San Carlos Hotel

Profile

It’s not as chic as the nearby W nor as stately as the Waldorf, but you’ll pay the same price. Still, this four-star hotel catered to UN delegates and business travelers is perfectly modern and stocked with amenities. A $22-million renovation in 2004 brought an attractive chrome-metal and mahogany design-scheme to the lobby and 147 rooms. The basic Deluxe suites deliver with pull-out sofas, flatscreens, WiFi, full wet bars, and Aveda bath products. There’s not much of a view, unless you book one of the 18th-floor penthouse suites, which share a landscaped roof terrace. The den-like business center is conducive to messing around on AIM or, um, holding meetings (parking is available in the adjoining garage). Early-morning or late-night bites are a no-go. Room service runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and though the downstairs restaurant, Mint, serves up fun Indian-American fare in a swanky, futuristic setting, it too closes at 11 p.m. — Caroline Kinneberg

Clean, amenity-packed, and close to the U.N., the hotel has its business-client basics down right.

Cons
Standard rooms are just as expensive as the W's and the Waldorf's but lack the name recognition and world-class eateries.