The lobby décor at the 300-room Hampton Inn Times Square is surprisingly contemporary for a midrange chain hotel.

The sleek, uber-modern Yotel offers a highly unique "affordable luxury" option in Hell's Kitchen.

Stylish, cozy boutique hotels do exist in bustling, chain-hotel-dominated Midtown. The three-star Hotel 414 is one of them—and it's affordable, to boot.

The Hotel East Houston, located as one might expect on very busy Houston Street, is a smart boutique hotel.

The upscale neighborhood of Tribeca is known for pricey everything (including hotels), but the three-star Cosmopolitan Hotel offers a solid value for the area.

The 79-room Broadway @ Times Square Hotel eschews the bright lights and and blaring marquees of nearby Times Square in favor of more traditional décor.

The only US branch of the French Novotel chain is perched above Times Square in the middle of Midtown Manhattan, offering friendly service, spacious rooms and stellar views.

The Hotel @ Times Square pairs two things Cheapos cherish: a prime location and reasonable rates.

The Ameritania, a three-star hotel ideally located at 54th and Broadway, offers reasonably priced rooms with a boutique style.

From the outside, the Skyline Hotel bears resemblance to a highway-side motor lodge. Inside, the atmosphere is unmistakably that of a big city hotel.

Located at the north end of Times Square, the three-star Night Hotel offers 210 small but stylish rooms in the thick of the action.

The Wellington Hotel is something of an aging beauty, but it's clean, comfortable and an excellent value for this chichi and coveted location just south of Central Park.

Since 1931, the Edison Hotel has offered rooms next to Times Square with a "deco" touch.

Thirty Thirty's 257 rooms have a just-add-water feel to them: 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.