofield interiors and an Italian-influenced menu. The overall scale remains notably intimate for downtown Manhattan, and there is little separation between hotel and neighbourhood: galleries, boutiques and restaurants begin immediately outside, with Nolita and Greenwich Village only a few blocks away. The building’s heavy masonry shell provides a strong counterpoint to the quieter rooms within.