Description: My sister and I were very pleased with our two nights at the Belvedere. The warm welcome and consistently good lobby service (opening doors for us, hailing our taxis, wishing us well) went a long way to capture our hearts.
Location? Excellent for those who want to focus on mid-town Manhattan. The Belvedere is on W. 48th St. between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, thus extremely close to Times Square and the majority of the Broadway Theatres. Fortunately, the block on which the hotel is situated houses residential buildings and a number of restaurants such as Mont Blanc, Luxia, and Brasil Grille, and so doesn't attract the throngs of tourists usually strolling the Broadway area. There are three subway line stops within two blocks of the hotel, and several coffeeshops nearby (including Starbucks) for a quick breakfast.
Value for the money? Excellent. We stayed on a Sunday and a Monday and paid a different rate each night. The average was $150 per night including tax, but not including breakfast. This may seem pricey, but we received a beautiful room (#1023) with a suprisingly nice view. We each had a bed, and the room featured a large closet, a kitchenette with micro, coffemaker, and fridge, and a large bathroom (with minimal counter space--my only complaint). The weather was ungodly hot (mid-nineties), but the window unit kept us cool and de-humidified. It was a very clean room with little visible wear on the furniture and upholstery. We heard no loud noises within the hotel, no street noise, and had no unpleasant experiences there. For New York City, this hotel seems like a bargain to me!
The Belvedere Cafe served a continental breakfast buffet for $9.99 and a larger breakfast buffet Wednesday through Sunday for $14.99. Although we never ate there, we peeked into the Cafe and found it tastefully decorated, with a friendly host and plenty of room for diners.
The Belvedere is part of the Empire Hotel Group (go to http://www.newyorkhotel.com/flashmain.htm and select the Belvedere). It appears that the hotel runs occasional Internet booking deals, so read all the "specials" sections on the site to find the codes you need to plug in when your reserve.
Close