A new hotel on the east side near Grand Central Station is boasting about the size of their rooms, and with good reason. These have to be the most well designed compact rooms in the city. It’s a Capricorn’s dream – everything is practical and not an inch is wasted. Luggage goes under the bed, there’s a big fold away drawer for ‘stuff’ and the bathroom is labelled for spectacle free spa-ing. Each floor has it’s own colour so you won’t lose your room, and there are sleeping alternatives for those who are traveling together but are still arguing about who carries the map. For the budget conscious The Pod provides a clean alternative for those who ‘only want a bed’. But there are some other great reasons to swing by…

Ping Pong! There are two tables set back behind reception that form part of an open entertainment area with bar, food service, comfy lounges, internet and a library of real books. It’s all very inviting and easy to relax. Pod is not so devastatingly groovy that you have to pretend you are waiting for your daughter, ( although a sister would have been good! ) but the staff are cool and tattooed and very friendly. The food is Spanish and there are colourful touches of the Orient in the gaming rooms, making for an international mood that carries to the top floor. When the lift door opens you feel you have been transported to Morocco, but step outside and with vantage point views to the Chrysler, the Empire State and the East river, you are unmistakably in Manhattan…