I believe this is in the only hotel in Manhattan that offers its guests the option of staying in a tatami suite (futon bed, shoji paper screens between rooms and tatami mats on the floors). Which shouldn’t be surprising as the hotel is owned by a Japanese chain. But even if you decide not to go quite that Sino during your stay, you’ll have the feeling of having left the US when you bunk here. The staff is quite formal in their manner and most are of Japanese origin. The on-site restaurant is a top-rated sushi/kaiseki joint and the lounge features live jazz, not pop (Sundays through Thursdays,). And even in the standard rooms (which are all spacious and quite elegant), the linens are edged by materials that could have been taken from a fine kimono; and the bathrooms feature Japanese-style, "interactive" toilets.

-Pauline Frommer