Room check: The Marlton, New York City

Zoe Walker checks into a 'Baby Grand' hotel in The Big Apple.

Check-in experience? Very discrete and polite - a small front desk sits behind a glass Art Deco screen in the wood-panelled lobby.

Room? A Queen Deluxe on the eighth floor. The rooms are very small (from 10-15sq m) but charming; the boutique hotel has been marketed as a "Baby Grand" hotel.

Price? Rooms start at US$250 ($289) a night.

Who owns it? New Zealand-born Sean MacPherson, one of the hottest hoteliers in New York also behind The Jane, The Waverly Inn and Garden (co-owned with Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter) and The Ludlow.

What's so good about this place? It's gorgeous, with an elegant fit-out throughout. It's been New York's summer hot spot, with the New York Times' "Styles" section describing it as the "new fashion clubhouse".

And the bad? The room size may be an issue for some, but in New York you shouldn't be spending much time in your hotel room.

What's in the neighbourhood? Right by Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village and Soho are an easy walk away. On the same street are Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a Lomography Gallery Store and Analogue cocktail bar.

Claim to fame? Jack Kerouac wrote The Subterraneans and Tristessa here, and Valerie Solanas lived in room 214, around the time she shot Andy Warhol in 1968.

Celebrity lobby spotting? British model Edie Campbell, fashion blogger Leandra Medine (aka The Man Repeller) and "Creative Ambassador" for NYC department store Barneys, Simon Doonan. It was New York Fashion Week.

Toiletries? By Cote Bastide.

The bed? A queen bed that takes up much of the room. Very comfortable pillows, too.

A room with a view? The typical NYC view of rooftops, and West 8th St below.

Photos: The Marlton, New York City

The Marlton's lobby. Photo / Annie Schlechter

Bathroom? Like the room, small but charming, with a marble sink, black and white tiled floors and brass taps. Mine had a deep bathtub (not all the rooms do).

Noise? A bit of street noise: it's New York. It's an old building, so you may hear a bit of, ahem, action happening from neighbouring rooms ...

Exercise facilities? No space for that.

The lobby? Cosy, with dark-wood walls, low lighting, mismatched chairs and a cosy fireplace. During the day people hang out here, having coffee, working on their laptops, catching up with friends; at night, it gets packed, with spillover from the cocktail bar.

Food and drink? In the lobby are busy espresso and cocktail bars - both great with friendly waiters - and there is the popular Margaux restaurant, too.

Perfect for? Solo travellers, couples, hipsters. Not really the place for families; you'd struggle to get a pushchair and two people into the small lift.

Would I return? Yes. It is perfect if your focus is on lower Manhattan, you feel like you're part of a "scene".

CHECKLIST

The Marlton is at 5W 8th Street (Between 5th & 6th Avenues), New York City. Phone +1 212 321 0100.