The oldest operating hotel in NYC (since 1902), it's position in mid-town Manhattan (between Fifth and Sixth avenues) has established it as not just one of the most sought after  places to stay, but to wine and dine and be entertained. Some of the biggest names in the literary and theatrical world have made it their favourite watering hole, giving it greater notoriety. Throughout the 1920s it was the home of the infamous Round Table, a meeting of influential arts columnists and critics including poet and satirist Dorothy Parker and humorist Robert Benchley. Their regular gatherings with Vanity Fair colleagues and writer friends to discuss the local arts community over drinks and nibbles led to the birth of the celebrated art magazine, The New Yorker.  The list of theatrical and literary connections goes on. For instance, Douglas Fairbanks and Orson Welles both honeymooned here; budding actress Angela Lansbury called it home temporarily; and the Broadway stage favourite My Fair Lady was written in one of the rooms. The Oak Room Supper Club, described by New York magazine as the city's best cabaret venue, more recently launched the careers of Harry Connick Jnr., Diana Krall and Jamie Cullum among many others. Outside of the arts, it was also the first hotel in the city to have electronic keys and to accommodate women travelling alone. More recently it created history as the home of the US$10,000 martini – which comes garnished with a glittering diamond.