On those specific occasions when pulling down the shades and switching off the phone just doesn't cut it, a change of venue is in order: a snug little hideaway, quirky yet professionally run, friendly but not fawning, inexpensive though not untidy, but with enough neighboring urban grit to match your mood. The Adelaide is all of that. Nestled at the dead end of Duncan Court (half a block from where the mother of modern dance was born in the 1870s), the inn is a quiet, trim pensione with bathrooms down the hall from the bedrooms, a kitchen where you can prepare your own snacks, and a common room where a minimalist continental breakfast is served each morning. The individually named rooms are serviceable and distinctively decorated, the desk staff is extremely helpful and informative, the prices are reasonable -- about $40 for a single, plus hotel tax -- and Union Square's only a couple of blocks to the east. And if you absolutely insist on making a phone call, there's a public phone in the Owl Tree Bar at Post and Taylor just up the street.