Hotel Review: HGU, New York

In the former Garment District, this is a great location for Midtown and Downtown. Transport options abound, with Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal under a ten-minute walk and numerous subway stations with a range of lines too. It's near top sights such as the Empire State Building, the shops of Fifth Avenue, the Flatiron District, Madison Square Park, Madison Square Garden and the Chrysler Building. Head to Koreatown for fab eateries.

By plane: flights from London, Manchester or Edinburgh to New York take 7 hours. A taxi will take 30 minutes from JFK airport. Parking costs $60 per day. Book flights to New York.

Built in 1905, the hotel has successfully combined the character and period details of a landmark Beaux-Art building with snazzy modern touches and splashes of colour such as bold red rugs and brushed gold lamps. Live music nights and open mic sets add to the buzzing atmosphere - and attract the locals too.

Like many central New York hotels, there's not a huge array of facilities. For example there is no on-site gym or spa, but guests can obtain complimentary passes at nearby wellness facilities. There's a good restaurant, lounge bar and rooftop bar. There are regular live music nights and other events.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Terrace
• Free Wi-Fi

The 89 rooms and suites are generally on the small side, even by New York standards. They lack coffee-makers and kettles but are decked out in soothing earthy tones and are technologically pretty up to date, with HDTVs, iPads and radios with USB ports.

Room types: Queen/King, Queen/King Deluxe, Suite

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with toiletries, bathrobes, hairdryer, pillow menu, TV, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi

The restaurant serves an interesting, less obvious selection of Italian dishes and there's food served in the lounge bar too. The in-room mini-bar has a good selection of posh snacks and upmarket small-batch spirits.

American Bistro: bistro restaurant, bar and lounge. Open for breakfast, dinner and drinks.

Noa: lobby café, serving coffee and light bites. Open daily, 7am-5pm.

Noa Rooftop: terrace bar, comfy seats. Open seasonally and weather permitting.