Eastgate Tower Rating: 2.5 Pearls

Gramercy and Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City

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The Eastgate Tower sits next to an outdoor public plaza with tables, flower boxes, and trees -- a nice feature in an area otherwise packed with buildings. Grand Central Terminal, Bryant Park, and the Morgan Library Museum are all within walking distance, as are many shops and restaurants of every ethnicity, not to mention a plethora of sports bars.

Primarily residential, the neighborhoods of Gramercy and Murray Hill don't have the tourist crowds of Times Square or Midtown East (just a few blocks north of the Eastgate Tower). For most visitors, the main draw is that it's a quiet, convenient place to stay, just outside the theaters, funky shops, and restaurants of the East Village (to the south) and the business-focused hub and high-end 5th Avenue shopping of Midtown East (to the north).

• Five to six blocks from the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S subway lines
• 20-minute subway ride to Central Park
• 15-minute subway ride to Times Square
• 10-minute walk to the Empire State Building
• 25-minute subway ride to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 20-minute bus ride to Rockefeller Center
• 30-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• 30-minute subway ride to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and 20-minute bus ride to the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMa")

The One Bedroom

• Full kitchen in every room: four-burner gas range and oven; microwave; mini-fridge; coffeemaker; toaster; full utensils and cookware
• Old, 19-inch box television
• Smoking rooms available
• Wi-Fi costs $13.95 per day (or $44 for five to seven days).
• Studio Suites are around 400 square feet with kitchenettes.
• Junior Suites are closer to 600 square feet and have a separate kitchen area.
• One-Bedroom Suites are around 650 square feet, and feature a separate kitchen and a private bedroom.
• Two-Bedroom Suites are between 700 and 900 square feet, and can accommodate up to six people.

New York has three nearby airports: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark (in New Jersey). Getting to town from JFK or LaGuardia is usually more convenient than getting there from Newark, but travel times are heavily dependent on the time of day and traffic conditions. From JFK, a taxi to anywhere in Manhattan costs a flat rate of $45 and takes around an hour in average conditions. From LaGuardia, a metered cab ride to midtown Manhattan costs about $40 and can take 30 minutes if traffic is light, three times that if it's bad. Rides from Newark cost at least $40 (plus tolls) and can take more than 90 minutes. It's customary to tip your driver 15 to 25 percent.

Those looking to save some cash can use the privately run shuttle buses 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. Public transit is also available for as little as $7 per person, but travel can take up to two hours and involve a lot of lugging bags up and down stairways.

For mass-transit directions right to the hotel, check out HopStop.com.