Cassa Hotel and Residences Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Midtown West, Manhattan, New York City

Opened in August 2010, Cassa is primarily a business hotel, with small but comfortable, attractive rooms. A great location in midtown Manhattan, though, means the hotel is convenient for leisure travelers as well -- it’s close to midtown’s office buildings, but it’s also close to Times Square, Central Park, museums, and plenty of subway stops.

The lobby is modern and more trendy than not, with a curved red lacquer front desk and eye-catching art on the walls. An Apple iPad sits on the desk with the day’s weather forecast displayed. On the snowy day that we visited, guests were also using it to check flight information, and a host stood by the front door with a second iPad to assists guests as well.

Soon, the hotel will open a basement-level restaurant, BLT American Brasserie, that can be seen from a glass wall in the ground floor lobby. The lobby level will also have an outdoor courtyard, from which guests can wander down to the restaurant below. The tenth floor of the hotel features a lounge with an outdoor terrace, perfect for cocktail receptions or other small functions. While the restaurant is being built, breakfast is served there.

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Compared to the crowded sidewalks, neon lights, and commercial storefronts Midtown West is known for, the hotel's block is relatively calm. It's just two blocks from Times Square, and three blocks from Grand Central Station. Right around the corner are a few famous hotels: the Algonquin, the Iroquois, and the Mansfield.

Nearby are the Museum of Modern Art, the famous Fifth Avenue shopping district, Times Square and the Theater District, and Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. Other attractions within short walking distance include Rockefeller Center, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and Central Park.

• Within 2 blocks of 7 subway lines - the 1, 2, 3, N, R, Q and 7 at Times Square, the 4, 5, 6, 7 and S at Grand Central Station, and B, D, F, M and 7 at Bryant Park
• 5-minute walk to Times Square
• 5-minute walk to Grand Central Station
• 15-minute walk to the Empire State Building
• 15-minute walk to Central Park
• 10-minute walk to the Museum of Modern Art
• 5-minute walk to Rockefeller Center
• 15 minutes by subway to SoHo neighborhood
• 20 minutes by subway to Wall Street

The four room types range in size from 252 to 475 square feet, and they all look the same except for the size. They're modern, understated, and comfortable -- although the decor is perhaps a little simpler than you'd expect at this price point. The all-white bathrooms, however, are very sleek, with big, inviting showers, complete with rain showerheads. The rooms all get lots of sunlight, and they're very quiet -- impressive considering the hotel's proximity to Times Square.

The property also has plenty of adjoining rooms, connecting not directly from inside the rooms, but through a small shared hall with its own access card.

• iPod docking stations
• 42-inch flat-screen TVs
• Frette bathrobes
• Minibar with snacks from Dean & DeLuca
• Angelo Caroli toiletries
• Safes big enough for laptops

The hotel serves breakfast daily in the 10th-floor lounge, which features a terrace with city views. BLT American Brasserie from chef Laurent Tourondel is slated to open in Spring 2013.