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ROMANTIC getaway sans kids, a Broadway theater marathon without the commute, a Soho shopping spree, a reunion with your in-laws from Scranton, an anniversary, a divorce, root canal work - there are a million reasons to treat yourself to a weekend at a New York hotel. One even is the price.
With the recent opening of a couple of dozen new hotels and newly refurbished favorites, the options have been extended from Midtown up the East and West Sides down into Lower Manhattan - each area now a destination in itself. Some of the neighborhoods, such as Times Square and the surrounding theater district, have undergone make-overs as surprising as the hotels'.
Following is a sampling of hotels that are new or have been extensively renovated in the past few years. They represent variety in price, area and character, but all have appeal for either families or romantics - or both. A few are in the category of special treats affordable only via weekend packages, others offer good value day in and day out. Based on quick visits, all seem to have a touch of class as well as a laid-back aura that wouldn't be ruffled by a 4-year-old's galloping across the lobby playing horsie.
Most offer non-smoking rooms and assorted high-tech perks such as voice mail or VCRs, make provisions for parking, allow various numbers of kids of various ages to stay free in parents' rooms and can arrange babysitting. But ask if you have specific requirements. Packages always are subject to availability. Unless otherwise stated, rates don't include the 19.25-percent state and city sales tax and $2 daily per room New York City occupancy tax on hotel bills over $100 (5 percent less on lower rates).
UPPER EAST SIDE
Elegant stores, restaurants, galleries and townhouses are the hallmark of this area radiating from Fifth and Madison Avenues above 57th Street, with Central Park as its backyard. There's also a diversity of culture along Museum Mile, which includes the Frick, Whitney, Metropolitan, Cooper-Hewitt, International Center for Photography, Museum of the City of New York and newly re-opened Guggenheim.
The Wales. 1295 Madison Ave. (between 92nd and 93rd Streets), (800) 428-5252. One of New York's oldest ongoing hotels, the Wales has been comfortably restored...