Paper Factory Hotel

If you want to stay somewhere other than a typical boutique hotel, consider the Paper Factory Hotel in Long Island City. The restaurant serves as a beacon of youthful cool in the heart of the industrial 'hood, enticing both locals and visitors to Manhattan. The former industrial warehouse was purchased in 2012 and renovated, with many of the original features retained to highlight the structure's history. The floors are bare gray concrete, and each room has large windows (which allowed for more natural light for workers of the actual paper factory). The hotel's choice of wrought-iron bed frames and repurposed wooden furniture continues the industrial theme, but gets an upgrade with deep, rich brown leather couches in the hallways and velvet armchairs in the rooms.

In the lobby, half of a London phone booth protrudes from the floor, and a small café serves Queens' For Five Roasters coffee. Mundo, Paper Factory's restaurant, is distinguished by a circular staircase that winds around a central column adorned with hardcover books. In the dimly lit space, hotel guests and diners can enjoy a well-prepared Mediterranean-inspired meal, such as nicely browned pan-seared scallops over polenta and topped with vegetables ($20) and oven-roasted rack of lamb with a heaping helping of cabbage confit ($29).

Paper Factory is a much cheaper alternative to Manhattan hotel stays while being comparable in most ways. While the subway will get you close to Central Park in about 15 minutes (the hotel is just around the corner from the M and R at 36th St and a few blocks further from the N and W at 39th Ave), a weekend night in a standard king room at Paper Factory will cost you around $139, which is significantly less than its Manhattan counterparts.

Price: $116 per night

Google rating: 4.2/5.0

Address: 37-06 36th StQueens11101

Phone: 718-392-7200

Website: www.paperfactoryhotel.com