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Media and fashion folk flock to this collaboration between Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck, with a space-age lobby, curving hallways, and cool bathrooms. Celebs are the norm in the bar and restaurant.

Well-placed for visits to Carnegie Hall, shops, and theaters, the Salisbury was once an apartment-hotel and still has a quiet, low-key, ambience, with traditional American decor, good-sized accommodations, and a pleasant new breakfast room.

An indoor pool, sauna, and free continental breakfast are among the features of this 22-story hotel, a quieter sibling and neighbor of the Sheraton New York, a major convention venue. The theater district is steps away.

A thoroughly modern makeover has included custom cabinetry, creative use of light and textures, and guest rooms in pale tones. Complimentary breakfast and all-day refreshments included.

Perfectly suited to its artistic neighborhood, the hotel is housed in a landmark cast-iron building. The surroundings are dramatic and contemporary, and the Grand Bar is always hopping.

Rooms come with Louis XVI furnishings, silk wall coverings, chandeliers, and a butler tending to your every need at this Beaux Arts beauty. French restaurant Lespinasse (see Alain Ducasse at the Essex House) is attached.

Museum-goers favor this elegant, 185-room hotel, across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see Metropolitan Museum of Art), and recently upgraded by new management with old-world grace and new technology.

Business travelers appreciate the prime location, fitness center, spa, meeting facilities, and well-equipped business center of this recently refurbished 495-room hotel. Rooms have high-speed internet access, voice mail, call waiting and fax machines.

Discretely elegant, this member of the prestigious Mandarin group is a contemporary sanctuary. It draws an international clientele who appreciate the Biedemeier furnishings, antique prints, luxury linens, and conveniences such as cordless phones.

A new Theater District boutique, the Muse inspires with a smart lobby decorated with Matisse-like murals and good-size rooms painted in pale colors with bright bedcovers. Offers personalized business cards for guests.