San Carlos Hotel New York

An all-suite property on East 50th Street between Lexington and Third, San Carlos Hotel occupies a prewar Midtown building two blocks from St. Patrick's Cathedral and a six-minute walk to Grand Central's Metro-North and subway lines.

Suites keep kitchenettes rather than mini-bars, a holdover from the building's residential-hotel past, useful for longer stays or families self-catering breakfast. The rooftop terrace overlooks the Sutton Place low-rises rather than the Midtown towers a few blocks west.

The address suits business travelers needing Grand Central access without Times Square congestion, and those preferring a quieter Midtown East pocket over the avenues.