NYC Where to stay?
Discussion
Evening all, always had good advice from the hive mind of this particular sub forum so I’m back again for some advice on our next trip please.
Looking at the Big Apple, somewhere I’ve never been before and know very little about so where should I be looking at staying? Currently looking in the area between Times Square and Central Park. Hoping to be able to walk back to the hotel in the evenings after dinner or a show etc so being near Times Square seems to make sense, unless anyone knows otherwise?
Two recommended hotels so far are The Jewel on West 51st and the Edison on West 47th. Beyond that I’ve got nothing so any input gratefully received. Not looking for anything high end as we basically be using it store our cases and sleep!
Thanks all!
Looking at the Big Apple, somewhere I’ve never been before and know very little about so where should I be looking at staying? Currently looking in the area between Times Square and Central Park. Hoping to be able to walk back to the hotel in the evenings after dinner or a show etc so being near Times Square seems to make sense, unless anyone knows otherwise?
Two recommended hotels so far are The Jewel on West 51st and the Edison on West 47th. Beyond that I’ve got nothing so any input gratefully received. Not looking for anything high end as we basically be using it store our cases and sleep!
Thanks all!
We stayed at Hotel Mela, just off Times Square last time we where there.
Great location and no complaints at all.
https://www.hotelmela.com/
Great location and no complaints at all.
https://www.hotelmela.com/
As noted above it depends on your budget. There are a couple of decent hotels that are basically on Times Square but you'll pay handsomely for the privilege.
My personal choice over the last few years has been to stay in Jersey City and catch the ferry or train in to manhattan each morning.
It's slightly more inconvenient than staying on times square but the savings will likely pay for your whole holiday!!
My personal choice over the last few years has been to stay in Jersey City and catch the ferry or train in to manhattan each morning.
It's slightly more inconvenient than staying on times square but the savings will likely pay for your whole holiday!!
Most of the time I normally stay at various Hilton's and their offshoots.
The Doubletree in Times Square outside the red steps is really convenient for most things including Broadway.
The Millennium Hotel on Broadway is pretty decent too and good for the theatres.
If you just want somewhere to throw your bags and have a decent sleep then just find any decent 3 star around midtown/Broadway area as they will probably much the same.
Food options are plentiful from cheap pizza by the slice and street food vendors on most corners to hundreds of different fast food/restaurants and above at the higher end so you won't be stuck on that front.
Subways pretty cheap to move around but I normally just walked most days from Times Square down to the Financial District to check out all the areas on the way and catch a cab/subway on the way back if I've got lots of shopping.
The Doubletree in Times Square outside the red steps is really convenient for most things including Broadway.
The Millennium Hotel on Broadway is pretty decent too and good for the theatres.
If you just want somewhere to throw your bags and have a decent sleep then just find any decent 3 star around midtown/Broadway area as they will probably much the same.
Food options are plentiful from cheap pizza by the slice and street food vendors on most corners to hundreds of different fast food/restaurants and above at the higher end so you won't be stuck on that front.
Subways pretty cheap to move around but I normally just walked most days from Times Square down to the Financial District to check out all the areas on the way and catch a cab/subway on the way back if I've got lots of shopping.
I used to live in Manhattan, so can't give hotels advice but can help re area to look for
In short, any area really (excluding Spanish Harlem)
So upper east side is full of restaurants and bars, easy to walk over to Central Park and connected to the 4,5,6 subways that will cruise you from top to bottom including stopping at Grand Central
No tourist venture up there and for that reason, its good
Upper west sides much the same, a bit quieter but also has A,B,C line taking you from top to bottom
After that (ie below central park) is Mid town
This is where the high rise is and the tourist hang out, sadly.
AS your first time I guess it will be where you will want to be, but no need to be near times sq, its a short walk all over, or a quick taxi ride or a stop or 2 on a subway, all of which is safe and easy, and probably better then having a 5 min walk to your hotel as its part of the experience, seeing NYC from a CAB, people watching in a subway cart or walking the streets
Lower than mid town are various 'villages' this is where you want to be for the 'real' New York, if there is such a thing. No real tourists sights but uber cool restaurants and shops.
Right at the bottom is one World Trade Center, the oculus , wall street , ferry terminals etc and a tourist hot spot,
There is literally no wrong area to stay (except Harlem as mentioned, best still avoid that even though its not as fierce as the name used to conjure up.
15 minutes on a subway will get you just about anywhere and as I said, its all part of the experience. Places to go are spread out all over NYC but people seem to always stay in Mid Town, which really is , in my option , the worst place to be simply because the restaurants are all touristy/ work ordinated and don't care so much about quality, style or coolness but will charge you as if they are all of those things.
Don't forget, at most your go to 1 show on your stay, so don't center your hotel location on it!
and really, never eat in Midtown, except for a steak house (Gallaghers or Wolfgangs(the one on Park) but for the 'real' NY vibe, its any where a high-rise isn't.
In short, any area really (excluding Spanish Harlem)
So upper east side is full of restaurants and bars, easy to walk over to Central Park and connected to the 4,5,6 subways that will cruise you from top to bottom including stopping at Grand Central
No tourist venture up there and for that reason, its good
Upper west sides much the same, a bit quieter but also has A,B,C line taking you from top to bottom
After that (ie below central park) is Mid town
This is where the high rise is and the tourist hang out, sadly.
AS your first time I guess it will be where you will want to be, but no need to be near times sq, its a short walk all over, or a quick taxi ride or a stop or 2 on a subway, all of which is safe and easy, and probably better then having a 5 min walk to your hotel as its part of the experience, seeing NYC from a CAB, people watching in a subway cart or walking the streets
Lower than mid town are various 'villages' this is where you want to be for the 'real' New York, if there is such a thing. No real tourists sights but uber cool restaurants and shops.
Right at the bottom is one World Trade Center, the oculus , wall street , ferry terminals etc and a tourist hot spot,
There is literally no wrong area to stay (except Harlem as mentioned, best still avoid that even though its not as fierce as the name used to conjure up.
15 minutes on a subway will get you just about anywhere and as I said, its all part of the experience. Places to go are spread out all over NYC but people seem to always stay in Mid Town, which really is , in my option , the worst place to be simply because the restaurants are all touristy/ work ordinated and don't care so much about quality, style or coolness but will charge you as if they are all of those things.
Don't forget, at most your go to 1 show on your stay, so don't center your hotel location on it!
and really, never eat in Midtown, except for a steak house (Gallaghers or Wolfgangs(the one on Park) but for the 'real' NY vibe, its any where a high-rise isn't.
Edited by satans worm on Tuesday 2nd November 01:16
Firstly, what time of year are you coming? A pleasant spring or autumn evening walk back to your hotel is VERY different to a scurry in minus 20 degrees plus wind chill from the east river...which is also very different to sweating through every orifice in august accompanied by seasonal l'eau d'garbage midtown smells.
Secondly, NOT in times square. Seriously, more tourists need to gtf out of the obsession of staying in/near times sq & mid-town 'where all the action is'. This city (I live here) is not so much like, say, London where everything is pretty central and everyone disappears to the suburbs at night. People live everywhere here, there are stores & restaurants everywhere here and sure, the main attractions you wanna see are spread out, but due to the size everything is still pretty close.
The subway is quick and cheap (or free) with express options...and cabs and ubers are plentiful and affordable 24/7, and especially walking is always an option. Hell, last week I made the most of the glorious fall weather and walked from bryant park (42nd/6th) to downtown brooklyn, including meandering over the brooklyn bridge, and it took me 1hr 45 - for reference that is about the same distance as walking from the time warner centre at the SW corner of central park, down to battery park at the tip of lower manhattan - you could even take in the highline on that route.
Stuff around times sq is overpriced, noisy, and packed full of predominantly other tourists. Wtf anyone would eat around there all the time is also beyond me when there are so many other options here it is ridiculous. It's also been somewhat dicey around there recently crime wise, although no doubt that will change for the better once tourists start flooding back in.
There are far other nicer neighbourhoods to base yourself in and spend your time in.
And yes, I made the same mistakes as everyone else the first time I ever visited here...so take it from experience - there are far better options.
My suggestion would be to try somewhere like the Arlo SoHo on Hudson St, which isn't technically SoHo, but it is close enough.
Its modern, airy, quiet at night, not too expensive, has great views from the roof terrace, is 2 mins walk to the express 2/local 1, and the express A/local C/E trains at Canal St which will take you anywhere you need to go, and just a couple of mins walk to SoHo or to the village, which have so many options you won't even make a dent in a fraction of them during your visit.
Secondly, NOT in times square. Seriously, more tourists need to gtf out of the obsession of staying in/near times sq & mid-town 'where all the action is'. This city (I live here) is not so much like, say, London where everything is pretty central and everyone disappears to the suburbs at night. People live everywhere here, there are stores & restaurants everywhere here and sure, the main attractions you wanna see are spread out, but due to the size everything is still pretty close.
The subway is quick and cheap (or free) with express options...and cabs and ubers are plentiful and affordable 24/7, and especially walking is always an option. Hell, last week I made the most of the glorious fall weather and walked from bryant park (42nd/6th) to downtown brooklyn, including meandering over the brooklyn bridge, and it took me 1hr 45 - for reference that is about the same distance as walking from the time warner centre at the SW corner of central park, down to battery park at the tip of lower manhattan - you could even take in the highline on that route.
Stuff around times sq is overpriced, noisy, and packed full of predominantly other tourists. Wtf anyone would eat around there all the time is also beyond me when there are so many other options here it is ridiculous. It's also been somewhat dicey around there recently crime wise, although no doubt that will change for the better once tourists start flooding back in.
There are far other nicer neighbourhoods to base yourself in and spend your time in.
And yes, I made the same mistakes as everyone else the first time I ever visited here...so take it from experience - there are far better options.
My suggestion would be to try somewhere like the Arlo SoHo on Hudson St, which isn't technically SoHo, but it is close enough.
Its modern, airy, quiet at night, not too expensive, has great views from the roof terrace, is 2 mins walk to the express 2/local 1, and the express A/local C/E trains at Canal St which will take you anywhere you need to go, and just a couple of mins walk to SoHo or to the village, which have so many options you won't even make a dent in a fraction of them during your visit.
Whistle said:
We stayed at Hotel Mela, just off Times Square last time we where there.
Great location and no complaints at all.
https://www.hotelmela.com/
We stayed there in 2019Great location and no complaints at all.
https://www.hotelmela.com/
First night was really bad... 3rd floor at the fromt of hotel. Very noisey. Complained next morning moved to 7th floor.... Perfect.
Chinese restaurent next door was ok
Great location
To answer a couple of questions… budget around $150-200 a night.
Planning to be there late March/early April.
I don’t have any particular desire to be in Times Square other than we’d like to be able to walk back to the hotel last thing at night and not be stressing about trying to find a cab or walking thorough dubious back streets. The whole point of this post was to look at other options as I have very little knowledge of the place.
Planning to be there late March/early April.
I don’t have any particular desire to be in Times Square other than we’d like to be able to walk back to the hotel last thing at night and not be stressing about trying to find a cab or walking thorough dubious back streets. The whole point of this post was to look at other options as I have very little knowledge of the place.
GCH said:
Many useful things!
Great information, thank you very much. ArLo is looking like a bit of a winner at the moment. Tripadvisor reviews are far better than anywhere else we have looked at!Being a local, maybe you can help me with something a little more automotive related please? I'm hoping to bring some parts back in my suitcase, but obviously there is no Hot Rod Depot or similar on Manhattan; so I'm hoping there is somewhere I can get parts shipped to a week or so in advance and collect them when I'm there. Don't suppose you know of anything along those lines? I've heard of stowfly but not had a chance to research it yet.
MrBig said:
To answer a couple of questions… budget around $150-200 a night.
Planning to be there late March/early April.
I don’t have any particular desire to be in Times Square other than we’d like to be able to walk back to the hotel last thing at night and not be stressing about trying to find a cab or walking thorough dubious back streets. The whole point of this post was to look at other options as I have very little knowledge of the place.
No dubious backstreets to walk down to be honest, its a grid system (for the most part, till Houston, and even then , its not London..) so dont worry about that.Planning to be there late March/early April.
I don’t have any particular desire to be in Times Square other than we’d like to be able to walk back to the hotel last thing at night and not be stressing about trying to find a cab or walking thorough dubious back streets. The whole point of this post was to look at other options as I have very little knowledge of the place.
Getting Uber or a cab is no hassle at all, none
Push it as late as you can at that time of year, it can still be very cold in March, so latter in April will lift it a few degrees (it can still be cold in April)
Check out the weather forecast before you go as well, the wind can blow hard down the avenues and seems to always be going into your face!
If i had ot pick an area id go Chelsea, its a nice area, its west side centric, which is probably best for touristy stuff your want to see, and quite central really, plus you wont be eating in crap tourist restaurants
I remember the first time i went there i came back thinking the food was garbage, looking back i realized we ate nearby all the tourist places and even had a hot dog from a street stall seller (at least i survived with no after affects)
But when i moved there i found the real NY grove and all the plentiful places to eat u turning my initial thoughts, apart from price, man its expensive in New York!
GCH said:
Secondly, NOT in times square. Seriously, more tourists need to gtf out of the obsession of staying in/near times sq & mid-town 'where all the action is'.
This. Have been to NYC twice - aside from going to see a show I've no idea why anybody would want to go anywhere near Times Square, to me it was all just flashing lights, terrible chain restaurants and people wanting $10 for your photo taken with a short fat bad impersonator.I've stayed in NOMAD, good central location for those that want to be on Manhattan but don't want to be too close to tourist central, you can get everywhere on the subway anyway. Would recommend considering somewhere like Williamsburg in Brooklyn also, totally different vibe but easy access to Manhattan.
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