Hotel at a Glance: Marrakech Hotel NYC

Marrakech Hotel is a Moroccan-themed boutique hotel—think warm colors, exotic decor, and North African artwork—located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, three blocks from Central Park. It’s also near Times Square and the Theater District. There’s a subway stop directly outside the front door, linking you to other famous attractions such as Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

• Relax in style in rooms decorated in bright jewel tones and featuring satin bed throws. Some rooms have good views of the city.
• In-room entertainment: Guest rooms come with flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations, and free WiFi.
• Raise a toast at the lounge in the lobby.
• Plenty of dining options: Adjacent to the hotel’s entrance, you’ll find a Starbucks and there’s an Asian restaurant just across the street. There are some 50 other eateries within easy walking distance, too.

Manhattan’s Upper West Side: Tony Residential Neighborhood with 19th-Century Townhouses and Waterfront Parks

Set between Central Park and the Hudson River, the Upper West Side is one of the toniest neighborhoods in New York City. Classic brownstones and prewar buildings line streets that are recognizable from innumerable movies and television shows, including Seinfeld, Sex and the City, and Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters. The neighborhood is a favorite address of the rich and famous—the Ansonia building, to take just one example, has been called home by everybody from Babe Ruth to Angelina Jolie.

Carousels, bike paths, and manmade lakes fill the iconic, 843-acre Central Park, which you can access via the entrance at 72nd Street. For a quieter alternative, head west to Riverside Park, where you’ll find beautiful flower gardens and waterfront picnic spots. Nearby, you can duck indoors at the American Museum of Natural History, where you can stroll past lifelike dioramas, a full-size model of a blue whale, and a Tyrannosaurus rex made up of fossils up to 65 million years old. Another classic New York institution is just southwest of here: Lincoln Center, home to the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.