A Place for Every Traveler in New York City Hotels : New and renovated Manhattan lodgings appeal to families, romantics or both.

It’s The Season in Manhattan, perhaps the best time to visit. Brisk weather. Big art openings. Broadway theater. New fall fashions in department stores and SoHo boutiques.

You’ll need a place to stay.

With the recent openings of a couple of dozen new hotels and newly refurbished favorites, the options have been extended from Midtown up the East and West sides down into Lower Manhattan--each area now a destination in itself. Some of the neighborhoods, such as Times Square and the surrounding theater district, have undergone makeovers as surprising as the hotels’.

The following is a sampling, by area, of hotels that are new or have been extensively renovated in the past few years. They represent variety in price, area and character, but all have appeal for either families or romantics--or both. A few are in the category of special treats affordable only via weekend packages, so if you have a Saturday-night-stayover, advance-purchase airline ticket, you can benefit. Others offer good value day in and day out. Based on quick visits--but no overnight stays--all appear to have a touch of class as well as a laid-back aura that wouldn’t be ruffled by a 4-year-old galloping across the lobby playing horsie.

Most offer nonsmoking rooms and assorted high-tech perks such as voice mail or VCRs; make provisions for parking; allow various numbers of kids of various ages to stay free in parents’ rooms, and can arrange baby-sitting. But ask if you have specific requirements. Packages always are subject to availability. Unless otherwise stated, rates don’t include the 19 1/4% state and city sales tax and $2 daily per-room New York City occupancy tax on hotel bills over $100 (5% less on lower rates).

UPPER EAST SIDE

Elegant stores, restaurants, galleries and townhouses are the hallmark of this area radiating from Fifth and Madison avenues above 57th Street, with Central Park as its back yard. There’s also a diversity of culture along Museum Mile, which includes the Frick, Whitney, Metropolitan, Cooper-Hewitt, International Center for Photography, Museum of the City of New York and newly reopened Guggenheim.

The Wales, 1295 Madison Ave. (between 92nd and 93rd streets), (800) 428-5252. One of New York’s oldest ongoing hotels, the Wales has been comfortably restored to turn-of-the-century elegance with touches such as flower-filled window boxes. The nine-floor Beaux-Arts building has 92 rooms and suites, some with kitchenettes and fireplaces; most facing west have views of Central Park. At $135 and $145 nightly (suites $185-$200), The Wales offers great value for culture-lovers; rates include continental breakfast and afternoon tea served in the Pied Piper Room, one of the most pleasant hotel public rooms in the city. This spacious second-floor Victorian parlor is also the site of Sunday evening concerts. Busby’s bistro and Sarabeth’s Kitchen, one of New York’s favorite breakfast spots, are adjacent to the lobby. Kids under 12 stay free.

The Plaza, Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, (800) 759-3000. Occupying what’s said to be the world’s most expensive piece of real estate, this may be New York’s--if not America’s--most famous hotel. Celebrity guests have been legion, and more movies have been shot here than many people see in a year. When it opened in 1907, the Plaza proclaimed itself the world’s most luxurious hotel. Ivana Trump set out to recapture that title when ex-hubby The Donald bought the Plaza in 1989. Though she’s no longer at the helm (the hotel still is owned by Trump), the makeover has continued. There are 815 rooms and suites, a quarter with original marble fireplaces. Despite its several noted restaurants, tea at the atmospheric Palm Court (also newly refurbished) remains one of the greatest treats a New Yorker can bestow on out-of-town guests. Least expensive of the Plaza’s weekend packages is one for $225 per night for a double room, including continental breakfast. Children under 18 stay free. The least expensive suite of rooms (bedroom with double bed, bath and living room) starts at $295 a night from now until Dec. 19.

Essex House, 160 Central Park South, (800) NIKKO-US. Open a year since its 20-month, $75-million renovation, this vintage 1930s hotel now is part of Nikko Hotels International. Though fairly large (516 rooms plus 77 suites), it has the feel of a worldly small inn--they’re currently working to create a floor with traditional Japanese-style rooms. Rates have recently dropped to $170 nightly for standard doubles, $220 for parkside rooms. There’s a sparkling new Grand Salon ballroom, a spa and two restaurants: Cafe Botanica and the four-star Les Celebrites. Children under 18 stay free.

Fitzpatrick, 687 Lexington Ave. (between 56th and 57th streets), (800) 367-7701. This homey property of a Dublin-based hotelier began full operation in January after a top-to-bottom renovation of a 17-story building constructed in 1926 as an apartment hotel. Fitzers Restaurant off the lobby has a varied menu that includes Irish stew, of course. The adjoining pub has an Irish Coffee Corner. There’s Kelly green lobby carpeting, Waterford crystal chandeliers, Irish prints on the walls, plus old-fashioned (but still revered in Europe) trouser presses in all rooms--everything to make the Irish prime minister feel at home on a recent stay. All 92 rooms (more than half of them suites) also have whirlpool baths. Guests can use the Atrium Fitness Center, half a block away, for $25 a day. Rates run $200-$270 per double (kids under 12 free). Specials include a two-night Guggenheim Museum Package at $225 a couple per night, including two tickets to the Goog. The Weekend Break rate (based on available space) is $99 per night (Friday or Saturday night); upgrade to a suite is $50 extra.

UPPER WEST SIDE

This upscale but less showy neighborhood across Central Park offers Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History, New York Historical Society, ABC studios and trendy boutiques and restaurants along Columbus Avenue.

Radisson Empire, 44 W. 63rd St., at Broadway, (800) 333-3333. This brick-and-limestone landmark on Upper Broadway across from Lincoln Center has almost finished a four-year face lift. The lobby now looks like the great room of a European manor, and concert goers as well as guests flock to the adjoining Empire Grill. There’s also a new health club, and 375 refurbished rooms and suites. Rates run $120-$210 per night; children under 18 stay free.

MIDTOWN/THEATER DISTRICT

The area around Times Square has taken an astounding turn for the better in recent years, and though still pretty tawdry in spots, it’s an undeniable draw to out-of-towners for the concentration of theaters as well as the Museum of Modern Art, American Craft Museum, Radio City, the Museum of Television and Radio, Museum of Broadcasting and the city’s main shopping area.

The Gorham, 136 W. 55th St. (between 6th and 7th), (800) 735-0710. Now that the lobby has its new furniture, this 1929 hotel across the street from City Center (two blocks from Carnegie Hall) will be about done with a $20-million-plus renovation. All 120 rooms have kitchens; 50 are deluxe suites with whirlpool bath and two TVs. Rates start at $150 a night for rooms, $195 for suites. On weekends, suites are reduced to $115 a night, a rate that covers up to six people if you have four kids under 16.

RIHGA Royal, 151 W. 54th St., (between 6th and 7th), (800) 937-5454. Quiet elegance characterizes this 2-year-old, all-suite hotel, whose celebrity guests have included Senators Al Gore and Ted Kennedy during the Democratic Convention and more recently pop stars Neil Diamond and U-2. The staff of 500 speaks a total of 54 languages--one for every floor, it would seem. The 54 floors include 500 suites, plus a 24-hour fitness center. A pianist plays daily in the bar/lounge between the small lobby and the excellent Halcyon restaurant. Rates start at $260. Weekends, for $195 per night per couple (and up to two children under 15) you also get 4 p.m. late checkout, breakfast for two or a $25 credit toward Sunday brunch.

Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, 811 7th Ave. (between 52nd and 53rd streets), (800) 325-3535. “What Sheraton has done is like a miracle,” one hotel watcher said of the remake of this bastion of the mid-priced tourist trade (formerly the Sheraton Centre). The Sheraton completed its yearlong, $143-million, top-to-bottom renovation in June and celebrated by hosting state delegates to the Democratic NationalConvention in July (Gov. Mario Cuomo stayed in the penthouse.) Even the exterior of the hotel is eye-catching, and the lobby, which has tripled in size, has pleasing Art Deco overtones. Glass-enclosed Streeter’s New York Cafe is on the 7th Avenue side; Hudson’s Sports Bar is scheduled to open during the last week of November. All 1,750 guest rooms have been refurbished, as well. The Towers is like a hotel within a hotel (express elevators zip guests to the 213 rooms and suites on floors 44-50, each with a spectacular view). The weekday rate is $179 per couple ($209 in the Towers). Weekends, the price drops to $135 ($149 with breakfast), $165 in the Towers. Up to two kids under 18 stay free.

Sheraton Manhattan, 790 7th Ave. (between 51st and 52nd streets), (800) 325-3535. Diagonally across the street from the Sheraton New York, this smaller (650 rooms on 22 floors), more upscale and slightly more expensive property (formerly Sheraton City Squire) opened in February after a $47-million refurbishing. To share its celebratory mood, the hotel is offering the use of its glass-enclosed, four-lane lap pool and fitness center to guests of any Manhattan hotel through the end of the year. Bistro 790, off the lobby, has an innovative menu. Daily rates start at $159 per couple; weekends, the rates drop to $135 ($149 with breakfast)--making this a slightly better deal than at the Sheraton New York because of an extra $20 savings off the weekday rate. Up to two kids under 18 stay free.

Novotel, 226 W. 52nd St. (at Broadway), (800) 221-4542. The difference between the nondescript corner entrance and the seventh-floor lobby-lounge-restaurant area is so dramatic that it’s like stepping into a budget version of Oz. The Novotel also has one of the nicest features you’ll find in any Manhattan hotel: a flower-filled, outside-terrace dining area. Along with the adjoining inside space of Cafe Nicole, the terrace offers fabulous views of Times Square (making the Novotel popular on New Year’s Eve and during the Thanksgiving Day parade--call for details long before those dates). The hotel opened in 1984 and was totally refurbished two years ago--the lobby already is undergoing a sprucing up, though it’s appealing even with construction staging here and there. There are 474 specially soundproofed rooms, most sleeping four. Rooms (and hall windows) facing west on high floors offer views across the Hudson. This New York outpost of the French chain Accor, which also owns Motel 6, attracts loads of European visitors and has a friendly, continental ambience at good prices. The weekend package rate of $149 for two per night includes breakfast and late checkout. Children under 17 stay free.

Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, 1605 Broadway (at 49th Street), (800) 243-6969. Another familiar name new to the area also offers a superb Times Square vantage for New Year’s Eve. The Crowne Plaza has the city’s largest indoor hotel pool (50 feet), and this year the health club was expanded to a second floor in the 46-story hotel. There are 770 rooms and 25 suites. The Crowne Plaza Club on the top four floors constitutes another limited-access, hotel-within-a-hotel. Doubles start at $185 ($220 at Crowne Plaza Club); suites start at $350. Kids under 19 stay free. A Stress Reduction Weekend package starts at $159 daily per couple including continental breakfast in bed, room movie, late checkout. A “Miss Saigon” Broadway Package, including one night’s lodging, continental breakfast, cocktails for two, two theater tickets (not necessarily for “Miss Saigon”; depends on availability) costs $199 per person. The theater package is available through Radler Travel, (800) 344-7129.

Ramada Renaissance, 2 Times Square (between 47th and 48th), (800) 228-9898. Newest of the new hotels in the area (it opened March 1), the Renaissance is all marble and rich wood. Its glass-walled restaurant, 2 X (Times) Square, offers a straight-line view south into Times Square, which no doubt will make it the No. 1 spot from which to watch the New Year come in (call soon for details). No rooms have this view, unfortunately, because the landmark Coca-Cola sign extends up the exterior from above the restaurant. The 25 floors have 305 rooms (10 of them suites). There’s also a small fitness room. Rates run $220 to $260 nightly, weekends they’re $155-$205. Packages include the Renaissance Holiday Weekend, available until Dec. 29: $169 daily per couple in a deluxe room with afternoon tea overlooking Times Square and continental breakfast. Kids under 12 stay free.

Embassy Suites, 1568 Broadway (at 47th Street), (800) EMBASSY. You barely have to leave the hotel to attend “The Will Rogers Follies” right downstairs in the Palace Theater, and the TKTS discount ticket booth is across the street, but Embassy Suites is probably most beloved as a family heaven. On 36 floors they’ve got it all--an imaginative interior, from the third-floor Sky Lobby, duplex bar, modern gym and Deco 30 restaurant (eveything in bright colors and geometric forms) to the 460 two-room suites with sofa bed, two TVs and mini-kitchen. Two floors are designed for families with small children and have safety features such as electrical outlet covers, unbreakable glasses and dishes, bathtub faucet covers. The hotel can provide a free stroller, even free diapers--in the middle of the night, if needed. The hotel also will rent parents a cellular phone so they can reach out and touch their kids from the theater, or wherever. The hotel’s professionally supervised Cool Cat Kids Club for ages 3-13 ($20 daily or $5 an hour) is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Friday and Saturday nights till 11). Most rooms cost $169 for up to four people (children under 12 always stay free), including a free full American breakfast as well as a nightly cocktail reception. Come on a fall weekend and the hotel also offers a free family walking tour and special themed parties. The Embassy Club consists of 47 suites on the hotel’s top four floors, running $189-$229 November to January; “Guys and Dolls” Theater Weekend packages start at $319 plus tax for a one-night stay, including two seats for the show, full cooked-to-order breakfast each day and pre-theater cocktails. For Saturday nights only in November and January.

Paramount, 235 W. 46th St., (800) 225-7474. There’s no name on the white marble facade midway down a block of theaters west of Broadway, but those in the know can follow the line of stretch limos to the city’s trendiest hotel. A 2-year-old update of the 1927 original, this is not your father’s Paramount. The hip young staffers whisk around in black double-breasted suits over white T-shirts, all serving as concierges for the guests who’ve included the late Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington and Harry Connick Jr., plus band. Local trendies spill out of the chic Whiskey Bar into the multilevel lobby, where decor includes Florentine stonework floors, ancient Venetian plasterwork, a ceiling of lights inspired by the art of Joan Miro, an innovative stone staircase and a stainless-steel chaise longue. On the open mezzanine is a bar/restaurant and a kids playroom by Gary Panter, designer of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” Rooms and suites (610 on 20 floors), though small, are likely to be the most ingenious you’ve ever stayed in, with touches such as stainless-steel funnel sinks. There’s also a 24-hour fitness room and a huge video library. All this can be had on a weekend starting at the quite remarkable rate of $99 per couple nightly. A weekend package at $160 daily provides a room that’s usually $200 and includes a buffet breakfast and free video rental. Kids under 12 always stay free.

The Algonquin, 59 W. 44th St. (between Fifth and 6th), (800) 548-0345. Since 1902, this New York city landmark has been the meeting place for literary legends, and some still seek the ambience of the comfortable Edwardian lobby or the Blue Bar, as well as the Rose Room, site of the famous writers’ Round Table during the 1920s. It’s said that the New Yorker magazine was virtually created there, and guests still find a complimentary copy in their room. The Oak Room, which has been enlarged, offers lunch, pre-theater dinner and cabaret shows. The hotel’s 165 rooms (including 23 suites) have been tastefully updated to keep the country-house feel. There’s still even a house cat. Now part of the Westin chain, the Algonquin was the first New York hotel to swap keys for electronic keycards, yet it’s one of the few remaining hotels that provides uniformed elevator service. Doubles run $170-$195; weekend nights couples can stay for $120. A weekend package including continental breakfast is $135. Kids under 18 stay free.

Royalton, 44 W. 44th, (212) 869-4400. Pricier than the distinguished Algonquin across the street--and much higher than its stylish sibling, the Paramount--the Royalton offers its own brand of trendiness, which has drawn guests from Madonna to Weird Al Yankovic. The 1898 hotel opened in its present guise in 1988 and has since added 14 more rooms and a 24-hour fitness facility. The Royalton marked French designer Philippe Starck’s New York hotel debut (he also designed the Paramount), so there are echoes of the Paramount (or vice versa): The staff wears black, the furnishings are a combination of classic and cutting edge. There are 205 rooms (including 15 suites), 40 with working fireplaces, 14 with exercise bicycles, many with round bathtubs. The Royalton’s restaurant, “44,” decorated with white-slipcovered chairs and carrot-shaped wall sconces, is a midtown luncheon magnet. There’s also a “sushi bar without sushi” (just other light fare) and a game room that attracts arty young regulars. Daily rates run $235-$370; on weekends, you can join the scene for $180 in a standard room, $210 deluxe and $260 for a suite. Kids under 12 stay free.

Journey’s End, 3 E. 40th St. (between Fifth and Madison), (800) 668-4200. Neat and clean and bright and practical, but also a find for its occasional weekend special rate: $88 per double, which includes continental breakfast served in a homey mezzanine lounge. Normal double rates are $141.88. This new branch of the Canadian chain has 29 floors with 189 guest rooms (the most-requested are the 27 whose numbers end with 01 because their corner location on the back of the building makes them larger and quieter than the norm). But the rooms with numbers ending in 0 and 04 on the top three floors offer clear views through the skyscraper canyons to the Statue of Liberty. Kids under 18 stay free.

DOWNTOWN

This less touristy area offers a base for exploring Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo, Tribeca, Greenwich Village, South Street Seaport, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Maria, 138 Lafayette St. (north of Canal Street), (800) 282-3933. Opened in February, the Maria is as Chinese as the Fitzpatrick is Irish. It’s the first hotel for the Hong Kong-based Maria’s Group, a bakery and restaurant concern founded and still headed by Maria Lee; there’s a bake shop branch across the street from the hotel. The second-floor lobby is an exquisite example of contemporary Far East design; green marble and rosewood make it warm as well as modern. Housed in a landmark former industrial loft building, the Maria has 223 high-ceilinged rooms and suites on 14 floors. Pacifica restaurant, on the lobby level, features authentic Hong Kong/Cantonese cuisine. Considering the absence of nearby alternatives, the Maria is a weekend gem at $95 nightly. An “East Meets West” weekend package, including brunch, is $110 nightly per couple. (Regular rates are $145-$195.) Children under 16 stay free.

Marriott Financial Center, 85 West St., (800) 242-8685. Between the World Trade Center and the new World Financial Center, with its vast indoor and outdoor esplanades along the Hudson River, the 2-year-old Marriott offers perfect views of New York Harbor from its upper floors. Liberty Lounge Bar & Grill faces the World Financial Center; at the other end of the lobby is JW’s restaurant, where there’s a brunch buffet (reduced from $14.95 to $11.95 on weekends). The 38 floors have 504 guest rooms, including 13 suites. There’s also a pool, health club and saunas. The regular daily rate is $259 per couple; weekends you’ll pay $109 ($119 with breakfast for two). Kids under 18 stay free.