My husband and I stayed at the Lucerne Hotel for three nights, from November 13-16, 2009. We had a standard room with King size bed - nothing to write home about, certainly not luxurious, but clean and quiet. As others have all mentioned, this hotel should not be confused with a 4 or 5 star luxury hotel, but it is quiet, clean and the location can't be beat. We were able to get a reduced rate of $225 per night (this was a working trip extended to allow for a day of fun in the city) which made this hotel, located on the upper west side, a good value by New York City standards.

Our room wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either - we had plenty of room for our suitcases and could still manage to move around without bumping into furniture. We had one window that looked out onto an inner courtyard and beyond towards the Hudson River. Our room was very quiet. We were able to leave the window cracked open for fresh air and were never bothered by any street noise whatsoever. I slept very well.

The photo of the bathroom posted by a previous reviewer (Lilac2155) is an accurate representation of what to expect - again nothing luxurious in my opinion, but it was clean and in good condition. The carpet in our room had seen better days (I was glad I brought a pair of slippers) but the bed was very comfortable. The towels, sheets and pillows were all acceptable and of good quality. My only complaint regarding the room would be that the hotel uses cheap blankets and awful bedspreads (the type that seem to rarely get washed). I really prefer washable duvet covers and duvets - they're just so much more sanitary in my opinion. With that said, the room was clean and tidy, and housekeeping did an excellent job.

Breakfast was not included in our room rate, but we did have a mini coffee maker in our room (which was available upon request). Frankly, we enjoyed walking over to H & H for fresh bagels each morning - a great way to start the day!

For me, location is the Lucerne's biggest plus. It's a two minute walk to the subway, which will get you pretty much anywhere worth getting to (the #1 line goes north to Columbia University & beyond, or south to Union Square & beyond). H & H Bagels and Zabar's are both right by the subway stop. Riverside Park, Central Park the Museum of Natural History and the Met are all within walking distance. The neighborhood feels very residential and safe. There's a wide variety of good restaurants, in all price ranges, nearby. I highly recommend Pizza by LaGrolla, located on Amsterdam Ave. between 79th & 80th - the Sicilian-style rectangular slices (available eat-in or to-go) are the best I've ever had (and I grew up on the stuff). The one with rosemary ham, mushrooms and caramelized onions was pure heaven! I also recommend Le Pain Quotidien, on Amsterdam Avenue at 84th, for coffee and the amazing bread basket (don't miss the hazelnut spread - it's pure sin). Obviously, Zabar's should not be missed (take a pound of their coffee home). All in all, the location and decent value (by NYC standards) of the Lucerne is what will bring me back.

Lastly, I do feel the need to address the "resident" issue that has been mentioned in previous reviews - one of which I felt was unnecessarily harsh. Yes, there are some permanent residents living in the some of the rooms (before this became a hotel, this was an apartment building), but based upon my experience, by no means does the hotel feel like a "flop house" as mentioned by an earlier reviewer. I met one of the residents in the elevator, an older gentleman going up with a bag of groceries. He was very nice, very polite and did not in any way make me feel unsafe or uncomfortable. My husband and I also shared the elevator with a young couple going up to visit their grandmother, another resident. On one occasion I passed a very elderly woman in the hallway outside our room. She was very polite (she complimented my scarf) and was completely harmless. I can honestly say, the general clientele of this hotel tends toward the 40 and up age bracket, which is fine with me. You don't see very many young hipsters hanging out here. It's a clean, quiet hotel, the service is adequate and the location can't be beat.

I also highly recommend taking the subway out to Brooklyn for dinner at Aurora, located at 70 Grand Street. It's located on a quiet side street away for the noisier establishments and serves fabulous, authentic rustic Italian food. The wild boar ragu with pappardelle and the melt-in-your-mouth rabbit with polenta were both excellent - on par with what we had in Italy. The atmosphere is lovely and the subway ride is half the fun.