Hampton Inn Manhattan/Times Square South

Squished between two other large hotels -- including the Candlewood Suites -- the Hampton Inn is on an otherwise drab industrial street free from the neon lights, but not the crowds, of Times Square (about five blocks away).Though once seedy, Times Square was reborn in the mid-'90s as a commercialized tourist haven, lit by 24-hour flashing billboards and theme restaurants like ESPN Zone and Bubba Gump Shrimp. Today, visitors walking the streets are more likely to be accosted by a comedy-club promoter, a rickshaw bicycle operator, or a caricature artist than a mugger. It's crowded, but there's something unquestionably exhilarating -- and convenient -- about staying in the neon-lit heart of the city. Plus, the mayor recently decided to close off much of Broadway to traffic, making it more pedestrian-friendly.- Three blocks from the A, C, E subway lines; five blocks from 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S, W subway lines -- just about every major subway line in the city

• 20-minute subway ride to Central Park
• Five blocks to Times Square
• 20-minute bus ride to the Empire State Building
• 30-minute subway ride or $14 taxi to the ferry terminal to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• 20-minute bus ride to Rockefeller Center
• 20-minute subway ride to the American Museum of Natural History
• 30-minute subway ride or $10 taxi to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the "Met") and 15-minute subway ride to the Museum of Modern Art (the "MoMA")

• Standard rooms have either one king-size bed or two double-size beds -- unlike most other New York hotels in this price range, which only have a queen bed or smaller
• Coffeemaker
• 32-inch flat-screen TV
• Fee Wi-Fi

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.