The William Hotel Midtown, New York

Eight floors of a Beaux-Arts building on East 39th Street give The William Hotel Midtown its soundproofed rooms, a rarity this close to Fifth Avenue traffic. The address sits two blocks from Grand Central and a short walk from the Morgan Library, useful for business travellers needing rail access without Midtown's core congestion.

Rooms stay smoke-free and sealed between cleanings, with daily housekeeping optional rather than mandatory. The ground-floor bar pours wine and champagne past standard hotel hours, and contactless check-in suits late arrivals from JFK or LaGuardia.