okay so you're desperate for a vacation but who has the time? there are your clients and the pooch. and forget about spending thousands of dollars. but there is an option. steal away in style at the city club hotel on west 44th street. it's intimate and chic, and no one will ever find you should you need to check in (or out rather) for a night or two.

each room at this seductive luxury hotel was painstakingly designed jeffrey bilhuber (he also decorated anna wintour and davie bowie's pads). take a tour with owner and perfectionist jeff klein and he will meticulously take fix-it notes to housekeeping about the frette bed pillows, or hermes soaps in the chocolate marble bathroom. to add to this luxury, klein partnered with haute-restauranteur daniel boulud whose db bistro just downstairs caters to the hotel's room service. it's really no wonder that this charming hotelier and his dreamy-eyed beagle have been covered by a slew of mags including vogue and conde nast traveler.

during high-season this eight-month-older runs upwards of $400 for a luxury king room. but during summer months, you can snag a room for $249 complete with a high-tech sound system and james-bondesque hidden tv.

a nice little escape without all the trouble of actually taking one.

the city club hotel
55 west 44th street
between fifth and sixth
212.921.5500
www.cityclubhotel.com