Fans of famed New York architect Emery Roth know of the starchitect’s epic creations, the legendary San Remo, Eldorado and Beresford apartments. Roth & Sons also designed their share of hotels, which included The New York Helmsley Hotel, built in 1981. (That same year they also built what was then The Helmsley Palace Hotel.)

Part of what made the Helmsley brand so esteemed and still places it in a category worthy of Roth’s expertise, was Leona’s eye for elegance and glamour. (Even for a more functional executive business hotel.) Her $8 billion dollar hotel empire somehow managed to not produce ostentatious or over-the-top flashy décor thanks to Leona’s careful adherence to style and quality materials. Gold lead embossed hardwood, twelve-foot ceilings, panoramic picture windows, a reception desk designed to remind you that you had arrived. These were the type of building bones that Leona and Emery (first names if you will) put an emphasis on. It’s spacious and comfortable, all without sacrificing luxury. A feat for Manhattan, a city where 8 million people often times must sacrifice space for magnificence.