Stay Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Times Square, Manhattan, New York City

Book now by phone with Hotels.com – Call 1-800-246-8357

Quirky design in the eye-catching lobby

An unremarkable exterior with minimal signage gives way to an eye-catching lobby that does everything it can to stand out. An enormous tropical fish tank, octopus-inspired chandeliers, works of modern art, and a spray of pink, blue, and orange lighting scream "We're unique!" The adjacent Aspen Social Club, which looks like an interplanetary ski lodge, does little to dampen the effect.

All that technicolor flash fits with the vision of Vikram Chatwal, the hotshot, celebrity-dating hotelier behind Stay, and other out-there New York properties -- Time, Dream, and Night. And it works, for the most part. I overheard several guests saying "This is a nice hotel!" immediately after checking in. The crowd sits in the space-age white chairs, conversing or working on laptops, and Aspen caters to a decent-size crowd of young professionals who work in the area. But, like Chatwal's other properties, it's not an outlandish clientele: international couples on sightseeing missions, small family units, and the occasional business traveler.

But while the lobby dazzles, the dark, tiny standard rooms do not. They are serviceable, but there's hardly room for more than the bed, and the bathrooms are especially cramped. Nighttime noise from the air-conditioning unit doesn't help matters. For deep sleepers, this is a reasonably clean, affordable hotel with adequate amenities like a business center with free printing and free passes to a great gym (a five-minute walk away), and discounts at a renowned spa -- all things you can also find at the nearby Time hotel.

Standing squarely in the middle ground for hotels of its caliber, Stay offers a solid range of services. However, the staff hit several minor snags when fulfilling some basic requests. As was the case when fellow Oyster reporter Michael W. stayed at Time (Stay's sister hotel), room service presented an issue. The breakfast order arrived quickly, but without silverware ; when this was rectified, the utensils were plastic. Similarly, a request to housekeeping for extra washcloths was never fulfilled.

• Concierge (available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Free daily delivery of the New York Times or the Times of London
• Overnight dry cleaning; same-day laundry
• Overnight shoe shine
• Evening turndown service
• Room service runs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and there's a 20-percent service charge plus a $5 delivery charge for each request.

View on a Larger Map

Stay is at the heart of the Theater District on the northern end of Times Square, where neon marquees consume every visible lot, high into the sky. Food, souvenir shops, and sightseeing options are endless, and the sheer volume of bike and foot traffic can cause a bit of sensory overload.

Sweetening the deal, in May 2009 the city closed Broadway off to traffic, between 42nd and 47th Streets, making the streets near Stay the most pedestrian-friendly streets anywhere in the city.

• Surrounded by theaters hosting Broadway shows; a TKTS discount ticket booth is right across the street, where you can procure same-day theater tickets for up to 50-percent off
• 12 subway lines (virtually every major subway line in the city) are less than a five-minute walk away at the Port Authority and Times Square subway stations
• More authentic (and less tourist-oriented) restaurants only two long blocks west in Hell's Kitchen, a slum turned upscale neighborhood
• 15-minute walk to Central Park
• 10-minute walk to the Museum of Modern Art
• 10 to 15 minute walk to Radio City Music Hall
• 10-minute walk from Rockefeller Center

Very small, dark Standard Room

Unremarkable, but for their cramped quarters and lack of light, the standard rooms at Stay don't project the same level of personality you see in the lobby. For slightly larger room, consider nearby fellow Chatwal hotel, Time.

• Standard rooms start at 170 square feet (that's small, even by New York standards); just enough room for a full-size bed, a cramped bathroom and a closet.
• You can upgrade to a larger room with a queen, king, or two full beds, but the beds take up all of the additional space.
• Unremarkable beds: Simmons Innerspring Beautyrest mattresses; 200-thread-count Pyramid linens (though Stay's website claims "300+count" sheets)
• In-room minibar; but don't store your own beverages in the fridge as it has a sensor that, if jostled, may automatically cost you $50 for a "restocking fee"
• 37-inch Panasonic plasma-screen TV
• Skype- and BlueTooth-enabled smart cordless phone
• Bose Radio II bedside receiver (not the "Sound Systems with iPod cradle" claimed on the website)
• In-room Wi-Fi; $10 for 24 hours
• Small bathroom: adequate shower pressure; bath products are one-ounce ketchup packets of Gilchrist & Soames' BeeKind line, not the luxe l'Occitane amenities advertised
• Noisy air-conditioning unit -- it woke me up in the middle of the night, and according other guests, this is a recurring problem.

Located in the heart of Times Square

The on-site amenities are so-so -- nothing special -- but guests can get free passes to some very well-equipped gyms and discounts at a world-famous spa if they're willing to put in a couple minutes' walk.

• No on-site fitness center, but guests get free passes to the full-scale gym at the New York Sports Club (two locations within a five-minute walk)
• Free Internet access and printing at the business center
• 50-percent discount on any service at the renowned Chopra Center & Spa at the Dream hotel (Stay's sister) 10 minutes away by foot

Families with teenagers may appreciate the lobby's wild artwork, and all-ages tourist attractions abound in Times Square, but beyond that, not much recommends this place to families.

• Standard rooms are too small to sleep a family, but larger rooms with two full-size beds are available.
• Babysitting services can be arranged through the concierge, which is the case at just about every New York hotel.

The rooms and public spaces are both well maintained.

Funky, hip decor at the Aspen Social Club lounge

Popular among locals, Aspen Social Club looks like a postmodern ski lodge and serves modern twists on Western cuisine. Waitresses dressed in short brown cowgirl dresses and high black leather boots serve cocktails named after movies and books, like the Fleurs du Mal, the Blood and Sand, and The Big Sleep. Dinner entrees range from trout tacos with cabbage slaw and lime crema for $9 to Colorado lamb "Lollipops" for $16. Breakfast room service, also from Aspen, is fairly tasty, but it comes wrapped in plastic sheets.

• Aspen Social Club lounge has a fun evening crowd, and serves nouveau American cuisine and specialty cocktails.
• Next door, Langan's serves pub fare and has $30 three-course, pre-theater prix fixe dinners.
• Restaurant Row, a five- to 10-minute walk away at 46th Street and 8th Avenue, has 16 high-quality restaurants ranging from Brazilian to Thai to Italian.