Travel Inn Hotel Rating: 3.0 Pearls

Midtown West, Manhattan, New York City

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Though it's on West 42nd Street -- the same street that includes the bustling heart of Times Square (about a 10-minute walk east) -- the Travel Inn feels a bit cut-off from the restaurants, the attractions, the parks, and the people that make Midtown West an exciting place to visit. It's in Hell's Kitchen, a former slum transformed by luxury condo developments over the last decade. Near the Travel Inn, the atmosphere still seems to be in a state of transition. Expansive parking lots, warehouses, and vacant crators (where new condos will rise) blend with a handful of bank branches and the scarce nightclub. It's safe (especially given the police station across the street), but not very attractive.

• Eight- to 10-minute walk to the A, C, E subway lines; 10- to 15-minute walk from the 1, 2, 3, N, Q, R, S, W, B, D, F, and V subway lines -- farther from the subway than most other hotels in Midtown West, but there's still easy access to anywhere in New York
• 10-minute walk, plus a 15-minute subway ride to Central Park
• 10-minute walk to Times Square
• 15-minute walk, plus a 20-minute subway ride to the Empire State Building and to Rockefeller Center
• 10-minute walk, plus a 25-minute subway ride to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 10-minute walk, plus a 20-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• 10-minute walk, plus a 30-minute subway ride to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and a 15-minute subway ride to the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMA")

The Double Double Room

• Comfortably sized, but the standard Double Room only comes with one double-size bed (smaller than the norm)
• Double Double and King Rooms offer a bit more space, and the King Suite also includes a small, sitting area with a flat-screen TV
• Some rooms have a balcony or terrace -- uncommon, for any hotel in New York.
• Fridge and microwave in most rooms
• Old, tube TV in most rooms
• Desk and chair in all room types

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.