Ok, Im confused.

Ive read all the threads and I dont know where to stay!

Been to New york before but always stayed near central park. How is it to stay in the village, SOHO, or someplace less touristy? Would I have to travel a lot to get to downtown manhatten where all the "action" supposedly is? Keen to stay in an area which is nice to walk around with shops and restaurants. Ive looked at the SOHO grand, 60 Thompson, W hotel at union sqare and The Hudson and liked them all.

Someone mentioned a hotel called 'Soho House'. Anybody stayed there? How is the location? The rooms look nice.

Whats the verdict on the Hudson? Someone posted a scary review just when i had my mind set on it. Anyone else stayed there? We're willing to spend about $250/night.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks
Aarti

My friend and I went to NYC in 2001. We had reservations at 4 or 5 hotels,trying to figure out which was best. We finally decided on The Roosevelt. The rooms were small, but it was a great hotel and a great location.

Thank you Solo. I will check out The Roosevelt. Anybody else?

"How is it to stay in the village, SOHO, or someplace less touristy? Would I have to travel a lot to get to downtown manhatten where all the "action" supposedly is?"

The Village and SoHo ARE downtown. And plenty touristy. Since you're interested in those areas and haven't stayed there yet, I'd say, yes, give it a try.

Have you tried searching past posts on Fodors? There are always lots of discussions about NYC hotels.

Some do not like Hudson, the rooms are small, the lighting is dim, etc. I however, loved it! We are not part of that "hip" crowd and we had a great time. The staff was very nice (never encountered an attitude) the outdoor courtyard was a wonderful place to savor a (very expensive) glass of wine. Our room was very clean, I personally like the platform bed, funky bathroom, and could care less about the size of the room (it was small). The location is fine, but you will not be close to SoHo, you would have to cab, bus or subway it down there. If you want to be near the Village or SoHo, I would choose a hotel besides Hudson. I have heard excellent things about SoHo Grand and 60 Thompson and would love to try them myself.

aarti - I'm not sure what you mean by downtown. To New Yorkers this is lower Manhattan - below midtown. And includes the Financial Disrict, the village, SoHo etc. But I know sometimes people from other places use downtown to mean the center of things - and might believe Times Square is downtown (this is really midtown). So, if you're asking how long it would take to get from the Village or SoHo to midtown - the answer is about 10 minutes or so on the subway.

If you want a less touristy area you would need to stay on the upper east or west side - which are more more residential (middle/upper middle class areas with lots of great inexpensive restaurants and a sprinkling of basic/better hotels).

Staying downtown at 60 Thompson, Soho or Tribeca Grand or W Union Square most certainly guarantee you easy and entertaining walks to hundreds of good restaurants, bars and shops. Each of those hotels is located in residential neighborhoods - albeit slightly more commercial ones that attract more tourists than the Upper East/West side hotels. The Hudson hotel is located in Midtown - on 57th street, near the new Time Warner center. It affords easy access to downtown via the subway - a perhaps 10 minute train ride from Columbus Circle to Washington Square/West 4th Street via the A train.

The Soho House is located on 9th Avenue south of 14th st. in the very hot hip trendy meatpacking district. This neighborhood is a very NY amalgam of new restaurants, old meat processing businesses (lotsa trucks and butchers and cobblestones) hip fashion designers and boutiques and residences. It also affords easy walking to the west and central village, but is a bit more remote from other typical tourist attractions. The Soho House is painfully hip - I haven't heard of anyone who has stayed in the rooms, but several friends report the clubs' food is ok - not great . . .

GET A MAP! Easy to be confused..., but not excuseable to ask "Would I have to travel a lot to get to downtown ...where all the "action" supposedly is?" from the village, SOHO. As anonymous says, that IS downtown.

Have a look at the March issue of Gourmet magazine. It talks about the meatpacking district, has reviews of a few of the hotels you're considering (including mentioning another new one called Hotel Gansevoort which opens this month) & lots of other info.

I agree if you've not spent much time downtown you can get a different perspective of the city by staying there. I think it depends on what you want to do, how old you are, how you intend on getting around (subway, bus vs cabs). If you're planning on using public trans., try plotting some of these places on a subway map.

Hi Anonymous: Last time I was New York was 3 years ago. I know neighbourhoods by name and not location, which means I dont know what comprises 'lower manhatten', 'midtown', 'uptown' (or downtown for that matter!). Ive gone through almost all nyc hotel threads here on fodors.

Margie: I stayed at the Sanderson hotel in London last year (which is the newest Ian Schrager property) and it was wonderful. I thought Hudson would get similar reviews but people seem to think its a terrible waste of money. Room size does not matter as long as its not 'stuffy'. Someone mentioned noisy. Does the noise level affect you in your room? How is the location? Is the area nice to walk around?

nytraveler, mp: ok now its clearer...I dont want to stay anywhere near Times Square which is midtown. How would you comapare 'Soho' to the 'meat packing district'? Both equally nice to walk around?

Thank you again.
Aarti

Mclaurie: I would like to add, I dont live in the United States and I DONT have access to subway maps and GOURMET magazines! If i did, I wouldnt be posting here. Thanks anyway.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

is a subway map. Virtually all subway systems worldwide have online maps I'd guess.

You can also find city maps online, and guides to the various neighborhoods online. You mention having read all the NYC posts here, which is great, but to limit yourself to only one resource may not be the best plan. Get a guidebook (availabe in most developed countries) and read other online travel guides to NYC - I know there are many, as I used some to plan my time there last summer.

Also, Gourmet magazine may well be available where you live. Then again, it may not. Still, it's not such a horrible thing to suggest reading it, as how can anyone here know that you don't have access to it?

Hi Jenifer. Thank you for posting.

I didnt say it was a horrible thing to suggest the Gourmet Magazine. People post on fodors to get information and advice from other travellers. Its impolite to tell someone that their lack of knowledge is "inexcusable"! So what if someone doesnt know what downtown/uptown new york is!

That was my only point. Thanks again

I think you'd enjoy staying in the Soho area. 60 Thompson and Soho Grand are good choices. As for the Hudson: the location is midtown which may not be what you want for this trip. I don't generally mind small rooms but the Hudson's rooms are too small for me.

OK aarti. Sorry for my assumptions, but you do know how to search the net, right? Jenifer has given you a subway map link. Most hotels will be between 86th st on the north (east side & west side) to the southern end of Manhattan (South Ferry) where the financial district is. BTW, when someone says "I've read all the threads..." I'd assume they should also have looked at a map!

Unfortunately most of the NYC articles in this issue of Gourmet are not available online but I'll try to summarize some of what was said about some of the trendier hotels. You should also have a look at tripadvisor.com for reviews in addition to reading Rants & Raves here.

The Maritime (themaritimehotel.com -located in Chelsea on the edge of the meatpacking district) was formerly the building for the Maritime Union & was recently redone into a hotel. It's a funky building with round, porthole looking windows. They say the room was small (all rooms about 300 square feet), the hallways dark & claustrophobic. They had a partially obstructed view of the Hudson River & furnishings sound fun/funky. Room service was good (& food sounds excellent). They say it was funto stay there & they paid $195 for the room.

The Mercer (mercerhotel.com) is in Soho & attracts a media & fashion crowd. You feel more like you're in an apartment building than a hotel. Room was small & non-descript lacking any color. Excellent rest. in hotel. Was the only hotel (they went to) where the concierge could get a reservation at a particularly trendy restaurant, Babbo. Paid $395 for room.

60 Thompson (60thompson.com), also in Soho attracts 30-somethings in black (clothes). Room tiny & Asian feel. No bathtub. Paid $325.

As a gross generalization, I'd say boutique hotels seem to work better in London than in NY. In NY the rooms tend to be claustrophobic & attitudes can be snooty.

On your question of the meatpacking district vs Soho, the meatpacking district is a relatively small area but it borders-the village (Greenwich Village) & Chelsea. Soho is a much larger area & further south. If you're planning on doing some things midtown (theater, department store shopping) I think I might try one of the new places in the meatpacking dist (Soho House or Gansevoort) or maybe the W at Union Square. Locations not as far downtown as Soho but still trendy & different than midtown.

Thanks