New York hotel

[daisygirl999]

Thinking of going to New York later in the year with husband and 2 teens
can anyone recommend a hotel to stay so many on trip advisor my head is spinning

It depends on your budget, and what you want from a hotel. Just a room for the night, or something a bit more luxurious?

We usually want something clean and comfortable, but not luxurious. We've stayed at the New Yorker (we liked this), the Doubletree on Stone Street (comfortable, but quite small), and the Lexington (ok for the money, but not great). All nice rooms, but not much more.

Our favourite though, when travelling with teens, was the Doubletree in Jersey City, as they had suite rooms, with 2 double beds on one room, and a double sofa bed in the lounge with a door between rooms. Worked really well for us, even with three teenagers with us. We slept in one double bed, DD in the other, and two DS's shared the sofa bed. There was a TV in each room, which was great, as we would wake up before the DS's. It had huge windows with a great view over to Manhattan. Kids loved the warm cookies on check-in. Easy and quick to get to Manhattan on the PATH. Only downside was one bathroom, but we coped, and it was cheaper than getting two rooms.

We stayed in a lovely one called Hotel Giraffe. It was central but not noisy. They had free drinks and snacks at about 4pm.

However I'd probably choose one by Central Park next time.

Hotel Beacon above the theatre. Excellent breakfast in store opposite. Rooms soundproof because it’s over a theatre. We were lucky enough to live in New York for a while and when we stayed at the Beacon a few years later we were really impressed by how much quieter it was than where we lived even though we were in Broadway not off and less high up.

Hotel Lucerne is also good. Nice breakfast and it’s often where visiting actors stay when performing on or off Broadway.

The Gardens Sonesta Extended Stay on the Upper East side is really nice. It’s converted apartments so the rooms are a bit bigger than the usual New York size and all have kitchenettes which can be handy. Very close to supermarkets, Neighbourhood restaurants and the subway stations. It’s a few blocks from Central Park and in a lovely residential area.

We stayed at Club Quarters in the Financial District.

We overlooked the memorial pools at 9/11. 2 minutes to the subway. 5 minutes from an amazing and traditional diner for breakfast, walking distance to the SoL ferry and the charging bull. Free laundry, tea and coffee. The rooms had a coffee maker and tea kettle as well as a microwave and a fridge. Big rooms, big beds and a decent bathroom. Supermarket minutes away and across the road from ladder 10 and O’Haras Pub - ask to see the book. Would stay again. 10 minutes from Brooklyn Bridge on foot and Wall Street.

If I can give any advice, if you see a hotel you like at a price that’s in budget just book and forget about it. I think you can drive yourself to distraction looking. We certainly did due to our trip being cancelled 3 times because of Covid and having to change hotels each time.

Yotel is cheap, cheerful and central enough for walking or public transport.

Strange layout with the bathroom, behind a glass wall and curtain, but worth a look at!

There's also a buffet round the corner where the takeaway or eat in options are decent price, if it's still there!

I’m staying here during the Easter hols and am very interested in the details of this diner! Would you mind sharing the name? Thanks!

Not sure if you meant the buffet I mentioned? If so, I can't be 100%, it was a long time ago but it may have been Essen, from what I can tell on Google Maps. It may also have closed down so not showing any more but Essen sounds familiar.

Was that for me? Diner close to Club Quarters? If so, it’s called George’s Diner. Less than 5 minutes from the hotel. There is a subway across the street and the supermarket is there too.

Budget: Staybridge Suites Times Square
Luxury: The George

@daisygirl999 Lots of the hotels mentioned do involve travel to many sights. Therefore what do you actually want to see? Get a big map and plot everything out. It can take longer than you think to get from Central Park to the Statue of Liberty! If most of what you want is fairly central, stay central. The World Trade Centre memorial is a long way south but not so far if you stay centrally. There is of course a subway, so stay quite close to a station.

Can you tell us what you want to see? I always find Lonely Planet reliable and useful for planning. Are you looking for a budget place or something better? Or even luxury? I have some recommendations but we have not stayed in a budget hotel.

We have stayed at hotels offering wine and cheese at 5pm. Never been at the hotel
to have it. Always too busy.

Hi thanks for all replies. We want to see the usual central park, statute of liberty, 9/11, brooklyn bridge, a show all the usual I guess for first timers. Would like ot be central enough. Dont know new york at all so I guess I need to look at a map.

Also would like nice hotel doesnt ahve to be very luxury but clean nice and decent.

The best tip I got for New York was to stay somewhere with breakfast included so that narrowed down our search.

Having the buffet breakfast included meant we had a huge choice of food at the start of the day (Waffles/Pancakes/Cereals/Fruit & cooked items). No time wasted finding somewhere to eat and also chopped down the extra daily expense/tips. Also we found that we only needed a light lunch after that so just stopped for a cake/pretzel/hot dog.

We chose the Hampton Inn Times Square/Manhattan and it was perfect (two adults, two teenagers).

The corridors were a bit tired looking I suppose, but the rooms were comfortable and clean, it had a small roof terrace with a decent view, reception offered complimentary 24hr tea/coffee and it was so central. The entrance to the subway (42nd Street Times Square) was at the end of the street and we used it every day.

We weren't on a huge budget so I can't say it was luxurious if that's what you're after, but I was really pleased with all the boxes it ticked and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good base with a few extra perks.

@daisygirl999 Few NY hotels have breakfast so if you did want that, you search will really narrow down.

You must look at a map! It’s vital. Some decent guide books like Lonely Planet break it done into sections but, in general, the theatres are central but Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty and World Trade are at the bottom. Central Park and the Met are many streets further North. The Highline is also fantastic and that’s West. East Village is also pleasant as is SoHo. Lots of good hotels there and local cafes for breakfast. Don’t forget tax snd tips add 30% to any bill. NY is expensive.

Stay in Queens we were 15 minutes away from Manhattan (where pretty much everything you want to see is) by Subway and is far cheaper than Manhattan. Takes longer to get into the centre of Manhattan from Brooklyn than it does Queens

We stayed at Hotel Lucerne (mentioned by a PP) some years ago and, knowing better, would go there again. It’s on Upper West Side which we’ve always considered to be a gracious area, although slightly removed from the main action below Central Park, so your teens might find it a bit quiet. That being said you can quickly & easily walk across to Central Park and the Natural History Museum and there are lots of independent bakeries and eateries round there round there.

I like The Wallace on upper west side. It's 7 mins walk from Central Park and away from the craziness of Times Square. We've stayed there twice. The rooms are also big for NYC.

Has anyone stayed at the James NoMad?

No. Look at reviews. They are usually about right. I always ignore comments about staff. Other general comments are useful. The Telegraph does a comprehensive hotel list too.

There is much more to central Manhattan than Times Square. There’s more to Manhattan than Central Park and it’s a long way down to the Statten Island Ferry! So always think about where you most want to be.

I would second the recommendation for The Wallace. Book direct though, not through booking.com

@Mammyofonlyone Plenty of up to date reviews on Booking.com. It’s got big rooms and great location but needs some updating and bathrooms are small. For me, a shower curtain is a huge turn off. No tea or coffee in the rooms. There’s better available.

Placemarking as also considering nyc with the teen dc

Placemarking. Thanks for the great advice so far.

We are off to New York in November with 2 teens and have booked the double tree near Times Square. Do check the small print as lots of hotels charge resort fees on top of the room charges.