Perhaps New York's most elegant hotel, and certainly one of its most exclusive, the Pierre is actually a housing co-op, run by 76 resident-owners who live among the hotel's 201 extremely refined rooms. (The place is actually run by the India-based Taj hotel group.) Notable full-time residents include Viacom mogul Sumner Redstone, Harrods (and Fulham Football Club) owner Mohammed al-Fayyed, and Yves Saint-Lauren. The hotel opened in 1930 near the chic southeast corner of Central Park, built after a design by Schultz and Weaver meant to evoke the Royal Chapel at Versailles.