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With more than 230 hotels and 70,000 hotel rooms, the sleeping options in New York are staggering. Do you want to spend most of your travel budget on a luxurious hotel? Do you want to stay close to the neon and noise of Times Square? Do you want a room with a view of Central Park? Do you want a room vastly bigger than your linen closet back home? These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself before you book a room.
Best Hotel: Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. The combination of a great location, just across from Central Park, large well-outfitted rooms, and typically excellent Ritz-Carlton service is as good as it gets.
Best Hotel for Modern New York Elegance: The Mercer. The best of the hip, downtown hotels, the Mercer is located in the heart of SoHo. The high-ceilinged, loftlike rooms and suites, some with fireplaces and all with ceiling fans and luxurious bathrooms, are spectacular.
Best for Classic Old World Elegance: Hotel Plaza Athénée. That European feel pervades the hotel from the old-world design to the first-rate concierge service.
Best Trendy Hotel: The Hotel on Rivington. The first major hotel on the increasingly trendy Lower East Side is a glass marvel with floor to ceiling windows, views galore, soaking tubs, and THOR, one of the hottest bar/restaurants in the city.
Best Times Square Hotel: Hotel QT. This moderately priced recent (2005) addition to the Times Square hotel scene was a very welcome one. There is much to like about the Hotel QT besides its price and location, but what you may love best is the swimming pool — in the lobby — with a swim-up bar.
Best Moderately Priced Hotel: The Lucerne. The homey, neighborhood feel of this Upper West Side hotel — combined with exceptional service and nice-sized, well-equipped rooms — make this a very attractive mid-priced option.
Best Budget Hotel: Chelsea Lodge. If you don't mind sharing a toilet with other guests, this charming hotel offers impeccable comforts — including an actual sink and shower — at a budget price.
Best for Families: Hotel Beacon. Not only is this hotel a great deal — you can get good-size suites for so much less than you would pay in Midtown — the Upper West Side, with its parks, the Museum of Natural History, and fun, inexpensive restaurants, is also a great neighborhood for children.
Best Romantic Hotel: Sofitel New York. How can an almost 400-room hotel be romantic? Maybe it's because the hotel is French-owned and staying here feels like you've escaped for a naughty tryst in Paris.
Best Hotel Bar: Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle Hotel. Named after book illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, who created the Madeline books and painted the mural in the bar, this romantic, charming bar features white-gloved service and wondrous cocktails.
Best Hotel Renovation: Carlton Hotel. This former flophouse has been restored to its 1904 Beaux Arts grandeur by architect David Rockwell. Its sweeping lobby with a two-story waterfall is a marvel.
Best Hotel Suite: Townhouse Suite in the Kitano New York. Each of the three one-bedroom suites built inside the landmark town house that is part of this hotel feature a long hallway leading to a sunken living room with original art, a state-of-the-art stereo system, and a tea maker with green tea.
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