TRAVELING IN STYLE : IT’S A SMALL HOTEL : A TINY JEWEL SET IN THE BIG APPLE, NEW YORK’S WYNDHAM MAKES UP IN FRIENDLINESS FOR WHAT IT LACKS IN SIZE

It is known as New York’s friendliest small hotel, which is surprising since it provides few frills. There is no room service, no turn-down service. No genie appears to place mints on one’s pillow at night. Nor are there telephones in the baths or fluffy robes or imported toiletries. The owners never advertise, and they have yet to publish a single brochure. Yet, even though the front door remains securely locked, 24 hours a day, the Wyndham, a little hotel that faces that old dowager, the Plaza, enjoys an occupancy rate of 90% and up, year-round. It is a haven for celebrities in particular. In residence on a recent weekday were actors Peter Ustinov and Wayne Rogers, actress Maureen O’Sullivan, authors James Clavell and Philip Roth and TV newsman Roger Mudd.

Along with regular guests, these stars enjoy the Wyndham’s home-like atmosphere and the warmth of a caring staff. Awakening at the Wyndham, which is not to be confused with the big, cheerless chain that bears the same name, is like discovering oneself ensconced in a private inn in Britain or in a charming auberge in the south of France.

Author Clavell sums it up this way: “I’ve been coming to the Wyndham for years, and it’s always like old home week. It is a very private place. On a lonely, drab day the staff brightens one’s life. Indeed, it is a privilege to be allowed in. Actually, I pretend that it doesn’t exist, because it’s too good to tell others about. I prefer to keep it a secret.”

Actress Eve Arden says that the Wyndham reminds her of a “fine, small London hotel.” Eva Gabor always requests Suite 1201, while the Laurence Oliviers prefer Suite 1401 with its gilt-edge mirror, Persian carpet, books, chintz wallpaper, chandelier and king-size bed. Celebrities began their love affair with the Wyndham after it was discovered in 1976 by Eva Marie Saint, who told Martin Sheen, who told Eddie Albert, who told Nanette Fabray. John Cassavetes introduced Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara to the hotel. Soon it was known by stars coast to coast.

By now the hotel boasts a celebrity roster of 250 names, including Dick Van Dyke, Julie Harris, Gena Rowlands, Stacy Keach, Jean Stapleton, Gore Vidal, Sheldon Leonard, Anthony Franciosa, Valerie Perrine, Glenda Jackson, Art Carney, Steve Allen, Dolores Del Rio, John Houseman, Brian Keith and Mel Ferrer.

Carol Burnett spent 18 months at the Wyndham writing her best-seller, “One More Time.” Dick Cavett interviewed Laurence Olivier in Olivier’s suite. Alec Guiness spoke to “Good Morning America” from the hotel, and Mike Wallace showed up one afternoon to tape a “60 Minutes” segment with Lena Horne.

Superstars and others find solace at the Wyndham, even though it refuses to shower guests with expensive amenities of the type provided by Manhattan’s luxury hotels--the perfumed soaps and shampoos and skin-care lotions with their French and Italian labels (at the Wyndham guests make do with cakes of Ivory). On the other hand there is a pervading cheerfulness that provides the guest with a sense of well-being and a feeling of never having left home. Or perhaps pleased that one did.

At the Wyndham, the guest is treated not merely as another room number. Faces and names are matched by a staff that cares. Seldom must one tell the elevator operator a second time his or her floor. Niko Pesa and Ivan Peros, who grew up in Yugoslavia, match guests with floor with uncanny accuracy. Faces and names stick in their heads. The elevator operators, who also serve as bellmen, are responsible for security. No one gets beyond the lobby unless a guest is contacted first by telephone.

Arrivals are welcomed by doorman Miguel Ruiz, for nearly 30 years the unofficial greeter at this charming caravansary between fashionable Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas.

The Wyndham is a mom-and-pop operation, with owners John and Suzanne Mados residing in the hotel and operating out of an office behind the registration desk.

“You can’t run a hotel effectively from an ivory tower,” says John Mados, a graduate of Cornell who served his apprenticeship at New York’s St. Moritz and Park Lane. Beautiful, Paris-born Suzanne is responsible for interior design. As the charming mistress of the Wyndham, her presence is sensed throughout the hotel. Indeed, it is her artistry that places the Wyndham well to the forefront of other small Manhattan hotels.

It is due to John and Suzanne Mados that guests enjoy the hotel’s friendly, family-like staff; the Madoses keep morale in high orbit. When the daughter of elevator operator Mohammed Khan was married recently, the Madoses presented the employee with a check for $5,000 to help defray the cost of the ceremony.

“Suzanne and I have no children, so our employees are our family,” John Mados says.

They get on equally well with celebrities who call the Wyndham their part-time home. On a visit five years ago, Elke and Ben Gazzara were married in the Madoses’ suite. And on occasion the hoteliers host small parties for stars who by now are close friends.

I discovered the Wyndham in 1976 while exiting the door of the Oyster Bar opposite the hotel. Through the years it has remained my favorite Manhattan hotel for a number of reasons, not the least of which involves the Wyndham’s small, cheerful and tastefully appointed lobby. With its deep sofas, oil paintings and potted plants, it appears like some cozy living room in a country inn. Unlike other hotels, where outsiders loiter in the lobby, the locked front door discourages unwanted visitors. One is as secure as one can hope to be in Manhattan.

Until recently, a guest’s major complaint might have revolved around the hotel’s telephone system. Because calls had to be placed through the hotel operators, service occasionally was irritatingly slow during full-house conditions.

Now, with a brand-new direct-dial system, the Wyndham has joined the ranks of its snooty neighbors.

Although many of the Wyndham’s guests are affluent, rates nevertheless are reasonable, with the best suite in the house going for $180 a day, singles starting at $95 and doubles beginning at a reasonable $105.

“We don’t gouge our guests five days a week and then give the hotel away on weekends,” John Mados says. Frequently when he quotes rates over the telephone, a startled caller will ask: “Is that with or without bath?” It is with bath--always, of course, because the Wyndham is first class, all 212 suites and rooms.

Regulars tell how returning to the Wyndham is like “coming home.” While Ginger Rogers is away, she has boxes of pineapple juice, chocolate bars, cookies, soup and bottles of Perrier stored for her in the Madoses’ office. Actor Larry Hagman recently left behind a pair of hard hats (if you can figure that), and singer Vic Damone dropped off a stack of brand new shirts, still in their wrappers.

So fond is producer David Susskind of the Wyndham that he keeps a permanent apartment there. For years Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy took a suite at the Wyndham while appearing on Broadway. It became such a habit that eventually they sold their home in Westchester and moved in for keeps.

Sid Caesar arrives at the Wyndham loaded down with cabbage, tuna fish, walnuts and yogurt that he indulges himself with--every item--at breakfast. Says John Mados: “I’ve got to try it. Sid Caesar looks like the healthiest man alive.”

Another regular, Jayne Meadows, prefers the Wyndham over more expensive hotels, “because if you get sick, John and Suzanne have meals delivered to your bedside.” Their speciality: homemade chicken soup. “Better than any of those wonder drugs,” Suzanne says. It goes without saying that one won’t find the same sort of personalized service at name hotels in the same neighborhood.

Everybody does his or her own thing at the Wyndham. PBS’s Roger Mudd cooks up a storm in his kitchenette (even though the hotel’s restaurant, Jonathan’s, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner). When checking out, Mudd stores his portable oven in John Mados’ office, which by now is beginning to look like a Gypsy flea market.

Donald O’Connor makes himself at home by hanging pictures of his wife and children and bringing along his stereo and tapes to create a home-like mood. Lena Horne checked in for six weeks once and remained for 18 months when her show, “The Lady and Her Music,” took off on Broadway.

Wayne Rogers of “MASH” fame admits he chooses the Wyndham because of John and Suzanne Mados. “They run this hotel like a home. It’s well located and comfortable. It’s terrific. I always feel like I’m a guest in a private club.”

Rogers, who spends up to three months a year at the Wyndham, was steered to the hotel by Frank Gilroy, who wrote “The Subject Was Roses” in his own suite. Actor Michael Caine tells how the Wyndham’s neighbor, the Plaza, is where “the young TV star who has just made it on ‘Flamingo Road’ might stay, because if you’re famous, it’s nice to get noticed.” Conversely, the Wyndham is one of those places where guests go who don’t want the world to know they’ve arrived.

Some stars select the Pierre, the Carlyle, the Sherry-Netherland. Or the Waldorf Towers, where Frank Sinatra and Gregory Peck own apartments--but where there’s the risk of being hassled by autograph seekers in the lobby.

New York magazine describes the Wyndham as “one of those great Manhattan finds” and adds that “part of the appeal is that the hotel is little known.” That, of course, simply is no longer true. The fact is that the Wyndham has become so outrageously popular that frequently it’s impossible to obtain a room. It has been called a “baby grand” and “one of the grande dames of the city’s small hotels.” Only last November it was selected by Harvard Common Press as one of the 250 “Best Places to Stay in America’s Cities.” As a first-rate address (42 West 58th St.), it is only a short stroll from Central Park, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and such fashion houses as Bonwit Teller, Bergdorf-Goodman, Saks and Tiffany’s.

The authors of “New York on $1,000 a Day” describe the Wyndham as a “hotel with superstar status at reasonable rates.” Travel critic Ian McKeown is effusive with his praise, calling the Wyndham a “gem of a hotel that is a standout because the people who run it are on hand front-and-center to keep it spinning like a top. You feel like you’re being put up in a good friend’s apartment, not a hotel room.”

The Wyndham does not operate like a computerized hotel. The truth is, there’s not a computer in the entire building. Mail inquiries are answered personally by John and Suzanne Mados. In turn, the Madoses are deluged with little love notes from satisfied guests. Comedian-director Charles Nelson Reilly sent the Madoses a bouquet of flowers with this note: “I miss you.” Eva Marie Saint wrote that “We had such a good time we didn’t mind the hot weather (August), the rain, the crowded streets.” A card from Jack Weston said, “Thank you for your warmth, your kindness. If I need a home again, I hope you’ll let me in.” A famous film star who begs anonymity left behind this message: “What a delight after months of traveling to arrive in New York to such warmth and friendship. A fault in my character does not allow me to feel loved--but you’ve broken through that barrier.”

The mail brings notes from non-celebrities, too. Ralph Harris of Montecito, Calif., wrote how the Wyndham was “an oasis after the mediocrity of our European adventure.” And a couple in Key Biscayne, Fla., said they were grateful for the “superb service provided by your staff--employees that go out of their way to accommodate your guests in every respect.”

On the other hand there was the guest who left in a huff after Mados refused to extend his stay. The hotelier said he was sorry, he had no choice. Someone else had a reservation. Another guest complained about a faulty shower head. And yes, certainly, the garbage collectors drop by along about 4 o’clock each morning, rattling the cans like members of a drum-and-bugle corps. But complain? Nonsense. This is New York, and the story is the same with the Trash Brigade all over town, no matter the neighborhood, the hour, the hotel. I suspect that these fellows resent the idea that others are sleeping while they go about their rounds. At any rate, it seems plausible. So if you find the noise irritating, request a room high off the street. Or else bring along a pair of earplugs. Still, if you do, well . . . you’ll be shutting out the sounds of the most exciting city in the world.