Carlton Arms Hotel   

160 E 25th St
New York, NY 10010
212-679-0680
www.carltonarms.com/

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This budget accommodation near Gramercy Park is more of a European-style hostel than traditional hotel, but it's worth a night's stay if only for the view -- of the inside. Back in the 1980s, manager Ed Ryan turned what was quickly becoming a flophouse over to a group of upstart Downtown artists (including Keith Haring), who converted it into a 54-room art installation. Every square inch of the place, from the lobby to the hallways to the bathrooms, has been painted, collaged, sculpted or otherwise transformed into a surrealist fantasy, creating what People magazine calls a 'live-in museum.' Room 4D (pictured) was re-envisioned by the late Brian Damage as a submarine with looking out over Atlantis. Other popular rooms include 8B (AKA 'The Red Room'), covered in crimson from the shag carpet to the plaster ceiling, and 9D, which is made up like an old barn (complete with wooden roof). This is not the kind of place to stow Mom and Dad when they come to visit (there's no TV or phone in the room and the toilets are down the hall), but with all the free eye candy and a double going for only $80-90 a night, who's complaining? -- David Savage