I was expecting a luxurious hotel and room for the money, but that's not what I got. The room was bare and masculine. It had cheap furniture and a very firm bed. It had very thin walls, I heard eveyone in the hallway. The free breakfast is nice, but only had coffee, tea, bagels, cereal and apples. The staff was very friendly. The walk to central park was just over 20 blocks and took 30 minutes.

Morgans is located in a small, beautiful brown building in Manhattan's Grammercy Park neighborhood. Cab drivers don't seem familiar with the property, so be sure to have the street address handy. Like all of Ian Schrager's properties, the design elements are fantastic; this one has a clubby, chic feel. The large brown and white checkerboard carpet greets you in the lobby with black and tan furniture. It's a small lobby, lending to the boutique-like feel of the hotel. An extremely helpful bellman greeted us at the curb and unloaded our huge amount of luggage with a smile, telling us about the hotel, and chatting while we checked in.

We were led to a small (that's NY!) room on the 12th floor. I was suprised, though, to find all the corridors within the hotel steaming hot. We were on a family vacation, so anything goes, but if I was on my way to a business meeting or dressed up for any occasion, I would be none-too-pleased at arriving sweaty and disheveled from a 100 degree hallway. Fortunately, our room was air- conditioned.

If you are a design buff, you will really appreciate Schrager's genius for getting the most from a small space. The room had two twin beds, low to the ground, with dark, spatter-painted walls and built-in storage. There was a charming window seat, about 5x1 1/2 feet, which my 6 year old daughter immediately fell in love with and claimed as her bed. We were saved, since there was not a bit of floor space available for a rollwaway or cot or anything else. Did I mention the room was small? But the hotel staff made up the window seat nicely. All the staff here are smiling and gracious, and patient with families and small children. There is a gorgeous room called "The Living Room" on the fourth floor, open to all hotel guests, and filled with sofas, a rustic table, great art books, and complimentary coffee, tea, and apples. Cookies, too, in the afternoon!

Here, though, is the rub: as much as we enjoyed the cool setting, we can NEVER stay here again, due to the most uncomfortably hard beds my husband and I have ever experienced, in any country, anywhere. We woke to two screaming backaches. I am not exaggerating. If we were booked for more than the one night, I would have definitely had to cancel. Had I paid the $250-$325 advertised, I would have really been upset. Oh well.

When you first enter the lobby, prepare to be underwhelmed. It is tiny and unassuming, unlike the expansive lobbies featured in Mr. Schrager’s other hotels. The hotel has a meeting room, known as Morgans Living Room, which provides a more comfortable place to relax. A small conference table provides meeting space and a desktop computer is available for use (although at the time of this review, you had to dial up through AOL for Internet access). Television, a small library of books, tea and coffee are available to those seeking to unwind.

If you are looking for a hipper scene to lounge, Morgans Bar (located in the basement of the building) is your first option and Asia de Cuba (located adjacent to the lobby) is your other. Both are high on the list of hot night spots to hit anytime of the week, so you can't go wrong with either. If you're looking to dine at Asia de Cuba, however, make sure you make reservations as soon as possible.

The hotel was recently renovated in the '90s, but the stark original '80s decor still lingers on. The rooms are decorated in very soothing shades of gray, black, ivory and beige and the only decoration you’ll find anywhere on the walls is a signed print by Robert Mapplethorpe (a signature feature of the Morgans).

The standard room features a Queen size bed, a large television with cable, a small desk, plush armchair and a cozy window seat furnished with pillows. The mini-bar is stacked with a generous array of goodies, everything from dried fruit to l'Occitane brand skin care products. The room is amazingly quiet and dark at night (a feat accomplished partially with the help of white noise from the air-conditioner and a very heavy, corduroy window shade), and the bed is adequately furnished with a soft comforter and plenty of fluffy pillows.

Although the actual room itself is surprisingly spacious, the bathroom is rather tiny, even by New York standards - toilet, sink and shower (no tub) are crammed right next to one another. Points are awarded, however, for the shower, which featured ample hot water and water pressure, easing away any tensions you might acquire after a rough day.

Like everything else in the room, the bathroom amenities are kept to a minimum - you get two very cute bottles of shampoo and conditioner and two bars of soap that smell like fresh-cut tulips. A hairdryer are also available. If you feel like splurging, they do offer products like " Body Velvet" which are shrink-wrapped and just waiting to be picked up off the bathroom shelf - at $29 a pop.

Guests receive a complimentary continental breakfast which is served in the stylish dining room of Asia de Cuba. A simple offering of cereals and breakfast breads is accompanied by your choice of juice, coffee and tea. Several copies of the latest morning newspapers are available for your perusal while you nibble.

Ian Schrager once partnered with Steve Rubell to create THE trendy spot of the 1970s, Studio 54. Schrager has gone on to build an empire of trendy boutique hotels in London and major American cities such as New York. Morgans is one of those.

The room we had was indeed stylish. Small, but that's typical for New York (plus we used a Travel-On-Us deal to get the room for a real bargain compared to its regular $255 price tag). It was sleek without being slick. Nice without being snooty.

For such a small room, the designer certainly used what space was available quite efficiently. It contained a king-size bed, desk and chair, large settee, fridge, TV on a short stand with drawers, and a cabinet that opened up to reveal several more drawers, a full-length mirror, and shelf upon shelf of expensive goodies (from M&Ms to champagne, and an intimacy kit for those who don't plan that far in advance).

Marble and all-natural bedding and settee dressings gave the room a very neutral color scheme, with plenty of grays, mottled grays, creams, and some black. Sounds drab, but it wasn't at all. In fact, the natural textiles gave the neutrality a nice warmth.

The bathroom reflected the black-and-white-checker scheme that you can also find in the elevator and hallway carpet. Glass floor-length shower doors sit over what appeared to be a granite floor that extends throughout the small room. Small bottles of shampoo and conditioner sit on a glass shelf for your use, but larger ones also sit there available for purchase.

Our view was three walls and windows of other rooms in the hotel. For an overnight stay, we didn't care. At least we had a window! But the blocked view did contribute to a darkness in the room that even multiple lights couldn't quite dispel. Still, the room was not drab. The style kept the room alive.

Morgans offers guests a complimentary Continental breakfast of cereal, juice, coffee, tea, and chopped fresh fruit in Asia de Cuba, the restaurant next door.

The hotel is located within walking distance of Penn Station. Just up the street is the Pierpont Morgan Library. Great midtown location.

The bottom line: Morgans offers a small but stylish and efficient room well worth more than what we paid. I still can't believe it!

After I first moved to New York City, I spent many nights and a few dollars at Morgans Bar. The lure was celebrity sightings that often ended with my friends and I doing shots with actors like George Clooney and David Spade. An acquaintance was dating Daniel Day-Lewis [before he shocked her by running off to marry Arthur Miller's daughter] so for a time there, we had unlimited access to Morgans and we took advantage.

During that time, I was curious about the hotel upstairs, but broke. I finally had the opportunity to stay at Morgans and it was worth the wait.

I expected the worst: snobby employees, a tiny room and expensive DVD and CD rentals. Instead, I was greeted warmly at check-in, hours before the appointed time. The front desk graciously agreed to hold my luggage when I explained that I didn't have time for a full check-in since I was hurrying to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for a bridal shower. Upon my return several hours later, I was handed a key and promised that my suitcase would be sent to my room. It was, by a handsome, chatty would-be actor/model bellman, a hallmark of all Schrager Hotels.

Unlike other NYC Schrager hotels, Morgans does not view decor as an opportunity to shock. In place of the Paramount's nightclub vibe and brightly colored mismatched furniture, Morgans features a sedate lobby, elegantly furnished in taupes and greys. The neon glow of the Hudson isn't anywhere to be found at Morgans.

When I opened the door to my room, #1001, the falling-in-love process was complete. It was spacious (!) and inviting. Whereas my room at the Paramount had been dressed in stark white, top to bottom, to attempt to disguise the lack of space, my room at Morgans had nothing to hide. There was actually SPACE.

The neutral styling suited my taste. A comfortable low-to-the-ground queen size bed, covered in a soft white duvet. Two minimalist bedside stands, one holding a high tech alarm clock (which I never did figure out choosing to arrange for a wake-up call instead). An armchair, upholstered in off-white corduroy. The television was large situated near the elegant polished granite workstation.

My favorite feature of the room: a window seat with corduroy pillows, running the length of the window, with soft overhead lighting and a corduroy sunshade. The Madison Avenue view wasn't spectacular, however I still wished I had more time to sit there, writing a letter or reading a good book.

The small bathroom featured an awesome glass shower. Mini Agua soap, shampoo and conditioner were provided. One tacky touch: a shrink-wrapped package of full size Agua products with a card noting their prices ($25 and up).

Minor downsides: 1. My room had just four lighting sources which would be a problem had I spent more time there. 2. The soundproofing needs work.

Morgans is easily accessible via the 6 train (33rd and Park) or 4/5/6 at Grand Central Station.