Profile

Set among a spate of cozy restaurants on a tree-lined Midtown block, the Washington Jefferson Hotel offers sleek, affordable accommodations in a quiet environment. The rooms combine modern and classic elements, mixing two-tone limestone-and-stainless steel bathrooms with mahogany desks, bedside tables and armoires. Renovated in 2002, the WJ has five categories of rooms: the Single Twin, the Standard, the Deluxe, and the Superior or Junior Suite. Deluxe or Superiors are preferable, as they are more spacious than the other options. Ultimately, room size may be inconsequential for some guests, since one of the hotel’s greatest assets is not what lies in it, but what lies around it: A stay here means easy access to a host of major Broadway theaters, restaurants and Times Square entertainment. — Sara Sargent

An adjoining hotel sushi restaurant, Shimizu.

Cons
Most of the rooms do not have a view, so if a view really matters, ask for a room facing 51st Street.