I would go for the St. Regis at the Essex House. The Essex House is always pretty generous with upgrades, etc. Plus the location can't be beat. There's Whiskey Park down the street, which is a pretty good mid-20s bar.

The St. Regis on 5th may be a better location, but I wouldn't call a grand deluxe room a mini suite. Plus, unless you have a history of stays there, they are pretty much loathe to upgrade you to anything.

Oh, and...the Court and Tuscany are pretty nice and have two hip bars in them. That said, they are sort of out of the way on East 39th street. The Essex and St. Regis are much more conveniently located.

[This message has been edited by jja (edited 05-08-2001).]