"Let's get out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini," I said, as my friend and I dashed from the theatre and shook out our umbrellas to enter the Algonquin Hotel's lobby. I'd stolen the line from Robert Benchley, one of the many writers who lunched at the hotel's legendary Round Table. After only 24 hours of staying here, I'd begun to channel the literary wits that made this place famous.

A New York City landmark, The Algonquin is just around the corner from Times Square, where neon billboards, chain hotels and restaurants scream out that it's 2004. But stepping into the Algonquin Lobby, one enters a gentler era.

The room still retains the Edwardian décor of its 1902 opening - oozing character and old-fashioned graciousness without an ounce of pretentiousness. Sconces softly light dark wood walls; carved columns surround clusters of sitting areas that are furnished with muted jewel-toned love seats and high back chairs. Coffee tables feature tiny dome shaped bells that can be dinged for service from tuxedoed waiters, while a grandfather clock chimes away the hours.

I found myself often lingering in the lobby. The morning scene was peaceful with mellow jazz piped in and the smell of rich coffee. Business people in suits gathered in meetings to discuss publishing projects and guests read the paper or perused their guidebooks. By early evening, the vibe pumped up as it became crowded with a range of types, from Sex And The City gals drinking giant Cosmopolitans to tourists in running shoes taking a peek around and murmuring, "Mmm… fancy."

The Algonquin restaurant joins the lobby at its far end, with the renowned Round Table as its centerpiece. The story goes that the legendary lunch of literary wits and Broadway celebrities all began on a hot June afternoon in 1917 when a party was given to welcome New York Times critic Alexander Wolcott's return from the war. Writers from the nearby magazine Vanity Fair joined the table and had such a good time, they thought, "Why not do this more often?" Owner/manager Frank Case welcomed the group, always extending them credit and sending over complimentary popovers and celery. In keeping with that tradition, the hotel offers discounts to writers to this day.

An oil painting, which captures the famous 10-year scene, hangs behind the table. Harold Ross sits reading The New Yorker, the magazine he was inspired to create while lunching with the gang. Included in the roster of Round Table regulars were such theatre stars as Harpo Marx, Helen Hayes, and Tallulah Bankhead along with writers George Kaufman, Edna Ferber, and Dorothy Parker. Parker stands out in the painting with her wide-brimmed hat and arched eyebrows. She nicknamed the hotel "The Gonk" and was one of many notables who took up residence there.

In keeping with the hotel's history, custom made wallpaper featuring New Yorker cartoons covers the guest room hallways, and each of the 24 corner suites are named after "Gonk" regulars. Mine was "The Al Hirschfeld," decorated with his drawings, including Ella Fitzgerald scatting at the mike, Professor Higgins scolding Eliza at the Ascot, and a self-portrait of Hirschfeld himself sketching theatre seats.

"Looks like Grandma's house," I thought upon entering the homey sitting room and bedroom, done up in a color scheme of pale greens and gold. A bowl of crisp red apples and a dish of butterscotch candies fit perfectly with the comfortable dark wood furniture. The deep soaking tub in the bathroom, which featured updated period fixtures, completed the midtown oasis picture. I could hang out in a Terry cloth bathrobe with the muffled sounds of the busy street going on below, then dash out to Broadway minutes before a show was to start, knowing I could return to coziness moments after the curtain came down.

It was like belonging to an intimate midtown club for a couple of days. On my comings and goings, I got on a first name basis with the friendly bellhops, desk clerks and resident cat, Matilda, who slept on the luggage cart.

Not that I even had to leave the hotel for top-notch New York entertainment. The Algonquin's Oak Room has hosted star cabaret entertainment since 1939. I joined an elegant audience on the last night of my stay, and was treated to a wonderful show featuring Karen Akers. She sang the mood the Algonquin had transported me to, crooning Johnny Mercer's classic, "I'm old fashioned, I love the moonlight. I love old-fashioned things…"