Lafayette House

You're on your own at this hip approximation of a Victorian pied-À-terre, but that's one of its selling points. Checking in means ringing the buzzer so a staff member can come up from the basement and hand you the key. Occupying an unmarked 19th-century town house, the inn's 15 spacious rooms are tasteful arrangements of upscale flea-market finds—hand-picked carpets, scroll-arm sofas, four-poster beds, velvet curtains—and all have their own gas fireplaces, flat-screen TV's, and DVD players. (King rooms also have kitchenettes, outfitted with copper kettles and mini fridges.) Two layers of double-paned windows manage to keep late-night noises from Noho's bar district at bay. B Bar, the popular spot next door, does room service (it keeps keys after-hours), but given the happening location, why stay in?

Tip: Don't feel too bad if you snatch the faux-vintage stationery in your room to take with you; you won't be the first.

Room to Book: Entrance-level rooms—two of which, Nos. 5 and 6, are queens—have 14-foot ceilings. (No. 5, which faces the rear garden, is the quieter of the two.)