The Gramercy Park Hotel currently sets the bar for New York cool -- hence the celebrities in the lounge and the paparazzi on the sidewalk. It offers ultra-luxe but small rooms done up in high Boho-chic style, a gorgeous gym, and a young, attentive staff. True, even guests sometimes feel excluded from the glamour-fest in the bar. But the place is utterly unique.

The century-old, 282-room Plaza is a New York landmark. A $400 million overhaul in 2008 gave the huge rooms gold-plated bathroom fixtures, but it also converted most rooms overlooking Central Park into privately owned residences. Still, the exceptional spa and 24-hour butler service make it worth the splurge.

It's not an icon like the Plaza or the Pierre -- but so what? The Mandarin Oriental, located across Columbus Circle from Central Park, offers a dizzying array of modern luxuries -- a 75-foot pool, one of the city's best spas, sweeping views from nearly every common area, and superb on-site fine-dining options, to name a few -- even as it upholds traditional values and outstanding service.

One of New York's most visually stunning hotels, the 899-room New York Palace has a gilded, grandiose style that is a little gaudy but still fabulous enough to blow away the boutiques. With 899 rooms, this is an excellent, modern (and less uptight) alternative to its Midtown East neighbor, the famed Waldorf-Astoria. Huge rooms, a luxe spa, and a fantastic gym make the Palace a great value among luxury hotels.

Business (and some leisure) travelers craving style and a social scene will enjoy the colorful, 688-room flagship of the W chain amidst Midtown East’s gray business hotels. Cutesy language and small, mood-lit rooms are not for everyone, but great service and a popular bar scene seem to justify the steep rates.

W Hotels' 270-room Union Square property greatly resembles other Ws in New York: comfortable beds, modern rooms, an excellent gym, and plenty of business travelers in the butterfly-decorated, techno-soundtracked lobby. The difference: this one's downtown, near the bar-filled East Village and media-mecca Flatiron.