In just about any other city, the Maritime would constitute a major entertainment and cultural epicenter. The hotel houses the 800-room Hiro Ballroom nightclub; Matsuri, the cavernous Japanese restaurant below the hotel that is one of the city's most extravagant dining experiences; and La Bottega, a delightful plaza level bar complex. You wouldn't need to leave the hotel for a full dose of nightlife. But this is New York, and the Meatpacking District is two blocks away, so you're near the throbbing center of New York's sceniest, priciest clubs and boutiques. The Maritime's white-ceramic tower was the first luxury hotel in the heart of the Chelsea gallery scene. The warm, small rooms resemble modern ship's cabins, with burnished teak paneling, sea-blue drapes and bed accents, and 5-foot-tall porthole windows that face the Hudson River skyline. Pros: nightlife options galore; great restaurants; fun rooms with big portal windows. Cons: all nightlife all the time; street noise.
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