This has got to be the best hotel value in NYC.

To begin with the hotel is as nice as any hotel I have stayed at in Manhattan. The carpet and decor looks new, the rooms are a very nice size, even the non-suites, and the beds are very comfortable. The hotel also has a breakfast buffet with some type of eggs and bacon or sausage daily, as well as cereal, waffles, bagels, toast, and fruit. Oh, and the breakfast are is large enough that there is always a table available. The hotel also has a small workout room and laundry room, as well as a smoking area in the garage. The last is big convenience when it is 15 degrees outside in February. Finally, you don't have the noise of Manhattan - a fire truck or police car is not waking you up every 30 minutes.

What really makes the hotel shine though is the staff. They are excellent. Everyone is always happy to help with anything - from needing directions or restaurant suggestions to providing a can opener at 3AM. You can tell everyone actually likes their job, they are not just being polite. When was the last time you stayed at a hotel where you could say the staff really liked being there? It makes a difference.

If that is not enough, you can always find the hotel owner - Pete - around. Either behind the front desk, having breakfast in the food area or having a cigar in the smoking area. When was the last time the actual owner of the hotel asked you if everything was good with your stay. Pete really listens too. If you make an offhand comment that the iron in your room is kind of old, you are likely to have someone from housekeeping knocking on your door in the next 30 minutes with a new one.

The hotel is also 5 minutes from the Queens Plaza and Queensborough subway stations. It takes me 25 minutes to get from from my hotel room to outside the Port Authority Station in the middle of Manhattan. Or you can get to any other part of the city from those two stations.

There are also plenty of restaurant choices in the area. You can walk to several within a one to 4 block radius or about half a dozen with deliver to your hotel room. You can also take a 5 minute subway ride on the 7 train to Sunnyside in Queens and take your pick from a dozen different restaurants.

I travel to NYC for business every month for at least a week - often for two weeks. I won't stay anywhere else than the Verve. For half of what it costs to stay in Manhattan, less during the tourist season, I get a much nicer room with truly outstanding service.