I travel to the NY for work about 4 times a year and invariably end up staying in unusually grim hotels, booked by the organisation I work for, which aren't even particularly cheap.
I'm assuming that somewhere in the city there are probably last minute deals to be had which would involve a nicer hotel at the same price (or at the very least, a similarly grim hotel for cheaper!). Needs to be in Manhattan, preferably in or near mid-town. Any ideas? Lastminute.com never seems to have anything for much less than the list price on the hotel's website.