What to expect: Opened in December 2003, the Mandarin Oriental occupies floors 35-54 of the Time Warner Center’s north high-rise. The center, sheathed in reflective glass, rises at Columbus Circle, where Midtown, Central Park, and Upper Manhattan converge. An elliptical lobby is dominated by a glass ceiling sculpture created by Dale Chihuly in partnership with Waterford Crystal. Express elevators ascend to the 35th floor, where the “sky lobby” includes a silver-leaf ceiling, a grand staircase with gingko-leaf motif, and Chihuly’s graceful Crystal Cranes sculpture. Just beyond, the lobby lounge provides forever views of the park and city.
Amenity highlights: The two-level Spa at Mandarin Oriental is distinguished by the Time Ritual concept, where guests book customized experiences in blocks of time, rather than by treatment. In addition to seven treatment rooms, the spa offers “experience” showers infused with soothing fragrances, a steam room, Vitality Pools with underwater air beds, a tea lounge, and men’s and women’s relaxation lounges. The private VIP Spa Suite has two treatment beds, fireplace, elevated bath, and shiatsu and Thai massage.

On the 36th floor, the indoor lap pool and fitness center afford dramatic city, park, and river views. The views are also spectacular from Asiate, the hotel’s French-Japanese restaurant.

Insider tip: Guests can catch a rising star at Lincoln Center, three blocks away, when the Juilliard School presents hundreds of student performances at little or no cost. The music, drama, and dance divisions showcase their best work throughout the school year. Tickets are required for the larger events and are available at the Lincoln Center box office. Even sold-out shows often have last-minute seats available; standby lines form an hour before concert time.

What to expect: The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park provides a tranquil ambience featuring a collection of original works by 100 New York artists. A lobby with expansive displays of gray granite and light wood exemplifies the hotel's contemporary Art Deco styling.
Amenity highlights: Panoramic New York Harbor views are available from a 14th-floor bar/lounge and a complimentary 24-hour fitness center that's part of a health spa. On the lobby level, a restaurant that becomes a French-American steakhouse at night offers ground-level harbor views during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. Outdoor seating is available in warm weather. A lobby lounge features a pianist Tuesday–Saturday evenings.
Insider tip: The hotel is five blocks from Fraunces Tavern Restaurant, which dates from 1762 and is famous for having hosted George Washington’s banquets. Upstairs from the dining room is a museum devoted to early American history.

What to expect: This 1930s landmark has been transformed into an intimate hotel with a residential feel, with French limestone walls, inlaid onyx floors, antique chandeliers, and a notable art collection. Attentive Ritz service and the prime location attract sophisticated business and leisure travelers.
Amenity highlights: The hotel’s exclusive spa was the first La Prairie Spa in the United States. Swiss-based treatments include the Diamond Perfection body indulgence, the Gentleman’s Heads Up Deep Cleaning Facial, the Manhattan Minutes: Executive Stress Break, and Gifts From the Sea, featuring La Prairie’s Skin Caviar. The Ritz-Carlton's gemologist offers private services for guests interested in purchasing precious gems without leaving the comfort of their guestrooms.

What to expect: This boutique New York hotel caters to business and leisure travelers, with special attention to women and guests with pets. Muted colors, soft lighting, a living room off the lobby containing a gas fireplace and leather seating, and a complimentary wine reception each evening establishes a relaxed, residential ambience.
Amenity highlights: 70 Park Avenue's restaurant, Silverleaf Tavern, serves New American Cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily in a contemporary ambience of redwood floor, olive-velvet banquettes, red-leather booths, Venetian-plaster walls, gilt-framed food paintings, and an illuminated cracked-glass, amethyst-colored bar. The hotel welcomes pets 50 pounds and under (no surcharge or deposit), provides complimentary dog beds and umbrellas, and offers a food menu (surcharges). The concierge arranges day care, spa treatments, exercise, and grooming for pets.

What to expect: A small lobby with waterfall, abstract art, granite walls, and leather seating typifies the contemporary ambience offered by this hotel.
Amenity highlights: Guests are offered Continental breakfast (surcharge), complimentary coffee and tea, and complimentary wine and cheese (Monday–Thursday evenings) in a second-floor lounge furnished with leather and red plush-fabric seating. The lounge includes two computers with high-speed Internet access (surcharge), a fax/copier/printer (surcharge), game tables, and two plasma TVs.

What to expect: A pitcher of complimentary "herbal elixir" on the reception desk signifies the emphasis Affinia Dumont places on fitness and health. Guests may borrow health-and-fitness books, tapes, and music CDs from a complimentary Wellness Library. Fitness magazines are included in guest studios and suites.

Amenity highlights: The independently operated Oasis Day Spa offers seven rooms for treatments such as the Lava Stone Massage, Vichy Shower Experience, Aromatherapy Body Polish, Seaweed Facial, and Pink Clay Wrap. Spa services can be arranged in guests' studios and suites. A fitness concierge provides complimentary body assessments and body-mass-index measurements, as well as advice on staying fit in Manhattan.

Insider tip: Just 1.5 blocks west of Affinia Dumont and extending five blocks north along the Park Avenue boulevard are gardens featuring tulips in spring, begonias in summer, and cherry, magnolia, cedar, fir, spruce, hawthorn, and other trees—all maintained by private donations.

What to expect: Converted from an apartment building, Affinia Gardens retains the hushed ambience of an Upper East Side residence while offering hotel services.

Amenity highlights: In addition to complimentary relaxation-aiding tranquility kits, the hotel lends chair massagers, wooden massage tools, and tranquility-themed books, CDs, and DVDs. For exercise, there's a complimentary fitness center. Coin-operated machines handle laundry. Weekly wine and cheese, morning coffee, and all-day herbal tea are complimentary in a relaxation lounge.

Insider tip: Five blocks south of Affinia Gardens, an aerial tramway over the East River connects Manhattan to Roosevelt Island, and provides spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline along the way. Passengers can take the four-minute ride and immediately return. Or they can explore parks, historical buildings, and skyline-view waterfront promenades that make the island popular with movie and television directors.

What to expect: In a building that opened as a hotel in 1929, Affinia Manhattan combines 1920s ornate styling and contemporary convenience. The lobby has a high molded ceiling, terrazzo floor, overstuffed sofas, crystal chandeliers and, in the center, an octagonal concierge desk ringed with overhead plasma televisions.

Amenity highlights: An independent restaurant/lounge offers a contemporary ambience that includes a mirrored wall and plasma televisions in the lounge and original art and changing-color fluorescent accent lights in the dining room. Niles serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch and features global choices. The lounge offers a bar menu.

Insider tip: Four blocks north of Affinia Manhattan, Macy's department store includes an extensive food section called Cucina & Co in the basement. In addition to take-out, a wide variety of ready-to-cook items are available to take back to the hotel's guest-suites' kitchens.

What to expect: Designated a Historic Hotel of America by the National Trust of Historic Preservation, the Algonquin continues to attract writers, artists, musicians, and media figures as it did during Prohibition. In that era, a group of regulars, drawn by free popovers and celery, formed the now-legendary Algonquin Round Table to gossip and trade barbs. The ambience, monitored in the Edwardian-decor lobby by Matilda, the resident Birman cat, seems undisturbed from that era.

Amenity highlights: The Oak Room, where singers such as Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Andrea Marcovicci, and Michael Feinstein first attained stardom, is a celebrated New York cabaret. The Blue Bar lights oil lamps for patrons in blue-leather booths. Although the Edwardian Lobby Lounge evokes an earlier era, complimentary laptop computers are available on request, and complimentary wireless Internet access is available in hotel public spaces.

Insider tip: On the same block as the hotel, the New York Yacht Club, a whimsical creation dating from 1900, displays carved stone sterns of 16th-century Dutch galleons in its bay windows.

What to expect: Located on Manhattan’s historic Club Row between Fifth and Sixth avenues, this handsome red-brick hotel was formerly a private club and sanctuary for New York’s power brokers. Today, it offers a discreet haven for executives, modern power players, and entertainment figures. A black-and-white abstract painting by New York artist Giglio—a friend of the owner—and a lipstick-red table topped with art books highlight the diminutive lobby.
Amenity highlights: The interior was designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber, whose clients include Vogue editor Anna Wintour, David Bowie, and Michael Douglas. Traditional materials such as bronze, silvered mica, cork, and limestone blend with modern design in a decor that Bilhuber refers to as New American Classicism. The hotel’s acclaimed restaurant, DB Bistro Moderne, is the creation of star chef Daniel Boulud.
Insider tip: Magnificent Radio City Music Hall, 6 blocks from the hotel, offers the Radio City Stage Tour, a one-hour backstage excursion. Tour highlights include the Great Stage and its hydraulic system, in operation since the 1930s; the lavish private suite, with 12-foot-high gold-leaf ceilings; and the grand Wurlitzer organ. Visitors also meet one of the Radio City Rockettes.

What to expect: Arranged for solo business travelers, Club Quarters are private, full-service hotels for member companies, such as Expedia.com. Club Quarters also attracts leisure travelers for its tranquility and prime location. A small, marble-floored reception area with an Asian screen, a multicolored tapestry, and credit-card slots for automatic check-in/check-out contrasts with the grand, high-ceiling spaces within.
Amenity highlights: A grand lounge offers computers with complimentary wireless Internet access, complimentary morning coffee, newspapers and magazines, and upholstered seating. Another room restored to its original grandeur serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a setting featuring high, molded ceilings, pale-yellow walls, and tall, narrow mirrors.
Insider tip: Manhattan attractions such as Grand Central Terminal, the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick's Cathedral are within four blocks of the hotel.

What to expect: Tall glass doors open into the Club Quarters's marble-tiled entryway, where automated check-in machines provide an express alternative to the 24-hour service desk. Business travelers are a common sight on weekdays, as are leisure travelers on weekends, in the hotel’s Club Room, which is accented by warm woods, earthy colors, upholstered furniture, and marble-topped tables.
Amenity highlights: Complimentary Wireless Internet access is featured throughout the hotel, including the cozy Club Room, furnished with guest computers, printers, and a lounge area with sofas, board games, large-screen TV, and complimentary coffee and newspapers. Guests also have access to a restaurant and bar, coin-op laundry room, 3,000 square feet of meeting space, and a fitness center equipped with treadmills, elliptical machines, exercycles, and free weights.
Insider tip: Five blocks from the hotel along the East River is South Street Seaport, a 12-block historical district. The Seaport is home to the South Street Seaport Museum, with the largest privately owned collection of historical vessels in the U.S.

What to expect: With tranquil lobby on the third floor and security guards screening visitors on the ground floor, this New York City hotel rises above the Times Square hubbub.
Amenity highlights: The Doubletree’s theater-themed Center Stage Café serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and pre-theater meals. A complimentary fitness center contains cardio machines, a weight machine, and free weights. A self-service business center offers three computers with high-speed Internet access, a copier, a printer, and a fax machine (surcharges for all services). Guests can connect their laptop computers to the printer from their suites (surcharge).
Insider tip: In addition to offering same-day discount tickets to Broadway shows, the TKTS booth across the street sells deep-discount tickets to some shows shortly before performances. The booth accepts only cash or travelers’ checks.

What to expect: Located on Lexington Avenue at East 51st Street, the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel was designed by architect Morris Lapidus and fully renovated in 2004. The lobby has updated 1960s styling with marble floors and Danish modern accents. The informal restaurant and bar adjoining the lobby have similar décor. Business travelers predominate, but the central location and plentiful public transportation appeal to tourists as well.

Amenity highlights: In addition to the lobby restaurant and bar, an independent café offers light choices for all meals. The fitness center has varied cardiovascular equipment and free weights, and the glass-enclosed penthouse conference room hosts social and business gatherings. Express check-in and check-out make for speedy arrivals and departures.

Insider tip: Three blocks south of the hotel at Lexington Ave. and E. 48th St. is Caswell-Massey, America's oldest drug store, established in 1752. The shop sells a variety of distinctive toiletries, including George Washington's cologne.

What to expect: The Dream hotel caters to both business and leisure travelers. A glass elevator earmarks the center of the lobby, transporting guests to the spa level below. The spa was opened in fall, 2005.
Amenity highlights: The Chopra Center NY, the hotel's spa, opened in autumn, 2005. The center offers Ayurvedic healing arts as taught by Deepak Chopra. Ava, the top-floor lounge, features panoramic views and 1950s-style decor. Other amenities include Serafina, an Italian restaurant, and modern meeting space that can accommodate 200.

What to expect: This striking modern Embassy Suites Hotel features walls of glass with river views, a 14-story atrium, and bold colors and artwork throughout. Business travelers appreciate the proximity to the Financial District and the World Financial Center. Some 13,000 square feet of event space includes 14 meeting rooms and use of the adjacent movie theaters. Families enjoy the extra privacy of the two-room suites and proximity to the waterfront promenade and parks and the Battery Park City playground.

Amenity highlights: All suites include wireless Internet access (surcharge), two TVs, bathrobes, and minibars. The separate living room can be useful for small business meetings and entertaining.

Complimentary breakfasts include made-to-order eggs and omelets as well as French toast, waffles, a selection of breads and cereals, and breakfast meats. Valet parking, express checkout, a helpful concierge, and a gift shop are among the hotel’s services.

Insider tip: Ask for the free booklet detailing the contemporary art that sets this hotel apart. Created by New York City artists, the art includes whimsical dramatic accents such as Sol LeWitt’s Loopy Doopy, a blue-and-purple abstract mural 14 stories high, and Pat Steir’s Topsy Turvy, a major work washing the lobby walls in vibrant yellow.

What to expect: An outpost of an Irish hotel chain, Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel pays homage to the old country with a small, cozy lobby that includes a clock set to Dublin time, and Irish newspapers on sale. Prints of paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland and vintage railroad photographs (a tribute to Grand Central Terminal two blocks away) decorate the walls.

Amenity highlights: The hotel's all-day restaurant is a rustic and cozy Irish pub with heated outdoor deck in a courtyard. Irish brews are on tap, a classic Irish breakfast is served all day, and the kitchen makes its own potato chips and sends out Irish fare such as corned beef and cabbage and shepherd's pie.
Insider tip: The sidewalk outside the hotel provides a view of the 1930 Art Deco Chrysler Building one block south, with its iconic, stainless-steel top tapering to a spire.

What to expect: Owned by the Fitzpatrick family, this 1926 building is infused with European elegance and Irish flair. Waterford chandeliers and original moldings complement rich crimson and green colors and a marble fireplace imported from Ireland. Corporate and leisure travelers mingle amid the lobby’s plush red sofas, gold-striped armchairs, and dark-wood furnishings.
Amenity highlights: At Fitzer's, the hotel's inviting restaurant and pub, guests savor specialties such as the traditional Irish breakfast, a hearty meal of eggs, Irish bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, and black-and-white pudding. Specialty cocktails are served at the long adjacent bar. Wireless Internet access (surcharge) is featured throughout the hotel, and guests have complimentary access to a fitness facility two blocks away.
Insider tip: The Museum of Television and Radio, six blocks from the hotel in a building designed by architect Philip Johnson, offers exhibits about news, documentary, comedy, sports, and children’s programming.

What to expect: With a lobby that includes cowhide seating, slate floor, and sleek lounge, Flatotel establishes an easygoing ambience that attracts guests from the entertainment and fashion worlds as well as leisure travelers. Photographers sometimes use the lobby and the summertime outdoor café/bar for fashion shoots.

Amenity highlights: Moda Restaurant & Lounge serves contemporary Mediterranean/Italian meals and offers complimentary morning coffee. In summer, Moda sets up an outdoor café in a covered walkway between West 52nd and West 53rd streets. A complimentary fitness center on the top floor provides a 360-degree view of Midtown Manhattan through two-story windows.

Insider tip: The New York City Center, three blocks from the hotel, is a 1920s neo-Moorish home to theater, dance, and music. The distinctive building is crowned by a Spanish-tile dome.