NEW YORK / NEW & IMPROVED

Bad news first: By the end of next year, lodging experts expect the cost of the average Manhattan hotel room to reach $200 nightly, a record for any American city.

Blame it on the dwindling crime, the tidier subways, the ratings of “Seinfeld” and “Friends,” the cleansing of Times Square and the rising tide of out-of-towners--more than 31 million last year--who blanket the city, doing business, seeking pleasure, trying to figure out why there’s no 6th Avenue between Fifth and 7th.

And even with room prices so high, hotel occupancy is at better than 80%, which means that if you enter the city without a reservation, you are basically flirting with the prospect of an evening in Central Park. Or New Jersey.

Now the good: Seeing so many travelers arriving with so much money, the entrepreneurs of New York are now in a mad scramble to increase and improve the city’s inventory of hotel rooms, many of them, happily, beneath that daunting $200-a-night figure.

Since 1995--those good old days when the average Manhattan hotel cost only about $154--more than a dozen hotels have opened, reopened or taken on essentially new identities through major renovation. Meanwhile, some travelers are cutting costs by renting “unhosted” apartments, also known as “bed & breakfasts,” although they don’t fit that stereotype. (For more on New York B&B;’s, see the box on page L15.)

These new and improved hotels range from the industrial-chic of the Soho Grand to the quasi-Moroccan calm of the Casablanca in Times Square, from the affluent Japanese flavor of the Kitano to the cozy circa-1900 confines of the Mansfield, both in Midtown.

Not all these new (or newish) lodgings looked like winners to me. After a single night in each, I was happy to flee the 59th Street Bridge Apartments (no elevators, sky-high phone charges, marginal location) and the Amsterdam Court (stinky elevator, tiny rooms and shattered glass in the door’s peephole, so that as I looked out to the semi-renovated hallway, I felt like the point-of-view camera in a cheap horror movie). Conversely, the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a very pricey 168-room tower that opened early this year at the southwest corner of Central Park, showed every sign of being quite luxurious. The lobby was filled with shiny brass and marble. But the front desk staff and manager said they were too busy to let me see a room.

From the new and improved properties I visited, however, there seems to be some solace for the daunted out-of-towner. In naming favorites, I’ve put hotels into two groups: Style, which includes the more luxurious, pricey places; and Value, which includes hotels where reasonable rates count for as much as amenities and service.

For those without research time who want a small, stylish hotel and are braced to pay $150 to $225 nightly, here’s a shortcut: Grab a hotel in the Gotham Hospitality Group. It includes the recently unveiled Mansfield and Roger Williams hotels (listed below), the Wales and Franklin hotels (on the Upper East Side) and the Shoreham at West 55th Street and Fifth Avenue. All are splendidly reconditioned old buildings, and all but the Roger Williams have fewer than 130 rooms.

Unless otherwise noted, all the figures quoted below are brochure rates for a room with bath for two people. For tips on getting better prices, see box on page L11.

Also, keep in mind that my survey is not comprehensive. For instance, I wanted to see the recently upgraded Barbizon, Beekman Tower and Sheraton Russell hotels in Midtown East, and the Sheraton Manhattan in Midtown West, but ran out of time.

Six for Style

Times Square Oasis: The Casablanca, 147 W. 43rd St.; tel. (888) 922-7225 or (212) 869-1212, fax (212) 391-7585, Web site: https://www.casablancahotel.com. Opened in January and stands a few steps from Times Square. It has 48 rooms, an alert staff and a handsome, relaxing upstairs breakfast room that delivers a satisfying free continental breakfast and snacks throughout the day. Most of guests are business travelers so far, but the location is perfect for theater-lovers. Hallways and rooms have Spanish tile work with Moorish themes, and Berber textiles on display. Chairs that look like wicker are actually more durable woven leather. Workers have just started putting up a roof-garden bar that management hopes to open next summer.

Meanwhile, minibar prices are strikingly reasonable ($1.50 for a Coke; water, chocolates and ice tea free). Only drawback is construction across the street: The new Conde Nast headquarters building is going up there, and work, which begins at 7 most mornings, will probably continue through July 1999. If you’re getting up early anyway, or if you get a room in back, as I did, the noise shouldn’t be an issue. Published rates run $225 to $245 per night, but a special offer on the hotel’s Web site through April (except for holidays) offers rooms as low as $199 per night.

Peace and Quiet Paradise: The Kitano, 66 Park Ave. at 38th Street; tel. (212) 885-7000, fax (212) 885-7100. Opened in September 1995, the hotel is 150 distinguished rooms--replete with cherry wood and Italian marble--in an 18-story building. It was designed with upscale Japanese business travelers in mind (there’s a fax in every room), but a leisure traveler could certainly get used to its creature comforts, such as heated towel racks in the bathrooms. One key asset: special windows, not merely double-glazed, that crank closed to form a virtually soundproof seal. These are some of the quietest bedrooms on the island. Set in the largely residential Murray Hill neighborhood, the Kitano is a short cab ride (or medium-size walk) from the shops and restaurants of Midtown. There’s a very expensive formal Japanese restaurant, and a more reasonable European garden cafe. Brochure rates start at $285 per night.

Way-High Style, Way Downtown: Soho Grand Hotel, 310 W. Broadway at Grand St.; tel. (800) 965-3000 or (212) 965-3000, fax (212) 965-3200. The only hotel in Soho (at least until another long-delayed project is completed), the Soho Grand opened in August 1996. Its style is Severe Modernist Industrial: Entering the lobby feels as if you’re setting out on a walk across a great steel bridge--except that there are beautiful people hovering above you in overstuffed couches. Convenient to restaurants and galleries of Soho and Greenwich Village. Surprisingly, a lot of cocooning happens here: The hotel’s sales people say the average stay is five nights, compared to two or three citywide. (To encourage that impulse, the hotel’s highly regarded Canal House restaurant offers 24-hour room service.) Brochure rates run $269 to $349 per night, rising $10 nightly in 1998.

Honeymooners, Register Here: The Inn at Irving Place, 56 Irving Place (between 17th and 18th streets), in tony Gramercy Park; tel. (212) 533-4600, fax (212) 533-4611. If you were going to honeymoon (or perhaps celebrate an anniversary) in Manhattan, this would be the place to stay. It opened in late 1995. Twelve rooms in a pair of 19th century townhouses. Period furnishings. Graceful stairwell, wooden floors, an air of snug comfort. Since the lodging has no sign at all, you’re better off looking for the sign announcing the well-regarded Verbena restaurant, just next door at 54 Irving, then adjusting your gaze to No. 56 next to it. Brochure rates: $275 to $395 per night.

Modern on Madison: The Roger Williams, 131 Madison Ave. at 31st Street; tel. (212) 448-7000, fax (212) 448-7007. Smaller and more affordable than the Soho Grand, the Roger Williams has a sleek, modern look too; the lobby is an expanse of beige carpet and blond wood punctuated by a big black piano. The 209 guest rooms are also beige and blond, each with a 27-inch television and a bedside anthology of writings about New York. Near the Garment District and Madison Square. (Going by the immediate block, you’d call it the rug district.) Developer Bernard Goldberg--the East Coast counterpart to San Francisco boutique hotelier Bill Kimpton--is the force at work here. Through his Gotham Hospitality Group, Goldberg has transformed five old properties into thriving hotels, and shows no signs of slowing down.

The Roger Williams celebrated its grand opening Oct. 29 after a top-to-bottom renovation, but took guests at slightly reduced rates during the project, so I got to stay there. (This was a mixed blessing; paying $195 a night, I dealt with movers’ blankets in the elevators and butcher paper on the carpets. But with the work done, the hotel looks like a stylish choice and, by local standards, a reasonable value. Brochure rates run $210 per night.

The Den You Always Wanted: The Mansfield, 12 W. 44th St. off Fifth Avenue; tel. (212) 944-6050, fax (212) 764-4477. Built in 1904 as a hotel for well-heeled bachelors, the Mansfield is an intimate, traditional-feeling retreat of 129 rooms. Reopened after major renovation in spring 1996. Free classical recitals are staged on Monday nights in a distinguished drawing room, where pencil sketches hang on the well-appointed walls and newspapers from Rome, Paris and Los Angeles are arrayed on a wood rack. Convenient to Midtown and Times Square. Brochure rates for standard rooms: $225 per night; suites $275 per night, with seasonal fluctuations.

Nine for Value

Dave-Adjacent: The Ameritania Hotel, 230 W. 54th St. at Broadway; tel. (800) 922-0330 or (212) 247-5000, fax (212) 247-3316. Big renovation last spring, and a health club still in the works. It stands at the uptown fringe of Times Square, around the corner from the Letterman Show’s Ed Sullivan Theater. Its interior comes from the school of stark and modern, but it’s the more affordable version, dimly lighted at all hours. The 207 guest rooms are big on black metal furniture. Brochure rates start at $195 per night. (Working through the Hotel Reservations Network, I paid $159.)

Chain and Simple: Best Western President Hotel, 234 W. 48th St. (between Broadway and 8th); tel. (800) 826-4667 or (212) 246-8800, fax (212) 974-3922. Yes, it has that generic character you get in a budget chain hotel. But a recent renovation has given the President new furniture and a snappy appearance. Its 400 rooms get heavy traffic from business travelers, but its Midtown location (near the theater district) and tidiness make it a sensible, if unromantic, vacation option. Public rooms are smallish, but include a cafe and a more formal Italian restaurant. Brochure rates $139 to $299 per night.

Close to Shows: The Broadway Inn Bed & Breakfast, 264 W. 46th St. (near 8th); tel. (800) 826-6300 or (212) 997-9200, fax (212) 768-2807. Revived and renamed by new management in 1995, the hotel stands in an edgy block a few streets from the remade Times Square. The lobby and 40 rooms (on second, third and fourth floors) are secure, cozy, calm, clean, a little countrified. Classical music in the lobby. Published rates: $85 to $160 per night, suites for $185 per night.

Off the Tourist Trail: The Chelsea Inn, 46 W. 17th St.; tel. (212) 645-8989, fax (212) 645-1903. Not to be confused with the Chelsea Hotel made famous by Sid Vicious and the Rolling Stones. This is a sleeper and requires a certain kind of guest. It’s a five-story renovated townhouse with no elevators. This summer, the inn expanded from 17 to 25 rooms (22 of those share 11 bathrooms, which have been boldly decorated by art students). Eight rooms have kitchenettes. There’s nothing new and shiny about the place, but it has a low-key, lived-in feeling that may appeal to regular visitors who don’t need to be near the attractions of Midtown. The local landmarks are the Flatiron building and Greenwich Village, a short walk away. Brochure rates run $89 to $99 per night; for $179 per night, you can rent a suite of two bedrooms and one private bathroom.

No Frills, Modest Bills: Chelsea Savoy, 204 W. 23rd St. (at 7th); tel. (212) 929-9353, fax (212) 741-6309. Hotel opened in February, but the restaurant at street level isn’t scheduled to open until the end of this year. Brochure rates run $99 to $155 per night. Ninety rooms, with clean white walls, new oak furniture, not much character. It does not pay commissions to travel agents.

Flash Pad: The Gershwin Hotel, 7 E. 27th St. (between Fifth and Madison); tel. (212) 545-8000, fax (212) 684-5546. OK, I’m cheating here. This place opened in 1993, but I just discovered it, and it’s exactly the kind of place I would have wanted to stay in when I came to New York on my own for the first time at age 19. It’s half a hostel, half a hotel, with some restrictions that will be familiar to hostlers (for instance, guests are forbidden to bring visitors upstairs). If you’re seeking something raffish, hip and rough-edged under $100, here it is.

The walls are covered with art students’ experiments. The house bar features live music on most nights. There’s a living room that looks like an art installation and a next-door art gallery that during my visit was showing photos of the Rolling Stones 1972 U.S. tour, on loan from the estate of writer Terry Southern. And consider this: The fourth floor is for models only. Management has agreements with several agencies, and says it maintains extra security. (How do models differ from mere mortals? They need more phones, and more closet space.) It’s on an uninviting block, but Greenwich Village is a healthy walk away, and there’s a handy subway stop. The hotel features 100 private rooms and about 200 dorm beds in common rooms. The dorm beds rent for $22 each, tax included. Private rooms run $80 to $140 per night, tax excluded.

Upper West Side Alternative: The Lucerne Hotel, 201 W. 79th St. (between Amsterdam and Broadway); tel. (800) 492-8122 or (212) 875-1000, fax (212) 579-2408. If you’re a frugal traveler and you’re not looking for a Midtown room, you’re probably aiming for the Upper West Side. But the world’s frugal travelers can’t all fit into standbys such as The Beacon (2130 Broadway at 75th Street.; tel. [212] 787-1100; 207 rooms with kitchenettes; rates from $145 per night). The Lucerne is an alternative: opened in 1995, traditionally furnished, tidy, 250 rooms, near the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park. Brochure rates $140 to $160 per night; suites, $190. Like many renovated Manhattan hotels, it formerly held residential tenants; hotel employees say the last of them moved out in early summer.

For Spartans Only: Murray Hill Inn, 143 E. 30th St. (between Lexington and 3rd); tel. (888) 996-6376 or (212) 683-6900, fax (212) 545-0103, Web site https://www.murrayhillinn.com. This is the kind of place favored by collegiate European backpackers: 50 rooms in a converted brownstone on a residential block. On each floor, three shared bathrooms serve 10 rooms. Amenities are minimal, halls narrow, and no visitors are allowed after 10 p.m. Open since March, this is one step up from a hostel, but there’s no arguing with the price. Brochure rate: $85.

Frugal on Lex: Quality Hotel East Side, 161 Lexington Ave. at 30th Street; tel. (800) 567-7720 or (212) 545-1800, fax (212) 481-7270, Web site: https://www.applecorehotels.com. Neat and clean, with new everything and an Early American theme. 100 rooms, 36 of which share baths. (On each of the 12 floors, there are three rooms that share a single bathroom.) Brochure rates: $99 to $159 per night. The Apple Core Hotels group owns this and two other recently brushed-up properties, each affiliated with a budget-brand chain: the Quality Hotel & Suites (59 W. 46th St., between Fifth and 6th avenues); and the Best Western Manhattan (32nd between Broadway and Fifth), both at the same toll-free phone number as the Quality Hotel East Side.