Dream Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Midtown West, Manhattan, New York City

Enormous statue in the lobby

I asked a manager to describe Dream's mission and vibe. She sort of shrugged her shoulders and looked around the lobby, which features a two-story fish tank, an enormous statue, and a model ship hanging over the front desk. "It's definitely pretty whimsical," she finally said.

The Dream’s stunning beaux arts building dates to 1895, and it definitely stands out amid Midtown’s office towers. On each floor the elevator opens to an illuminated mural (mine had a somewhat creepy seagull montage), and the hallway carpet creates the optical illusion of an elevated curvature. Beds and desks are backlit with blue lights, and beds are covered in plush (but hypoallergenic!) feather beds.

With both the Hearst Magazine building and Universal Music Group across the street, Dream attracts a lot of fashion and entertainment types. Management brags that Kanye West, Madonna and Beyoncé have all stayed there, though the hotel gets a healthy mix of non-celebrity leisure and business travelers.

View on a Larger Map

The immediate area around the hotel is mainly tall office buildings, though there are also plenty of restaurants, drug stores, ATMs and other convenient amenities. The hotel is also three blocks from some of the best high-end shopping along Madison and Fifth Avenues.

• 5-minute walk to Central Park
• 5-minute walk to Columbus Circle
• 7-minute walk to the Museum of Modern Art
• 11-minute subway ride to Penn Station
• 9-minute walk to Times Square
• 2-minute walk to Carnegie Hall
• 7-minute subway ride or 12-minute walk to Rockefeller Center
• 12-minute subway ride or 11-minute walk to Lincoln Center
• 8-minute subway ride to the Museum of Natural History
• 11-minute subway ride the Empire State Building
• 23-minute subway ride to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 21-minute subway ride to the Guggenheim Museum

New York City 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 (one-hour) $45 flat-rate taxi ride to anywhere in Manhattan. From LaGuardia, it's about a (30-minute) $40 metered cab ride to Midtown Manhattan. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 (plus tolls) and can take more than 90 minutes. Don't forget to tip your driver 15 to 25 percent.

To save some cash, try the group shuttles that 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 can take up to two hours and involves a lot of lugging bags up and down stairs. For mass-transit directions right to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.

The Medium Room

"Medium-size" (that’s Dream lingo), 185-square-foot room actually felt more on the small side. It had a single window in the middle of the wall, and the narrow, 19.5-inch closet and equally narrow bathroom door each felt half-size. I could only fit my small suitcase in the closet and had very little room for anything else. Maybe it's a good thing, then, that the soft, fluffy bathrobe that should have been there was missing. (When I asked for one, it was at my door in 10 minutes.)

• Desks glow a strange blue, with another blue light outlining the bed from behind
• Queen bed is one the city's most comfortable, with a soft duvet, pillow-top feather bed, and plush hypoallergenic pillows
• 37- or 42-inch Panasonic flat-screen TV
• Extra drawers in the modern cupboard that houses the mini-bar
• Pre-loaded iPod or CD player upon request
• Bathrooms are quite small, though bright enough with a white and periwinkle blue color scheme
• L’Occitane

Free access to Gold's Gym across the street

• 24-hour fitness center, and free access to the (bigger) Gold's Gym across the street
• 24-hour concierge
• Wi-Fi (charge)

Kids might enjoy Dream's funky décor and design elements, but I found the overall vibe to be on the adult side, particularly given the small rooms and the plethora of pictures of naked women. Like most New York boutiques, the hotel definitely doesn't go out of its way to cater to children.

• Serafina serves Italian for lunch and dinner
• AVA Lounge is a rooftop bar
• The Bar is open every evening
• Rm.Fity5 also serves drinks and small bites
• Room service is available