Thirty Thirty Hotel

The three-star Thirty Thirty Hotel has a just-add-water feel to it: Take a prime Midtown East location, add a deluxe reception area with silvery tiles and big globular lamps and finish off with sparsely decorated, minimalist-oriented rooms. Result: A stylish, somewhat showy hotel. One almost expects to stumble across the filming of the next Sex and the City sequel.

Indeed, we love the pared-down look of Thirty Thirty’s 255 rooms. Gray textured wallpaper keeps the mood unadorned and minimalist. Headboards are neat gray modern rectangles and bedside lamps are bright and cheerful. Rooms have all the expected modern amenities, from air conditioning to cable television. All things considered, the hotel feels like a true midrange boutique number—from the aforementioned minimalism to the contemporary entertainment system.

Guests hail mostly from Europe, which produces an ideal demographic for the hotel's aesthetic. The location—just off bustling Park Avenue near Madison Square Garden—is pretty ideal as well, and rates are budget-friendly in their lower reaches.

Call us churlish, but our only real concern is the charge for Internet access and the use of the lobby-level Internet terminals. Boo to that, we say. But yay, more generally, to a swanky and on occasion quite budget-friendly hotel.