A trip to New York City is a never-ending choose-your-own adventure opportunity. Everything from your ride into Manhattan to your choice between street cart or world-famous restaurant is a a chance to enjoy a uniquely Big Apple experience. Your hotel is the backdrop that sets the tone for your New York story. Should you begin your tale in a chic boutique or at a respected chain?

Be a Native New Yorker at New Boutiques

If my inbox is any indication, developers are snapping up abandoned retail and office spaces and converting them into guestrooms faster than you can say “late checkout, please.” New hotels with amenities as hip as their names (you can borrow a skateboard from The Nolitan) appeal to a wannabe-urban clientele and provide a chance to live like a New Yorker for a weekend without any risk or roommate hunting.

The decor tends to be contemporary to the extreme, as much a design decision as an attempt to disguise the painfully small size of a typical room; tiny rooms seem to add authenticity to the New Yorker experience. Instead of offering state-of-the-art fitness centers, boutiques like The Library in Midtown provide guests with complimentary day passes to nearby private fitness clubs where tourists can break a sweat next to real live Manhattanites.  You won’t find a boutique hotel within 2 blocks of Central Park, but you can find properties like Hotel Giraffe boasting easy access to Chelsea. If your must-do list for your next NYC vacation includes deli bagels for breakfast and an afternoon of people watching in Union Square, check into a Manhattan boutique hotel to set the scene.

Stay as a Welcomed Guest with Familiar Names

Do your big city fantasies involve a show on Broadway and a carriage ride through Central Park? Are you more interested in Barney’s than bagels? New York City welcomes more than 40 million tourists each year, and there’s no shame in happily being one of them. Be pampered like a guest at hotel chains that long ago secured the best locations in town.

The Ritz-Carlton Central Park sits directly across the street from Central Park and a few short blocks from the most popular Midtown tourist attractions. You can’t rent a skateboard here, but you will have room to spread out in large guest rooms and views worthy of a postcard mailed home. While you certainly can grab a bagel from a deli around the corner, you can also indulge in a gourmet snack in the Club Lounge at any time of day. No one here is new to the game, so expect expert touches like a crystal ring holder beside the bathroom sink. Similarly, The Hilton New York won’t get you into the NY Sports Club, but you can host a meeting onsite; you can also hit the in-house fitness center without traveling farther than the fifth floor.

When you visit a boutique hotel in New York City, you get the feeling that you’re staying with a friend who’s showing off their new Manhattan apartment. If you’re lucky, you can imagine yourself moving in with that friend after a night or two. The big chain hotels don’t have the hip edge or the competitive pricing of the new kids on the island. Instead, they offer a sense of security that comes from staying with the people who set the standards for New York luxury in the first place.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with great hotel packages

Hotels all over the country are trying to woo couples into their guest rooms for the upcoming Valentine’s Day weekend.  But don’t expect deep discounts over Cupid’s holiday, especially at the hotels you really want to stay at for a special occasion.  You’ll still spend a pretty penny to spend the night at a nice hotel, but you and your sweetheart can get a lot more for your money if you take advantage of special Valentine’s Day amenities packages.

Instead of dropping prices, hotels are continuing with the “wow them with amenities” trend.  Some upscale properties aren’t expecting you to spend the night at all and instead offer guests a chance to experience the amenities without even checking in.

Here are some of our favorite Valentine’s Day hotel packages from around the country.

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Boutique hotels are not usually what I look for when searching for a place to stay in Las Vegas. I had the opportunity to change my opinion of staying off the strip and in a small, boutique hotel when I was there for a friend’s wedding. The wedding took place at Rumor Vegas, an off-the-strip, all-suite hotel with 150 newly-renovated rooms. Rumor Hotel opened in mid-2010 after completely renovating from the old St. Tropez Hotel directly across the street from the main casino entrance of the Hard Rock Hotel.

Rumor Vegas Outdoor Seating

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The new boutique Rumor just opened in Las Vegas, and rumor is that Rumor has bucketloads of the ’it’ factor. For starters, there’s the hot location on Harmon Avenue across from the Hard Rock, on the site of the old St. Tropez Hotel.

Rumor Las Vegas

Rumor is part of The Seigel Group’s boutique collection of hotels in Las Vegas that includes The Artisan, The Resort on Mount Charleston and Oasis at the Gold Spike.

The Seigel Group bought the property for $10.5 million in 2009, and has spent around $4 million on the makeover.

Stephen Seigel, the group’s CEO, says that the Rumor look and feel is meant to be “Sexy yet unpretentious, glamorous and accessible, eclectic with a relaxing and inviting ambiance.”

The 150 suites spread over two floors are plush and grand with a dark purple palette. The ornate design and the heavy curtains cater to Sin City’s extravagance, not to mention the in-room soaking tub.

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