My West-Coast Deal-Maker Friend Who Needs a Killer Lobby
Four Seasons Hotel
57 E. 57th St., nr. Madison Ave.; 212-758-5700
The preferred deal-clinch location. Ask for room 2303: It’s on a corner, so it gets extra light. And it’s wheelchair-accessible, so the room is slightly bigger, but there’s no bathtub (from $695).
My College-Age, Concert-Bound Brother and His Buddies
Broadway @ Times Square Hotel
129 W. 46th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-221-2600
Chip et al. are coming to town for a show at Irving Plaza. Stash them in the Broadway @ Times Square, where rates starting at $157 a night include a basic but clean room with a phone, coffeemaker, and flat-screen TV with onDemand, plus free Wi-Fi, gym, laundry, and a complimentary continental breakfast. The toiletries are severely limited, but the boys won’t be bathing anyway.
My Best Friend, His Wife, and Their Two Kids Who Want to Be Near the Museums
The Mark Hotel
25 E. 77th St., nr. Madison Ave.; 212-744-4300
The once-stuffy aesthetic of this storied hotel has been replaced by a new, artsy type of Upper East Side style. And it’s more than a tad French, too, courtesy of designer Jacques Grange (rooms from $475).
My Midwestern Relatives Who Want to Be in Tourist Central
New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway, nr. 45th St.; 212-398-1900
Thanks to its nearly 2,000 rooms (from $284), a Times Square location, and familiar reputation, the Marriott Marquis has become a popular tourist destination, particularly for the Broadway-bound.
My 23-Year-Old Cousin and Her Best Friend Who Came to Party
Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC
18 Ninth Ave., nr. 13th St.; 212-206-6700
Within stumbling distance of the Marquee, Le Bain, and the Griffin, the hotel’s Plunge Rooftop Bar + Lounge is a major breeding ground for “Page Six” items. Rooms (from $345) are small, teched-out, and trendy. The west-facing ones on the ninth or tenth floor (rooms 11, 12, 14, and 15 are farthest from the elevators) are quietest, should the partyers need to sleep in.
My Boss’s Boss From the Main Office
St. Regis Hotel
2 E. 55th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-753-4500
The art of Fortune 500 ass-kissing is perfected here. A personal butler will remember the head honcho’s name and offer to unpack his belongings or draw him a bath. Plasma-screen TVs, Wi-Fi, and MP3 players, plus Remède amenities, the hotel’s signature bed linens, and gorgeous floral arrangements by Renny & Reed round out the cushiness (from $695).
My Parents Who Plan to Stay for a While After the Baby Is Born
59th Street Bridge Suites
351 E. 60th St., nr. First Ave.; 212-221-8300
Anyone on an extended stay will appreciate fully equipped kitchens, big closets, and ground-floor laundry facilities. There’s no room service, but the concierge is happy to coordinate in-house cleaning, laundry, and valet services for an additional charge, or help with with takeout and grocery deliveries. Studios start at $2,000 a month; request one overlooking the courtyard (it’s quieter).
My Extremely Cool Newlywed Friends
City Club Hotel
55 W. 44th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-921-5500
Hotels often rely on frilly bed linens and a single red rose when playing up “romance.” The Grand Duplex suites here are subtly seductive: A white spiral staircase leads from a cozy living room up to a king bed and a chocolate-marble bathroom with a rain shower built for two (there’s also a private terrace). With room service supplied by Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne, you can sate other hungers with the grilled branzino or dry-aged rib eye and a bottle of Domaine Tempier rosé ($200). Rooms start at $170.