Ameritania Hotel Rating: 2.5 Pearls

Midtown West, Manhattan, New York City

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Located on the corner of West 54th Street and Broadway, the Ameritania Hotel is outside the flashing lights of Times Square, but right around the corner from the Broadway Theatre and the Late Show with David Letterman studio. Business travelers may thank their lucky stars for the 24-hour Kinko's directly across the street.

Beyond the dazzling marquees of Times Square, Midtown West still offers plenty of other kinds of thrills, from hip restaurants and gay bars in Hell's Kitchen on its west side to tourist must-sees like Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and 5th Avenue department stores on its east. At the northern boundary, marking the start of Central Park, there's Columbus Circle -- home to the luxe Time Warner Center and its acclaimed five-star restaurants.

• Two blocks from B, D, E subway lines
• Four blocks from Q, R, W subway lines
• Five blocks from Central Park
• Five blocks from Times Square
• 20-minute subway ride to the Empire State Building
• 30-minute subway ride to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 10-minute walk to Rockefeller Center
• 20-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• Two blocks from the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMa") and a 30-minute walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met")

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.

• Standard room starts at 120 square feet; much smaller than the norm (the average hotel room in New York is about 200 square feet)
• Deluxe rooms offer 180 to 200 square feet; still cramped, but at least on par with most other hotel rooms in New York at this price range
• Comfortable beds: down comforters; Belgian linens
• Small tube TVs
• In-room Wi-Fi is $14 per day.