THE PAUL NYC- Hotel New York City

The Paul Hotel is a modern boutique hotel built in 2014, with stylish decor but limited extra property features. The 22-story redbrick building houses 122 rooms, a tiny reception area, and, the main common area, a restaurant and bar. The reception area is small but nice with a gentle industrial-chic vibe. A vaguely Art Deco tiled floor pairs with lots of paneling -- beige and blue paneled walls, and metal paneled ceilings. This style extends into the bar area, which also functions as a kind of lobby lounge, with a vintage pleather tufted couch and distressed rug that sits before a neon-illuminated bar. With its convenient Flatiron location, this hotel attracts lots of tourists and some business travelers. The four-person rooms also attract families and groups of friends. 

This hotel is well-located in the Flatiron district, on 29th street between Broadway and 6th Avenue at the Eastern edge of Chelsea. There are several small wholesale shops and commercial buildings on the block, but there's plenty more in walking distance for both tourists and business travelers. Sights in walking distance include the Empire State Building (eight-minute walk), Penn Station (nine-minute walk), Madison Square Garden (11-minute walk), and even Times Square (20-minute walk). Several subway stops are nearby. The closest station is on 28th, a one-minute walk away. Via the subway, travelers can get anywhere from Battery Park to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in about 30 minutes. Grand Central Station is about a 20-minute walk or 13 minutes via subway. La Guardia airport and JFK are each about an hour away via public transit, though the hotel also offers airport transportation for an extra fee. Self- and valet-parking are available at a nearby garage, but it's got a Manhattan price tag.

Rooms are a stylish step above standard mid-range options, but no two ways about it, they're tiny, perhaps even for NYC. Entry-level rooms for two include Bunk Mods (120 square feet) and Queen Mods (150 square feet), while entry-level doubles, which sleep four, clock in at 225 square feet. Rooms are modern and clean with nice wood floors, custom textured cream and gray wallpaper, playful city-themed shades, bright photographs of NYC, and wood laminate desks with bright red chairs. Pillow-top beds have Egyptian cotton sheets. Bathrooms are modern with chic black and white tiling, square or marble sinks, and either wet-room-style or walk-in showers, all with rainfall showerheads. In Mod Rooms, the sink is in the room itself. Upgraded rooms are more spacious, though still NYC-small (200 square feet for a two-person Empire State Queen, for example), and some include private terraces.

Rooms are air-conditioned and have desks, 32-inch flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, Keurig coffeemakers, iHome alarm clocks with docking stations, free Wi-Fi and, a quirky extra -- there's a Webster dictionary in each room. Bathrooms have slippers, hairdryers, nice Pharmacopeia individual toiletries, plus in-shower dispensers. During our 2016 visit, major construction outside the hotel was a nuisance, especially for those uninitiated to NYC-level noise. To combat this, the hotel has placed earplugs in each room.

Like many central New York hotels, this one is compact with limited amenities. Paul Bar & Restaurant is the property's main feature, and it has a trendy industrial-chic vibe. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while the illuminated bar is well-stocked and includes a small, adjacent lounge area -- nice, because there's no real lounge in reception -- with some games for guests to play. Breakfast is included in the room rate; there are hot and cold options like cereal, bread, and eggs, but guests complain about the quality. A small terrace in front of the hotel allows you to eat breakfast outside, a bonus for Manhattan where outdoor spaces can be limited. Coffee and tea are available in the lobby for free all day, and room service is offered during limited hours. As of our 2016 visit, a rooftop bar was slated to open soon -- in the meantime guests could still go to the roof and enjoy great views of The Empire State Building. (Unfortunately, nearby construction will eventually block off this view.)

The hotel has a computer and printer for guest use, an ATM machine, and free Wi-Fi throughout the building. There is no gym on-site, but the hotel currently offers free passes for a gym a few blocks away (Blink Fitness Chelsea, an 11-minute walk). While staff are helpful and the front desk is open 24 hours, the reception area is small, and staff is limited, so there can be a wait. The hotel can arrange airport transportation and self- and valet-parking are available at a nearby garage, though it's pricey.