Hotel Affinia Dumont

The hotel is located at 150 East 34th Street in the Murray Hill district of Manhattan. It is just a few blocks away from Madison and Fifth Avenues, Macy's and the Empire State Building. Both 33rd Street metro and Grand Central are within walking distance. Both JFK and Newark airports are 17 miles away while La Guardia is just 8.

Affinia Dumont is part of the Affinia Group which includes four sister hotels in New York (Affinia 50, Affinia Gardens, Affinia Manhattan and Affinia Shelburne) as well as four affiliate hotels (Eastgate Tower Hotel, Surrey Hotel, The Benjamin and The Buckingham). Each of the Affinias offers complimentary 'Experience Kits' to help you customize your stay. Here you can choose between the yoga, running and strength kits. Guests can all customize their stay by choosing one of six pillow types and adding such items as rubber ducks, putters or cupcakes to their room thanks to the My Affinia application found both on the hotel's website and at computer stations in the hotel lobby.

The 37 floor brown brick tower that is the Affinia Dumont was built as a hotel. Entering the all marble lobby you are faced with the brightly illuminated reception desk while behind to the right, next to the street, is a seating area resembling in its setup a dentist's waiting room, decorated with 5 x 4 grid of images reflecting the hotel's fitness/relaxation theme. You'll find a PC opposite the reception which can be used to customize your stay while another in the seating area can be used for surfing the web and printing boarding passes (complimentary). The smart Oasis Day Spa offers an exhaustive range of treatments everyday of the week while the hotel's fitness centre has a large collection of decent machines with individual screens on the cardio apparatus, as well as a yoga room and locker rooms equipped with steam showers. The facility itself is reasonably modern and well maintained and the staff we came across were smiley and polite.

Three types of room make up the Dumont's inventory. The standard room is known as the Studio Suite and is somewhat more spacious than your average New York standard. The room boasts two queen size beds (some have kings), a desk positioned in the corner of the room where light pours in, a drawer unit upon which is a television and selection of nicely presented snacks and wine and a comfy armchair with matching pouffe in the opposite corner. Opening the closet will reveal the safe and iron and ironing board. The conservative décor will certainly not knock your socks off, but the room is clean, luminous and correct. Cornered off in the room is an old-fashioned kitchenette with cooker and fridge. The bathroom, which, like the bedroom, is not revolutionary in its design, has a bathtub, hairdryer, makeup mirror and Aveda toiletries. For more space or if there are more than two people in your party, the junior suite offers the same amenities but with a sofa bed. For a group of four opt for the one bedroom suite which not only has a separate living area, but also a hi-if, DVD player and webmail.

The hotel's restaurant, the Barking Dog, is a homage to man's best friend. Adorning the walls are countless canine portraits as well as a giant blackboard scrawled with dog-related quotes. There is even a dog bar outside the restaurant for doggies of different sizes. A small bar is tucked into the right-hand corner as you enter and the seating is arranged with booths down the same flank and tables and chairs elsewhere. The menu features primarily heavy American fare such as robust sandwiches, generous wraps and salads for lunch with chicken, meat and seafood for dinner (homemade pizzas are available all day). The restaurant is open for all three meals and provides room service for the hotel. In the summer chairs and tables are put out on the terrace off of the street.