Every August, celebrity hotel choices during the US Open become almost as fascinating as what happens on the courts. The tournament descends on the city like a second Fashion Week (which, not coincidentally, overlaps with it). And for two weeks, the question isn’t just who’s winning on the courts at Flushing Meadows. It’s who’s sitting in the box seats and who’s in the hotel lobby.
The tournament itself draws the kind of crowd that defies easy categorization. Tennis, with its tradition of elegance and its global following, pulls both the sporting world and the celebrity world into the same orbit. You’ll spot world-ranked athletes, yes, but also Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, and Steph Curry. (And they’re all staying somewhere fabulous.) During the Open, New York isn’t just a destination. It’s a stage.
Three hotels, in particular, have learned to perform on it.
The Carlyle: The Original Keeper of Secrets
This Art Deco tower at Madison and 76th has been a refuge for the famous since 1930. Its discretion is so legendary it earned the nickname “Palace of Secrets.” JFK, Princess Diana, George Clooney, Naomi Campbell, Vera Wang, and Roger Federer have all stayed here. The list reads like a century of cultural history.
Federer’s connection to the property is the stuff of tennis lore. The Carlyle has a two-bedroom suite on the 16th floor named in his honor. It’s reportedly maintained as his New York home during US Open appearances across many years. That a hotel would essentially build a shrine to a tennis player, and that the player would keep coming back, tells you everything about how The Carlyle operates: impeccable service and absolute silence about who’s behind which door.
Later, Federer appeared in Always at The Carlyle, the 2018 documentary that cracked the property open just enough to confirm what everyone already suspected. He joined George Clooney, Sofia Coppola, Jon Hamm, Lenny Kravitz, Wes Anderson, and Anthony Bourdain in celebrating a hotel they all love. Piers Morgan contributed what may be the best line in the film: “The most famous elevator ride in history took place in The Carlyle: Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Steve Jobs all at the same time. Now that is a power elevator.”
During the Open, The Carlyle offers complimentary roundtrip transfers to the stadium for suite guests. It’s a perk that perfectly suits the hotel’s understated approach to luxury.
The Mark: Hiding in Plain Sight on the Upper East Side
The Mark operates on a kind of open secret: everyone who matters knows that anyone who matters stays here, and yet somehow the privacy bubble holds. During US Open finals weekend, when the hotel’s Director of Marketing is asked about notable guests, the most you’ll get is a careful, “We have a number of tennis players here this week.”
Among the Open’s most reliably spotted guests is Novak Djokovic. He moves through the lobby like someone who considers the place a second home. Occasionally, he borrows one of the hotel’s signature black bikes for a ride through Central Park as if he were just another Upper East Sider. Oprah has stayed here. So have Anna Wintour, Russell Crowe, Marc Jacobs, and Kelly Ripa. The hotel pulls from the worlds of fashion, entertainment, and tennis with equal ease.
Designed by Jacques Grange, The Mark is both a fashion statement and a neighborhood institution. Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant anchors the ground floor. It’s deliberately set back from the street, so you won’t find it unless you already know. Here, even the cocktail menu is curated. During the Open, the bar pours a riff on the tournament’s signature Honey Deuce cocktail, reimagined with vodka, yuzu, hibiscus, blood orange, and rose hips.
Ten blocks from the Met. Steps from Central Park. Bergdorf’s, Manolo, and Chanel windows line the avenue below. The question isn’t why celebrities stay at The Mark during the US Open. The question is why they’d stay anywhere else.
Aman New York: The Newest Name
Aman arrived in New York in 2022 as the brand’s first urban property in North America. Aman built its global reputation in remote sanctuaries. In Manhattan, it simply applied the same logic. Almost immediately, it became understood as a place where a certain kind of guest would not be named and not be photographed.
For the US Open, Aman New York deploys what it calls the “Season of Champions,” a two-night package that includes tickets to a match of choice, private transportation, daily breakfast, butler service, a tennis-themed in-suite amenity, and access to the hotel’s three-floor wellness center. In addition, the spa programming goes further. Recovery and performance treatments developed in partnership with Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova are available for guests who want to train like champions between matches. Whether the champions themselves are in residence is, characteristically, not something Aman will confirm.
The suites, some of the largest and most architecturally significant hotel accommodations in Manhattan, occupy the upper floors of a Cass Gilbert-designed landmarked building. Meanwhile, the Aman Spa draws the kind of guest who travels with a wellness team.
The tournament brings to New York the most scrutinized athletes on earth, people who spend eleven months being watched. What they want, for two weeks in late August, is somewhere that doesn’t watch back.
At the US Open, the courts might be located in Flushing, but the real game, as always, is on the Upper East Side.
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FAQs
Q: Do US Open players stay in the official tournament hotel?
A: Not always. While the US Open has official hotel partners for tournament logistics, many top-ranked players choose private luxury hotels based on personal preference, privacy, security, and long-standing relationships with hotel staff. Veteran players often return to the same property year after year.
Q: Can guests book the same hotels where celebrities stay during the US Open?
A: Yes. Hotels such as The Carlyle, The Mark, and Aman New York remain open to the public during the tournament, subject to availability. Rates typically increase during the US Open, and suites often sell out well in advance as athletes, sponsors, media, and luxury travelers arrive in New York.
Q: When is the best time to spot celebrities during the US Open in New York?
A: The busiest celebrity sightings usually occur during the tournament’s second week, particularly around the semifinals and finals. Beyond Arthur Ashe Stadium, luxury hotels, Upper East Side restaurants, and Fashion Week events often become gathering places for athletes, entertainers, designers, and other high-profile guests.
