Gershwin Hotel Rating: 2.0 Pearls

Flatiron, Manhattan, New York City

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The Gershwin Hotel has an outrageously decorated outer facade, and sits on a block next to the Museum of Sex, as well as plenty of ethnic restaurants on the boarder of several neighborhoods -- Murray Hill, Kips Bay, and the Flatiron District. It's outside the more well-known tourist neighborhoods, like Times Square or Midtown East, but it's still a charming part of the city with a lot of offer. Madison Square Park, the Empire State Building, and the Fashion Institute of Technology are all within walking distance, as are many shops and bars.

• Two to three blocks from R, W and the 6 subway lines; five blocks from the F, V subway lines
• 20-minute subway ride to Central Park
• 15-minute subway ride to Times Square
• 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 bus ride to Rockefeller Center
• 25-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• 30-minute bus ride to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and 20-minute bus ride to the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMa")

A Superior Double room

• Essential Rooms have one double bed; Le Standard Rooms are larger and have one queen-sized bed -- but both run small, even by New York standards.
• Super-cheap Fabuloso Rooms have a set of bunk beds; Superior Rooms are a bit larger and have two double beds -- a cheap way to sleep two to four friends, but again, these rooms are pretty cramped.
• Suites have separate living areas with a couch, desk, flat-screen TV, mini-fridge, and microwave.
• Family + Friends Rooms have two separate sleeping areas, one with a queen-size bed and one with two double beds, plus a flat-screen television, mini-fridge, and microwave.
• Strandard rooms have box TVs; suites have flat-screens
• Smoking rooms available on one floor.
• Wi-Fi costs $10 per 24 hours.

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.