You gotta love a place that pays homage to the Dewey Decimal System. Here at the Library (it’s located one block from the New York Public Library), each room is named for a different category of literature from art to children’s literature to erotic tomes (and if you pick the Erotic Books room, you’ll get a healthy dose of Anais Nin on your shelves). That being said, the rooms décor doesn’t vary (it’s done in distinguished woods, with marble countertops, and high thread-count bedding), though room size does. Petite rooms are just 200 square feet with full size beds, the deluxe are 250 sf, and the junior suites are 350 sf. But even if you choose a tiny room, you’ll have more than enough places to spread out thanks to The Library’s public spaces, which include a reading room where weekday wine and cheese and a complimentary daily breakfast are served (snacks are out and free there 24 hours), a writer’s den with a fireplace and flatscreen TV, and a rooftop terrace with bar. All in all a very civilized base in Gotham.
-Pauline Frommer