NYC - Waldorf Astoria, Crowne Plaza Times Sq, or....?

[Tyre Smoke]

Finally decided to book New York for October. A bit of research and have sort of narrowed down my choice of residence for six nights to the two hotels mentioned above. Both are about the same price, but it's almost down to a coin toss.

So those of you that have been to NYC or lived there (our first time) which do you recommend or do you suggest somewhere else, and why?

Obviously we want to be fairly central for a bit of walking about. Or I suppose we could be a bit further away from the centre and subway it?

Any help gratefully received.

[nyt]

Have stayed at the Waldorf - It's a nice hotel, a little 'business' in the week. Good subway connections. Not exciting but comfortable.

Time square isn't my favourite area .. worth a look-see but that's all (again imho).

[skahigh]

You'll probably want to use the subway / taxis a fair bit anyway, a lot of the stuff you want to see is fairly spread out and although you can walk most of it it can mean you do an awful lot of walking.

We didn't stay in either of the hotels you mention and in not sure where they are but I'd probably just go for the nicest one or the one closest to eateries you want to visit as personally I prefer to eat fairly close to my hotel in the evening and do most of my traveling around sightseeing during the day.

[Tyre Smoke]

Good point Skahigh, Any recommendations hotels near food places?

[skahigh]

No sorry, we stayed in a small boutique type hotel but wished we had stayed in one of the big chain places, our room was tiny and incredibly dark (black paint, no main light, only lamps + 3rd floor surrounded by skyscrapers so no natural light either). Also, it wasn't near anything decent as far as evening meals were concerned so far as we could tell, hence my suggestion to choose carefully.

ETA. It was the Mansfield Hotel we stayed in, was an easy walk to Times Square and other places like the Empire State Building but otherwise felt a bit in the middle of nowhere (if that's possible in NYC!)



Also, I would say the view from the Rockefeller Centre is much better than the Empire state (and has a great view of the Empire state), well worth doing both!

Edited by skahigh on Wednesday 27th April 11:39

[nyt]

You could look at the Hudson Hotel - Bottom left hand of Central park.

It has two cool bars and is walking distance from Hell's Kitchen - 'Bohemian food bars' and the more upmarket upper-west side.

Well connected on the subway.

Don't go for the smallest rooms - just too small.

[jshell]

Done the Waldorf, was fairly bland and tired. the 'London' was great to stay at but Gordon Ramsay's restaurant was dreadful. Nicest hotel was Trump Soho with unbelievable views and access to downtown hot-spots.

[anonymous-user]

jshell said:

Done the Waldorf, was fairly bland and tired. the 'London' was great to stay at but Gordon Ramsay's restaurant was dreadful. Nicest hotel was Trump Soho with unbelievable views and access to downtown hot-spots.

Soho is a great place to be - great access to the Village, Little Italy, China Town, etc, etc, or not far is the Lower East Side - loads of hotels to suit every budget in those areas, and they are better areas to stay in than Times Square, which isn't a great part of town really. I think you'd spend more time travelling from Times Square to the other areas than the other way round most likely..

My usual NYC hotel is a little different as it's next door to one of my firm's NYC offices - the Hyatt on the Hudson, right on the bank of the Hudson, but on the NJ side. You get a fabulous view of Lower Manhatten from there, skyscrapers and all, and it's only one stop on the Path (Exchange Place station right outside hotel) under the Hudson to the World Trade Centre interchange. Easy access (less than 300m) to Paulus Hook ferry stop and heliport...

What kind of budget do you have?

[Tyre Smoke]

That's a great help, two adults one 12yo flying out of LHR or LGW to either JFK or EWR and upto £4k 22nd to 28th Oct.

There seems to be better quality hotels away from Times Square/Broadway, so any suggestions are welcome. I obviously fell into the tourist trap of that's where I need to be. From what everyone says, I'll be cabbing/subway everywhere anyway,so food near the hotel is probably more important.

[RDMcG]

I love the WestHouse..boutique hotel http://www.westhousehotelnewyork.com/

Not too far from Central Park...excellent service.

[anonymous-user]

So flights would be circa £600~650 each assuming Economy - returning on a Friday probably knocks that up, but let's say £1800 total best case. Leaving £2200 for 6 (or is it 7?) nights accommodation - which is more than enough for a decent room in a decent hotel in the areas mentioned. SoHo is, not unlike its namesake in London, full of restaurants, quirky shops, bars, and is a good area to be based for first-timers. Greenwich Village is likewise, but you'll get a bit more for your money. Close by, Little Italy and Chinatown do, as you might guess, have a fair selection of eateries too!

Get onto Booking.com and check a few out (search 'soho NYC' or 'greenwich village', not just 'nyc') - the top end SoHo hotels like the Mercer will be out of reach, but you should be able to secure something decent fairly easy. Just be careful when you're browsing as not all hotels will have 'family' rooms with a double and single or two doubles in one room - some will try and give you two separate rooms.

One hotel I have stayed in further north towards midtown was the Hyatt Herald Square, which does have family rooms, is very smart, quite small, great rooms, very boutiquey - I enjoyed my stay there.

[12TS]

I like the Sofitel. Central, but down one of the quieter streets.

[Simon Brooks]

jshell said:

Done the Waldorf, was fairly bland and tired. the 'London' was great to stay at but Gordon Ramsay's restaurant was dreadful. Nicest hotel was Trump Soho with unbelievable views and access to downtown hot-spots.

Did the Waldorf experience years ago just for the hell of it, as above, at the time nothing to write home about, other than 'been there, done that' factor

Not been back to NY for a few years, however No 2 child is 'loved up' with a lady who lives on Long Island, so will watch this topic with interest, as we will no doubt be heading over there shortly.

[malks222]

I went last august for my first trip and after reading up decided I wanted to avoid times square area for my hotel. glad i did, its cool to go see, but its so busy and full of touristy tat stuff, very happy to have avoided that.

I stayed in 'dream downtown' in meatpacking/ chelsea area, round the corner from chelsea market. great access for subway up/ down town and really nice area/ neighbourhood to walk around with lots of options for eating drinking.

[Martin_Hx]

We stayed here for a few nights last year and it was brilliant!

http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/newyork/...

Great location and just off central park... lovely roof top bar as well

[Whitean3]

Martin_Hx said:

We stayed here for a few nights last year and it was brilliant!

http://www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/newyork/...

Great location and just off central park... lovely roof top bar as well

I can echo this too. Close to Central Park and actually very convenient for most other things too. Also stayed there in October (Thanksgiving)

[HOGEPH]

Look at hotels across the river. I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Long Island City, much cheaper, and it was only a 10 min subway trip into the centre of Manhatten.

[djsmith74]

I went a couple of years ago and stayed in the MeatPacking District, which is a lovely quiet area of NYC with excellent small shops bars & restaurants (including Chelsea Market and The HighLine). It's where the locals go to get away from New York itself, and a lovely place to unwind after a day's sightseeing. I personally wouldn't fall into the tourist trap of staying central, as the subway system is excellent and you can easily be in the centre of NY from the Meatpacking District within 10mins or so. Or you can even walk along the Hudson River to the city on a nice morning, which is much more pleasant.

[craig1912]

Been three times in three different hotels.
I wouldn't stay in Times Square again- too busy.
I wouldn't stay across the river- may be cheaper but I prefer to walk to some places and don't want to get the metro all the time.
Last year stayed at the Park Central which had decent rooms, was between Times Square and Central Park and had a metro station 100m away.

[5potTurbo]

I go to NY fairly regularly for work.
Last visit I stayed at The Roxy at the very beginning of 6th Ave. Nice place, but eat breakfast elsewhere, when it's almost $30 ea. ....