Affinia Manhattan Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Midtown West, Manhattan, New York City

On the bustling corner of 34th St. and 7th Avenue.

The 526-room, 28-floor Affinia Manhattan has the same comfortable beds (down duvets and 300-thread-count sheets), Aveda bath products, and knowledgeable concierges as the other Affinia hotels in the city to make it yet another attractive choice for leisure and business travelers. Plus, Affinia, as a brand, offers more than some of the other big chains, like the Marriott, Starwood, or Hilton hotels with its "My Affinia" program. As part of the perks, you can order up some free contact lens solution, a specialty pillow off the "Dream Pillow Menu," and even an in-room fitness kit that includes a yoga mat, a few workout DVDs, and some ankle weights.

Aside from its classic architecture (the building dates back to 1929), the Affinia Manhattan's big differentiator -- and primary selling point -- is that most if its rooms (all but the tiny, 175-square-foot, base-level guest rooms) are large studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments that include a full kitchen with a four-burner gas range, oven, and a full set of utensils. And all rooms were part of a recent $24 million dollar renovation, so they look posher with modern amenities like flat-screen TVs. Once you add in its excellent fitness center and fashionable on-site bar and restaurant, Niles New York City, the Affinia Manhattan has a considerable advantage over similarly priced hotels in the neighborhood, like the Radisson Martinique.

View on a Larger Map

Located across from Penn Station (a major transportation hub), the Affinia Manhattan has a convenient location for getting around the city. But given the area's high traffic, abundance of fast food restaurants, and scarce activity after dark, this is the kind of dull area most New Yorkers avoid (unless they are working). It's nowhere near as beautiful as somewhere closer to Central Park, like near the Hotel Beacon in the Upper West Side (which also has a full kitchen in every room) or as fun as somewhere downtown, like the Washington Square Hotel in Greenwich Village. And if you're after the flashing lights of Times Square or the Theater District, you can still afford it at this price range -- look to the Hilton Garden Inn or Flatotel (but you'll have to give up the gym).

• Across from Penn Station, the Greyhound bus depot, subway lines, and the New Jersey PATH trains (very convenient if you're flying into Newark)
• Eight blocks south of the center of Times Square
• 10-minute walk to the Javits Convention Center
• Five-minute walk to Macy's flagship department store
• 15-minute subway ride to Central Park
• 10-minute walk to the Empire State Building
• 30-minute subway ride to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 20-minute walk, plus a subway ride to Rockefeller Center
• 20-minute subway ride from the American Museum of Natural History
• 30-minute walk and subway ride to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and 20-minutes from the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMa")

New York has three nearby airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark (in New Jersey). Flying into JFK or LaGuardia is typically easiest and the least time consuming. From JFK, it's a flat-rate $45 (one-hour) taxi to anywhere in Manhattan. From LaGuardia, it's about a $40 (30-minute) metered cab ride to midtown Manhattan. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 (plus tolls) and can take over 90 minutes. Don't forget to tip your driver 15 to 25 percent.

To save some cash, group shuttles are available at all three airports for about $14 per person. For more information on the shuttles, go to Super Shuttle or New York Airport Service. You can also take public transit from any of the airports for as little as $7 per person, but travel times can take up to two hours and involve a lot of lugging bags up and down stairs. For mass-transit directions right to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.