The stars and the skyline never shined brighter than they did the night of the larger-than-life grand opening of the Mandarin Oriental, New York, the spectacular new hotel at the new Time Warner Center. The over-the-top event, just like the hotel, merged the exotic mystique of the Orient with the stylish flair of the Best of New York.

Celebs and tycoons swarmed to the beautiful $250 mil, 251-room hotel, including 48 suites that mirror the grand Manhattan apartments of the 1900s (the most lavish of which — The Presidential Suite — books for over $12,000 a night).

As Mayor Michael Bloomberg cut the ribbon, he proclaimed the city’s continuing triumph and recovery from 9/11, noting, “Today is just another example that the city is doing well!” The VIP guest list included The Earl of Lichfield, photographer, and cousin to the Queen of England; CEO of the Mandarin Oriental Edouard Ettedgui; Steve Ross, developer of the Time Warner Center; Charles Gargano; Bill Mack; Police Commish Ray Kelly; Gina Lollobrigida; Isabella Rossellini; Tina Louise; Neil and Leba Sedaka; John Leguizamo; I.M. Pei; Richard Meier; Bruce Colley (pretending not to be with Lisa Gastineau); LeRoy Neiman; Vivienne Tam; chefs Daniel Boulud and Eric Ripert; Denise Rich; exercise guru David Kirsch; Felicia Taylor; VF’s George Wayne; Lloyd Klein; Dylan Lauren; and Jocelyne Wildenstein.

Guests feasted on an enormous banquet of Asian delicacies prepared by executive chef Christian Schmidt and chef de cuisine of asiate Noriyuki Sugie, and were entertained by Thai dancers, Chinese mask-changing per-formers, and a Feng Shui ceremony to create positive energy throughout the premises.

And what could be a more perfect touch than Favorite Son of New York Billy Joel sitting at a piano with the NYC skyline glittering behind him, his hands exploring the keys, as he crooned “New York State of Mind.” The Piano Man also played that signature song (adding harmonica to the mix), warbled a few bars of “Hotel California” to include a “Welcome to the Hotel Mandarin Oriental,” and then tore the house down with a tune from his Broadway hit musical Movin’ Out. When a reveler offered to donate $5,000 to the auction fund if he’d play “Just the Way You Are,” Joel complied, with a cryptic reminder to the crowd that he’d written the tune for his first ex-wife-and-ex-business-manager Elizabeth Weber. (Second “ex” is model Christie Brinkley, mom of daughter Alexa who accompanied her dad and his young fiancée Kate Lee.) When a waiter offered the singer a glass of water, the Rehab Grad (not shy about poking fun at his past drinking-on-stage episodes) insisted, “This is water folks!” and held up the Figi bottle for all to see.

Later on, a private party was held for Joel in one of the hotel’s luxurious suites. We stepped into the elevator with him and his entourage and struck up a conversation. Billy informed us that he still maintains his property in The Hamptons and absolutely loves living full-time on the water in his new Oyster Bay home with his gourmet-cook-and-lady-love (who recently signed on as a restaurant correspondent with chef George Hirsch’s PBS show Living it Up). When we told Billy how well he was keeping his weight down, the pleased singer replied, “Well, I guess Kate’s feeding me all the right foods!” The Feng Shui was working already!