PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

Who said Times Square hotels can't be hip? The W Hotel group, a subsidiary of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, bucked that trend by bringing a distinct downtown feel to the heart of Times Square. Take the elevator to the seventh floor to the ultra-modern, loungelike lobby to check-in, where the only way to distinguish hotel employees from guests is the tiny \"W\" pin they wear. Otherwise, everyone is dressed in the dark tones of Kenneth Cole-designed \"urban\" attire. The lobby bar always seems to be busy -- or maybe that's just the lounge music that plays continuously throughout all the hotel's public spaces. Most rooms boast magnificent views of the neon spectacle of Times Square, but all that neon means a bright room; thankfully, the shades do a good job of blocking out most of that light at night and the double-paned windows keep the rooms surprisingly quiet. Standard rooms are compact but roomy enough, with a big Plexiglas desk, mirrors everywhere (is that good or bad?), a 27-inch TV, and the Westin (sister company of Starwood) Heavenly Bed. Bathrooms in the standard rooms are small and a bit clumsy, featuring a semi-open shower stall and a huge sink that takes up what little counter space there is. Suites are similarly designed and will get you an extra bathroom and a flat-screen television. The hotel's restaurant, Blue Fin, is highly rated for seafood, and The Whiskey, run by nightclub impresario Rande Gerber, is a popular destination for drinks.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's New York City 2008, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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