With the arrival last fall of the Kimpton group's first New York property, Park Avenue appears to be lightening up. How else to explain a nightly wine hour held in the hotel lobby for guests and their dogs? Every one of the 205 rooms in this Murray Hill hotel comes with a 42-inch flat-screen TV, a DVD player, and free Wi-Fi Internet access, while the decorby celebrity designer Jeffrey Bilhuberhas enough warmth to please even the technologically disinterested. The hotel's Silverleaf Tavern gets decadence just right (for carnivores only).
When to go: Rates are lower in summer, but the city is at its prime in the fall.
Which room to book: Corners on the higher floors afford views of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings