Wall Street Inn Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City

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Banking behemoth Goldman Sachs sits on the same block as the Wall Street Inn, while the New York Stock Exchange is on Wall Street, just two blocks away. But big business is not the only attraction around: Restaurants and bars line Pearl Street to the south, and Smorgas Chef Restaurant -- the hotel's room service provider -- is two doors down.

In the skyscraper-packed southern tip of Manhattan, Wall Street traders weave between tourists along narrow, historic streets. Home to City Hall, the New York Stock Exchange, the cobblestone streets of South Street Seaport, Ground Zero, the Brooklyn Bridge, and ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Lower Manhattan is a prime tourist destination.

But the area generally shuts down after the Wall Street market closes, and there's scarce activity on the weekends. Shopping is of the bargain-hunting variety -- though the locally loved Century 21 comes with incredible designer deals -- and there are considerably fewer restaurants and bars than in most of Manhattan. Still, there are ample subway lines that will take you anywhere in the city, and the swank arts and nightlife scenes in SoHo and the Lower East Side are only a $5 to $10 cab ride away.

• Two blocks from the 2 and 3 subway lines; three blocks from the J, M, Z, 4, and 5 lines; 4 blocks from the R and W lines -- easy access to all of Manhattan's neighborhoods
• 20-minute subway ride to Central Park
• 20-minute subway ride to Times Square
• 20-minute subway ride to the Empire State Building and 25-minute ride to Rockefeller Center
• 10-minute walk to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 35-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• 35-minute subway ride to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and a 30-minute subway ride to the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMA")

• Standard Superior rooms start at 175-square-feet, a bit smaller than average for a New York City hotel room (and the consiquence of staying in a beautiful old building)
• Deluxe rooms start at 220 to 240 square feet and offer Jacuzzi bathtubs
• 32-inch flat-screen TVs
• Free Wi-Fi
• Mini-frige; but no minibar and no coffeemaker
• Comfortable desk

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.