I stayed at the Aura for a 3 day visit to NYC. The hotel is centrally in Times Square. It is in a very safe area. I travelled alone and never felt unsafe.
The room was very comfortable and clean . I had to ask the front desk to have the shower bar addressed as it was very loose from the shower wall and if you needed to rely on that, you would have fallen. They immediately took care of that.
I would call the room I was in "minimalistic" but in a good way. It had a large flat screen TV, king sized bed, desk, chair and 2 night stands plus a closet, that was it. I think it was meant that way as people don't stay in their room all that long.
My only suggestion is maybe have more carpeting in the room other than the area rug by the bed. The faux, hardwood floor was nice but when it is cold outside, it is nice to have carpeting in the room.
I would definitely come back again and stay there.