Hotel Beacon

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There's a reason it’s called the Beacon: guests staying at this apartment complex-turned-hotel find themselves in the middle of the city's most impressive cultural venues, from Lincoln Center to the American Museum of Natural History. (OK, we admit, the fact that it's next door to the historic Beacon Theater probably had some influence on the nomenclature.) The building was converted from an apartment complex into a hotel in 1989, and about 60 of the hotel's 260 rooms are still rented out as apartments, many of them to the hotel's staff. With supermarkets like Fairway across the street and Zabar’s five blocks away, guests can whip up romantic in-home meals in the fully loaded kitchenettes, complete with stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, dishes–even pots and pans. Larger suites come with full-size refrigerators, ovens and dining tables, not to mention living rooms and sofa beds. Don't feel like cooking? Try room service from Viand, a café next door. — Caroline Babson