This summer and fall brought on a building spree for New York City hotels. Sure, there are plenty of places to hang your hat in the city, but these hot new spots — from a boutique property in Nolita to a mammoth landmark or two in Times Square — offer fresh lodging options for visitors and fresh perks (rooftop pools, open-air terraces and scenester bars) for New Yorkers.

The James New York opens its doors today. Here’s a look at what preceded this stylish Soho gem, and what’s coming next.

The Eventi
North Chelsea; opened June 2010
It’s not the first Kimpton Hotel in the city, but the 292-room Eventi just might be our favorite. At this brand new high-rise, Kimpton has taken its signature artistic winks, downright cheerful service and streamlined guestrooms to the next level.

Coy touches mark the soaring lobby, like the stylized landscape painting — framed and lit as if it were on display at the Met — that hangs on the ceiling. But ride up the elevator and the colors fade into a very Manhattan world of grays and blacks. Japanese panels and doors line one side of the guest rooms, each of which has a marble bathroom and floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows that open the room up to the city.

The fifth-floor terrace is perfect for your morning coffee or evening wine, with a generous serving of skyline. And a multi-media space behind the hotel is slated to open in October; the so-called plaza will house art-installations, a huge screen for shows and films and a cluster of international food carts under the direction of restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow, previously of the Asia de Cuba outposts at a handful of Morgans Hotels.

The hotel’s immediate vicinity leaves a little to be desired, but you’re a short walk from Chelsea to the south and the theater district to the north. With the opening of the Eventi — on the coattails of the neighborhood’s hip Ace Hotel — the under-the-radar stretch of the city just might be having its moment.

Andaz Fifth Avenue
Midtown; opened July 5
In a city where high-end hotel openings are often delayed, the Andaz Fifth Avenue turned that trend on its head, opening even earlier than its anticipated date.

The 184-room boutique hotel straddles Midtown across the street from the New York Library in the 1916 Rogers Peet Building. Originally a retail store, the space has been smartly re-done to fit a modern hotel, inspired by the city.

One of five Andaz hotels, a boutique group from Hyatt, the property’s loft-like rooms are clean-lined and neutral. Pops of artwork — a huge focus here — punctuate public and private spaces. A Nick Hornby sculpture awaits in the lounge, and Christian Heckscher etched a welcome work on the hotel’s 10-foot bronze front doors.

InterContinental Times Square
Times Square; opened July 12
InterContinental’s Barclay New York lays claim to the east side of Midtown, but its brand new sister property, the InterContinental Times Square, commands the west from its 36-floor, 607-room spot at 8^th Avenue and 44^th Street.

A courtyard garden backs the check-in desk and CaVa, the ground-floor French brasserie from chef Todd English serves the pre-theatre crowds in its 125-seat restaurant and lounge sustains on-the-go tourists at its take-away Marche counter. Want a trip with classic Times Square allure? A stay at this hotel puts you around the corner from a new Shake Shack, blocks from midtown’s biggest theaters and lends views of Manhattan in nearly every direction.

The largest hotel in the city to gain LEED-certification, the InterContinental also benefits from an extra-special vantage point, thanks to neighborhood zoning laws. Technically, part of the structure is in Times Square (skyscrapers welcome) and part of it lies in the decidedly low-rise Clinton Hill (with much more stringent restrictions on building height). As a result, the L-shaped building has killer views — via floor-to-ceiling guest room windows — looking west to the Hudson River, but also showcases the dazzle of midtown to the east.

Cassa
Midtown; opened August 1
A distinct, tapered white tower, designed by TEN Arquitectos and CetraRuddy, houses this 166-room boutique hotel at Sixth Avenue and 45^th Street. Inside, hotel rooms and suites share space with posh condos. The vibe at the Cassa Hotel in Residences is sleek: black leather-studded headboards loom over Frette linens, Rizzoli and Taschen art books decorate the coffee tables and Irene Mamiye photos (individual works of art, in fact) grace the walls of every guest room.

Designed by CetraRuddy Architects, interiors are contemporary, with lots of stainless steel and limestone. A glass catwalk reveals the on-site eatery sunken below the hotel’s lobby. Restaurant 1945, set to open this fall, will hark back to another era of fine-dining. Think organic, healthier versions of classic mid-century dishes. Before dinner, grab a drink at U-bar, or take it out to the hotel’s 10^th-floor al fresco lounge.

W New York Downtown
Financial District/World Trade Center; opened August 9
One of many recent builds near the WTC site, the brand new W has 217 hotel rooms and 223 condo units. Sitting pretty at 58 floors, it’s one of the tallest structures in the financial ‘hood.

It’s downtown address means it’s (perhaps graciously) removed from the action in Midtown, and the views are more far-reaching than most. Gaze south to the Statue of Liberty, and North to the ESB looming over the W’s competition.

Before a series of delays, developer Matthew Moinian told Page Six he wanted to build a hotel that would be “a W on steroids.” The mod, borderline space-ship feeling interiors and the surreal Living Room Bar and Terrace are certainly pumped up but not overdone. The hotel’s two Extreme Wow Suites, each with their own full marble-topped wet bar and panoramic downtown views, stretch over 1,060 square feet on the 12^th and 14^th floors.

Gansevoort Park Avenue
Gramercy Park; opened August 16
The much-anticipated opening of Gansevoort’s second NYC outpost was good news for tourists and locals alike. It came as no surprise that the same scene-y feel and swank hang-out spots are found at the Gansevoort Park Avenue, at 29^th Street in Gramercy Park.

The James Hotel
Soho; opens September 1
The James Hotel brings a touch of downtown style to West Soho’s burgeoning gallery — and hotel — scene. At the 114-room property, guests are surrounded by incredible work from local artists, coddled by eco-friendly amenities and located at Grand and Thompson on Soho’s West side.

In partnership with a local art gallery, the James features a rotation of work from New York artists in its public spaces and rooms; the wall by the staircase on the ground floor, for example, is covered with a mosaic of individual computer keys. East-facing windows have sweeping views of the decidedly low rise lower Manhattan.

The warm tones in the guest rooms incorporate a touch of eco-friendliness in the form of recycled-wood floors and bathroom amenities from Intelligent Nutrients, Aveda founder Horst Rechelbacher’s line of organic products. Still in the works are a swank rooftop bar, an on-site restaurant and a lush garden deck.

The James may not be a brand that was born in New York City (the original and iconic James sits just off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile) but just like the transplants that populate the city, the hotel is sure to adjust to the Big Apple with style and grace.

The Setai
Midtown; opens November 1
Slated to accept its first guests just in time for the holiday rush, the 157-room Setai promises apartment-like accommodations filled with contemporary décor and artwork by American and European artists. Two blocks North of the Empire State Building, the Setai will assign a personal assistant to each guest.

Most rooms span over 700 square feet (practically palatial by Midtown standards) and a handful of suites on the 5^th and 11^th floors have private, furnished terraces — expect looming Empire State views on 11 thanks to the hotel’s location on Fifth Avenue between 36 and 37 streets.

The Setai comes from the Capella Hotel group, known for its top-notch but more off-the-beaten-path resorts in destinations like Ixtapa, Telluride and Cabo San Lucas. This is only their third venture into metropolis hotel markets, but we have a feeling the Setai’s thoughtful touches — espresso machines in the room, the 11,500-square-foot spa with a sauna ice cave and social hamam, no set check-in/check-out times — will translate effortlessly to this Manhattan spot.

The Nolitan
Nolita; opens fall 2010
The first hotel to open in this happening neighborhood, the boutique Nolitan is, not surprisingly, a hyper-local property that thrives on its immediate and hip surroundings.

The 55-room hotel delivers luxury in a distinctly downtown way. Grab a complimentary skateboard or bicycle at the check-in area, and explore the city from Tribeca to the Lower East Side. After an exhilarating ride, head back to your minimalist-chic room to clean up under the rain shower with Moroccan Rose bath products made for the hotel at Red Flower, just a few blocks North on Prince Street.

With its small size and hood-focused vibe, guests here are sure to feel like New Yorkers, if only for a few nights.