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Most elevators offer little in the way of views—it’s usually a choice between the floor below or the numbers overhead. But at Le Parker Meridien, guests have an additional option: The TV. Each of the hotel elevators features 13-inch screens looping classics like Tom & Jerry, Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges and Charlie Chaplin films. (Just be sure to get off at your floor, sooner or later.) The 731 guest rooms also boast surprising extras, including ergonomic Aeron chairs, six-foot workstations and an eight-foot TV cabinet that swivels for optimal viewing from any angle. Suites are equipped with roll-away luggage compartments to hide bags, self-controlled digital thermostats and windows that actually open, so guests can take in as much—or as little—city air as desired. If all that streamlined efficiency makes you lethargic, pop into Gravity, often ranked as one of city's best hotel fitness centers, for a spa service or dip in the rooftop pool. Don’t miss breakfast at Norma's—a favorite of both locals and tourists for its creative morning meals—or the hotel's hidden spot, Burger Joint, for affordable burgers and shakes. — Nick Divito

As their slogan aptly states: "Uptown. Not Uptight."

Cons
Be sure to get a remodeled room. The others look and feel a bit 1980s.