A last look at the old sign.

Anyone who has seen the movie Taxi Driver knows that Times Square wasn’t always a desirable location for a hotel. But that was a long time ago. Now even hotels that aren’t all that close to Times Square are adding the spot-where-the-New-Year’s-Eve-ball-drops to their name.

The latest Times Square pretender is the Sheraton New York Hotel, which today augmented its name to become the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel – even though the hotel is ten blocks north of the Times Square’s throbbing heart, where Broadway, Seventh Avenue and 42^nd Street meet.

At least you can see Times Square from the Sheraton.  The same cannot be said for the TRYP New York Times Square South, which is a lot closer to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station than Times Square. (more…)

The Royalton iPad.

What’s the next hotel room amenity destined for the slag heap littered with CD players and tube TVs? Our guess: the in-room phone with its push-button call list for the concierge, room service and housekeeping.

At least, that’s how we felt after road testing the Royalton’s iPad, a slender, black-leather-framed amenity that sits on the desk in every room at the hotel, fully loaded and ready to multi-task. (more…)

Like a glass of ice water on a sweltering day – or a hot fudge sundae any day – a hotel restroom can be a welcome sight. And if said restroom is super-clean, easy to find and flaunts some style, so much the better.  We found five hotel restrooms in Times Square that fit the bill as well as two honorable mentions. Keep these in mind when you’re in the area; you’ll thank us. (more…)