pichulita

We will be staying at the Aloft Harlem in Harlem, NY in September. Being a Starwood member, this was the most reasonably priced hotel for visiting Manhattan. The subway station is close to the hotel and we can easily get to Manhattan each day in about 15 minutes. My question is: what is the area around the Aloft Harlem like? I've tried checking it out online but I don't have a clear idea if it is a nice, safe place for walking around or for restaurants for dinner. Please advise.

doug_stallings

The hotel is in a pretty convenient area for the subway, Starbucks, banks, etc. I like it over there, but it's across the street from a huge church, so don't expect to sleep in on Sunday. It's a busy area well into the night and safe to walk the streets (side streets look dark). 125th is a busy but not pristine street, but I think you'll have no issues. It's a great location.

There are a lot of great restaurants for dinner in the area, but nothing right next to the hotel that I know. You have some wonderful choices fairly nearby (within easy walking distance). There's Streetbird (8th Ave., between 115th/116th), a rotissere chicken place but nice. Red Rooster (6th Ave., between 125th and 126th); there's also a nice French bistro next door to Red Rooster, Chez Lucianne. Both Streetbird and Red Rooster are Marcus Samuelsson restaurants, and Red Rooster is a particularly hot spot requiring reservations far in advance. I also like Amy Ruth's (116th near 8th Ave). I don't get over to the west side too often for dinner, so these are the only places I know.

doug_stallings

By the way, you are already IN Manhattan when you're in Harlem. You're just on the Upper West Side. You're near the A/B/C/D 125th Street stop, but you may find it more convenient to walk over to 6th (Lenox) Ave. for the 2/3 train, which is a faster way to get to the more central part of Times Square (not to mention restaurants on the Upper West side at 96th or 72nd Street).

nytraveler

The area you're in has been gentrified over the last 15 years or so a lot of middle class people live there, esp younger ones as real estate prices have been driven through the roof closer to midtown. However, it is not an area with a lot of tourists and is still a very diverse, multi-ethnic area and you need to use your city smarts - as you do every place else in the city.

Frankly I would not stay there, not because of the neighborhood, but just because when I visit a city I want to be able to walk out of the hotel and get to major sights on foot in a couple of minutes.

People who come from a suburban or rural area might find it intimidating, esp in the evenings.

I would go to google earth street views to get more info.

HappyTrvlr

Another very good dining choice in Harlem is The Cecil.

ekscrunchy

HT:

The former chef at The Cecil is now at Minton's which was reviewed in the times this week.




http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/di...in-harlem.html

BigRuss

>

You're in Manhattan. There is no Harlem, NY distinct from the City - it is a neighborhood within on the island of Manhattan.

You should familiarize yourself with the Subway - you can get to Columbus Circle in 7 minutes on the express (A, D) or to Times Square in just over 10 minutes.

NewbE

Did nyt just warn the OP that there are people of color in Harlem?
<People who come from a suburban or rural area might find it intimidating, esp in the evenings.>
<is still a very diverse, multi-ethnic area and you need to use your city smarts >

Those two remarks sound an awful lot like coded warnings to me. Not cool.

nytraveler

The reason I made that comment is the recent post from some people who had stayed in the Beacon hotel. Not only did they hate the hotel (old and grungy) but they felt the neighborhood (the mid/upscale upper west side) was dirty and nasty. IMHO it might appear so only to someone who lives in an upscale suburb and has never lived in a center city location. But there are a lot of people like that.

And someone who thinks the west 70s is dirty and nasty would probably not feel comfortable in Harlem - or a lot of other places in NYC.

Please don't talk about "coded warnings". We live here because we like the diversity of the area but we are native New Yorkers - not suburbanites who might not be comfortable there.

But it only seems fair to let someone apparently totally unfamiliar with NYC that the hotel is not located in a typical midtown business/shopping district or definitely upscale east side area.

BigRuss

Didn't know suburbs are so homogeneous.

Must discuss that in our suburb with my neighbors - the African-Americans (including the drug dealer; well, he's a professional pharmaceutical representative but we're suburbanites so . . . </sarcasm, the Indians, the Pakistanis (including the retired chemist who likes to talk about her grandkids with my wife), the Arabs, the Chinese, the Latinos, and the white ones. Usually, we just think of them as neighbors, so recalibrating our approach to treat them as "other" because they're not white (of course, we're not all white either) will be an adjustment itself. But we'll just act like typical suburbanites to do it . . .

HappyTrvlr

Eks-- I saw that review too. We stepped inside Minton'swhen we ate at The Ceil. Our dinners at The Cecil were creative and delicious. Will try Minton's next.

ekscrunchy

I will try the Cecil one of these days; I'd like to go to Minton's for the music, too.

HappyTrvlr

We had recently returned from Cuba when we ate at The Cecil. Seceral dishes reflected Xaribbean cuisine as well as African.

inspiredexplorer

I much prefer Mintons to the Cecil: had very uneven dishes the last few times I've been.

An underrated gem north of 135th street is Ponty Bistro: very well executed food, nice space, attracts a great cross-section of the community.

pichulita

thank you all for your input. I think we will enjoy walking around Harlem and exploring some of it's restaurants.