This red-brick building along one of the city's most chic stretches was converted into condominium apartments from a hotel in 1999.

The property, which occupies the blockfront along the avenue between 69th and 70th Streets, used to be the Westbury Hotel and its last operators were Trust House Forte.

As a hotel, it had entrances both on the avenue and the sidestreet, but Chelsfield Westbury LLC, the converter, decided that retail space on the avenue was too valuable to waste on a grand entrance. Indeed, this is a very prime retail location and new retail tenants in the building initially included Sulka, Purdy and Alfred Dunhill and later Gucci took over several of the storefronts.

The block between Fifth and Madison Avenues on 70th Street contains not only The Frick Collection, the finest museum in the city, but also some of the city's top art galleries such as Knoedler and Hirschl-Adler, all in very impressive former mansions.

The Westbury's only competition for many years as a deluxe hotel on the Upper East Side was the Carlyle on Madison Avenue at 76th Street and the Stanhope on Fifth Avenue at 81st Street and at the time the developers here decided to convert the property to residential uses the city's hotel market was very, very tight, but so was the residential market.

The building had an attractive restaurant, The Polo Bar, which is now closed and the hotel had been popular with many wealthy persons seeking a discrete and quiet ambiance in a great location.

The building's façade was cleaned but not substantially altered as it is within an historic landmark district.

The 21-story building has only 47 apartments.

There are several good restaurants and many famous boutiques in this neighborhood and there is good bus service. A local subway station is at 67th Street and Lexington Avenue.