$189 per Night in Times Square Novotel Hotel

Novotel... Sounds like a hot chocolate drink or a telecom company. But actually it's one of these snazzy low priced New York hotels which truck in guests by the busload from Europe and Japan and the rest of Asia straight off from JFK, and then cart them around New York in those ditzy red double-decker tourist bus tours.

And the Novotel is perfectly located and structured to deliver the goods to these starry eyed tourists who fall in love eith the urban magnificence of the Big Apple. The Novotel is a Times Square hotel, located in the heart of Midtown New York, right in the theater district on the corner of 52nd Street and Broadway.

The hotel offers 480 guest rooms with rates from $189, a restaurant on the 7th floor and sweeping views of Times Square and the world famous tourist attractions in New York. The decor is modern, the comfort ergonomic and the rooms spacious enough to accomodate a full family of four - 2 adults and 2 children.

Guest rooms come equipped with satellite/cable TV and pay per view movies, wi-fi internet access, in-room safe, minibar, bathtub and hairdryer. And they won't skimp on the free stuff. Massive beds, nice linen, plenty of pillows, free calls and room service and lots of other stuff.

Amenities and services include outdoor paid parking (Welcome to New York...), gift shop, fitness center, ATM and shoe shine, concierge and tourist information desk, dry cleaning and laundry facilities, and multi-lingual staff available for ost all commonly spoken languages.

The Waldorf=Astoria or the Plaza it ain't, but the Novotel is a decent, cheap and convinient hotel. Go down below this and you'll land with a thump on the doorsteps of the New York motels. And I don't think we want to give the poor naive tousists fresh into NYC a taste of the Big Bad Apple, do we?

Info: 226 West 52nd Street New York NY 10019; (212) 315-0100; website