On the Look-out for Eggs During New York’s Big Egg Hunt? Check Out These Three Hotels

Every year or so we’re treated to a citywide exhibition of large objects decorated by artists, like upright pianos or fiberglass cows. So why not eggs?

The Fabrege Big Egg Hunt, as you’ve no doubt heard, is on, with 250 gigantic egg sculptures adorned by artists, architects and creative types like Bruce Weber, Julian Schnabel, Jeff Koons, Carolina Herrera, Jacques Torres and William Wegman.

The big eggs are hidden, often in plain sight, throughout New York’s five boroughs until April 26. Egg lovers can visit the Big Egg Hunt website, download the app and get cracking. Snap a picture each time you spot an egg, scan its code on your app, and you stand a chance to win a bejeweled Fabrege pendant – more eggs! – awarded each week.

Not surprisingly, hotels have muscled into the act, commissioning artists to create bespoke eggs and cooking up egg-related deals for guests (we’ll refrain from calling them egg-citing).

The striking black and white egg you see above is the work of artist Mattia Bonetti, whose equally striking furniture designs are on view throughout The Mark, where you can hunt down the egg (the hotel isn’t offering any clues to its location). From a mix of twigs, small spheres, pearl beads, feathers and crumpled newspapers and magazines he conjured “a large black and white egg in its imperfect form.”

Also on view – albeit off campus – are landscape architect Andrew Zientek’s

cool abstract metal egg, hidden by chic fashion shop Fivestory, and Bali-based designer Carlo Pessina’s ultra modern egg, shielded by Laduree SoHo, the French macaron shop. Bonus: the Mark’s Big Egg Hunt package offers guests a map with egg locations, a $20 Metrocard, a Big Egg Hunt book, a personalized egg cookie and breakfast for two, available through April 26.

A very different 30-inch egg sculpture greets all who pass by the Plaza Athenee. The Babar egg was designed by Laurent de Brunoff, author and illustrator of the famed Babar the Elephant children’s stories since 1946 (his father Jean originated the character). During egg-hunting season, the hotel offers daily Tea with Babar and a Babar childen’s package that includes tickets to Central Park Zoo, a Babar goodie bag and milk and cookies at turndown.

At Trump International Hotel & Tower, a trio of big beauties is on view outside the hotel – a gilded egg by fashion designer Naeem Khan, an origami-riffing egg devised from folded dollar bills by artist Minyan Huang and an artfully cracked egg from interior designer Rachel Waldron. The eggs are impossible to miss making them one of the city’s easiest finds for hunters. Book the hotel’s Big Egg Hunt package and get an egg-inspired turndown amenity and a DYI gold egg-making kit.

The hunt, which originated in London a year ago, is the brainchild of Mark Shand, an animal conservationist and brother of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, aka Camilla Parker Bowles. Proceeds go to Elephant Family, a non-profit that raises money to save endangered Asian elephants.

The big eggs will be auctioned off at the end of the hunt. In the meantime, if you crave something smaller, cute hand-painted eggs are for sale at Saks Fifth Avenue and pop-up shops at Time Warner Center and South Street Seaport. Little eggs, including one shaped like the Statue of Liberty’s crowned head, are also for sale on the Big Egg Hunt website.