1)Upper West Side: Newton Hotel

Clean and cheap, this functional, almost chain-like hotel overlooks Broadway and boasts fairly spacious rooms with all new furnishings (including beds and TVs). Business gets a mix of international visitors and plenty of academic folk from Columbia University, 30 blocks north.
All 109 rooms in this nine-story former residence are new but nothing entering the realms of swank. Each comes with huge closets (with full-mirror doors), TVs, a microwave and refrigerator, and sparkling but small bathrooms. Double-paned windows won't keep all of Broadway's sirens out. Still lifes on the wall are cheesy, and higher-priced suites have an enigmatic sitting area with a sofa facing a wall. The single lobby elevator is slower than molasses, but there's free internet while you wait. There's no restaurant or snack area, but the next door Greek diner offers room service till midnight.