Those wishing to stay in Midtown — a location ideal for visiting attractions such as MoMA, The Morgan Library, Carnegie Hall, Broadway theaters and Fifth Avenue stores — have no shortage of fine hotels from which to choose. It comes down to a matter of taste. Here are two of my favorites.

The St. Regis

The Knickerbocker isn’t the only hotel John Jacob Astor IV built in Manhattan. He opened The St. Regis on Fifth Avenue two years earlier, in 1904. This landmark Beaux Arts property retains a sumptuously elaborate interior harking back to the end of the Gilded Age. The hotel recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of its guest rooms and public areas, including the King Cole Bar & Salon, famous for both its Bloody Marys and the striking “Old King Cole” mural by Maxfield Parrish. Accommodations combine classic furnishings with contemporary art and feature marble-tiled entryways, crystal Waterford chandeliers, silk wallcoverings and opulent Italian marble baths. As befits an Astor-built hotel, all guest rooms come with butler service — each floor has one on duty 24 hours a day.