At last, somewhere to stay in TriBeCa that doesn't feel like an eighties-era Holiday Inn or a bolt-hole for leave-the-wife-at-home conventioneers. The 45 rooms are hardly revolutionary in terms of decor—bathrooms done in slate and chrome, luxurious white linens, and moody abstract art call to mind the apartment of a mid-century mod-loving art director—but these days in New York, understatement is always welcome. And, while the bizarre in-room floral arrangements smell only of trying too hard, we can't take issue with free chocolates from Brooklyn-based confectioner Jacques Torres.
  Duane Street Hotel, opening late December, rooms from $300, 130 Duane St., New York, (212) 964-4600, duanestreethotel.com