Morgans Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Gramercy and Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City

Guests at the Complimentary Breakfast

New York's "original boutique hotel" opened in 1984 by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell as a hangout for regulars of their infamous Studio 54 disco. The property spawned the Morgans Hotel Group, a "cool" brand specializing in sizzling scene hotels, including Miami's Delano and Mondrian. Schrager has since sold the company, although his presence in the New York hotel scene is still strong with the recent opening of Gramercy Park Hotel. But with dated, minimalist designs and a dead lobby, the 114-room Morgans has been far outpaced by its younger, more glamorous siblings.

Andree Putman, who designed the original hotel in 1984, also led the hotel's renovations in 2008. For the most part, she stuck to her minimalist guns, using lots of grays and beiges and mood lighting, plus a signature black-and-white checkerboard motif -- her nod to New York City taxicabs.

Morgans sits on the border between sleepy, residential Murray Hill and business-centric Midtown, close to the Empire State Building, and draws a mix of business travelers and foreign tourists. The lobby has no "scene" to speak of: The small space leads guests straight to the elevators, as if they're just heading home for the night. To the extent anyone does hang out, it's mostly in the fourth-floor "Living Room" lounge area. Here, toddlers crawl on the couches, guests repack suitcases after checkout, and business travelers conduct casual meetings.

Given how little character the place offers, it's hard to justify the room rates, especially compared to some of the fresher alternatives out there. For a cooler cool hotel in the area, the Ace Hotel offers much more character and scene, and it's just a few blocks south in Murray Hill. And the Morgans Group's own Royalton, though generally more expensive, has bigger rooms and a much more interesting lobby of similar vintage.

Great service and easy check-in

Excellent service, a hallmark of Morgans Group hotels generally, is the rule here as well -- in fact, it's probably the best thing about this place.

When I arrived at Morgans, doormen stood outside despite a torrential afternoon shower. My check-in was brief, and bell staff helped me to my room. All of my room requests, from hot water to room service to toiletries to housekeeping, arrived at my room less than five minutes after I'd placed my call.

At check-in, a guest was chatting with front-desk staff and seemed on familiar terms, and the other guests I spoke to raved about the great service.

The 24-hour concierge is impressively knowledgeable. When I asked the man (yes, man) at the concierge desk where I could get a cheap manicure, he suggested two options in the area without even blinking -- a close and reasonably priced option plus an even cheaper place one block further. The Morgans Hotel Group takes pride in this kind of service -- it's even partnered with online resource Urban Daddy to provide recommendations.

View on a Larger Map

Morgans is on the northern border of Murray Hill, on Madison and East 37th Street, but the business people who seem to dominate the hotel and its surrounding area make it feel like part of nearby Midtown East. Murray Hill is mostly residential and sleepy, but younger professionals moving into the area have started populating the bars and restaurants recently. The area generally lacks tourist attractions, but the Empire State Building is a mere four blocks from the hotel, and Murray Hill is well positioned for traveling to both uptown and downtown spots.

Madison Avenue, right outside the lobby, is an easy place to catch a cab. And Grand Central Station, one of the city's primary transportation hubs -- and also the site of several solid dining options -- is just a few blocks away.

The Standard Room

Morgans' newly renovated rooms are spotless and are a pretty average size for New York hotels, but the design is boring and the bathrooms still need work. They range from 200-square-foot "standard" rooms to the 1,500-square-foot penthouse, but 70 percent of them are 220-square-foot "superiors." All have essentially the same amenities: bathrooms, closets, minibars, and entertainment systems don't vary much from room to room.

The beds -- the Morgans Group has its own proprietary branded mattresses -- are very comfortable, with pillow-top mattress covers, down comforters, and four down pillows. The white sheets are pristine and made of Egyptian cotton. Black-and-white wool blankets (matching the designer's checkerboard motif) are folded at the foot of all beds and are for sale for $250.

The bathrooms, which are the only part of the rooms not renovated in 2008, are functional but not much more. Though they no doubt looked ultra-cool when the hotel was built, the metal basin sinks, sterile silver fixtures, and bare, white tiles now feel rather institutional. Bathrooms are available with either a tub or a shower stall. But not even the waterfall showerhead helped me shake the feeling that I was in a high school locker room. The basic toiletry sets are made by Korres for Morgans Hotel Group.

All rooms have flat-screen HDTV sets with 33 channels, including a few basic-cable options and on-demand movies. Small Sony iPod docks are provided. Wi-Fi is available for $10 per day.

All rooms have small closets containing an iron and ironing board, robes, umbrellas, a safe, and even an outlet converter -- great for the largely international clientele. They also have full-length mirrored wall units containing extra drawers for clothing.

The minibar, though small, is more half minibar and half gift shop: full-size Malin + Goetz bath products, CDs, and "intimacy kits" are for sale alongside $5 Snickers bars and $7 bottles of Coke.

Complimentary Continental Breakfast

The hotel's "Living Room" and business center may sound like an innovative lobby alternative, but the room is blandly decorated: the business center is little more than an alcove with two Mac desktops, and the "coffee and tea service" is underwhelming to say the least. When I visited late one afternoon, a couple had their suitcases sprawled out over one of the couches and were packing to leave; later they used the bathroom to freshen up before heading to the airport.

The best feature that Morgans has going for it is the free continental breakfast that includes coffee, tea, juice, pastries, bagels, and cereals -- in short, a much more extensive spread than most New York hotels provide. A full breakfast menu is also available and can be charged to rooms.

The 24-hour gym on the fourth floor features treadmills and ellipticals facing televisions as well as free weights. Guests can also retrieve one day VIP passes to trendy Equinox gym from guest services.

Solid Wi-Fi service is available throughout the hotel for $10 a day.

The standard room is a tad small for families, and some bathrooms have only stand-up showers.

On the other hand, the suites are ample and have twin-size pull-out beds, which the hotel will make up with pillow-top mattress covers. I spoke to a woman from San Francisco who was traveling with her husband and their 10-month-old, and she said their suite was ideal and that the staff provided toys, books, and even extra food for her son. She also said she normally wouldn't feel comfortable letting her son crawl around on a hotel carpet, but she'd made an exception here because everything is so clean.

Cribs are free; rollaways are $25 a day.

Asian-Cuban fusion food at Asia de Cuba

Asia de Cuba, Jeffrey Chodov's acclaimed restaurant, serves Asian-Cuban fusion food at steep prices in a fluorescent-lit, Philippe Starck-designed space. The two-story dining room is a bit over-the-top, and the food is arguably overpriced, but this is the kind of place that screams "New York" in a Sex and the City kind of way.

An excellent, and free, continental breakfast is served in Asia de Cuba each morning. The spread includes coffee, tea, juice, pastries, bagels, and cereals. A full breakfast menu is also available and can be charged to rooms.

Room service is available from the same kitchen between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., with a delivery charge of only $3.50 -- less than at many hotels -- and a 15 percent mandatory gratuity.