We stayed at New York's top 2 luxury hotels to see which was better — and the winner is clear

• The Plaza Hotel in New York is one of the most famous luxury hotels in the world.
• The Beekman was recently named the #1 rated hotel in New York by U.S. News & World Report.
• We stayed at both hotels to see which deserves the title of best hotel in New York City.
• The Plaza offered a more seamless luxury experience for a vacationer, while The Beekman was better suited for business travelers. 

New York City is one of the most popular cities in the world to visit, and it's only becoming more so. In November, NYC & Company, the city's tourism agency, estimated that the number of tourists visiting the city last year had increased to a record 61.8 million people.

It is expected to be the eighth straight year that tourism hits a new high in the city.

As a lifelong New Yorker, it's little surprise. Few other cities conjure the same starry-eyed gaze no matter where you are in the world. As author Joan Didion once wrote, New York is "no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power ..."

There are few places in New York that evoke that romantic ideal more than The Plaza Hotel, called when it opened in 1907 "the greatest hotel in the world." Even today, tourists from all over the globe come to stay at The Plaza for a taste of old New York luxury. 

But as the city has developed, so has the hotel scene. In February, U.S. News & World Report announced that The Beekman, a boutique downtown hotel that opened in 2016, was the #1 hotel in the city. 

I recently stayed at both hotels to see how they stacked up. While there are any number of ways these two hotels could be compared, we settled on: location, overall decor and style, architecture, communal spaces, check-in process, bedrooms, bathrooms, shower, bed, hotel bar, dining options, gym + amenities, internet, in-room entertainment, and attention to detail.

Keep reading to see which hotel emerged as the winner.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it's like to stay at New York City's No. 1 ranked hotel, which has a dynamite cocktail bar and beautiful decor

SEE ALSO: I stayed at New York’s most iconic luxury hotel that charges up to $50,000 a night and was once owned by Donald Trump

There are some 250+ hotels in New York City, but The Plaza is by far the most iconic. The unabashedly luxurious hotel has been featured in dozens of movies and books, and was for decades the place in Manhattan to see and be seen if you were rich or famous.

The Beekman opened in 2016 after a multi-year effort to renovate and restore the historic Temple Court building. Since its opening, it has received rave reviews.

The Plaza is adjacent to Central Park in midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, The Beekman is located in the heart of the Financial District. Business travelers will appreciate The Beekman's proximity to Wall Street, while vacationers will no doubt be taken with The Plaza's view of Central Park. I give a slight edge to The Plaza because Wall Street is a ghost town at night.