It looks as though my husband will have to be in NYC near Rockefeller center several days a week Dec-March. I will probably accompany him much of the time.

The consulting company, not the company in NYC, will be paying for the hotel. They apparently don't set an actual limit, but expect him to keep costs down where possible. (This is vague, but prices won't be the same in December as in January.) Bed bugs are a concern because of the number of stays involved, but we'll just have to check our room and hope for the best.

Anyway, I've been researching hotels that are 2-3 blocks away, to make it easier for us to meet for lunch on foot in the winter with short notice. I'm aware of the Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn, Hilton NY, and a few boutique hotels. My question is, are there any apartment/hotel type places right in this area? A kitchenette would be very helpful.

Radio City Apartments, but they book up well ahead.

You may also want to consider Priceline and Hotwire.

Thanks. I can't really use Priceline or Hotwire in case of schedule changes. I've heard good things about Radio City Apartments, but I doubt we can plan far enough ahead of time. I'll check into it more closely though just in case.

IMHO Manhattan is easy to navigate either with subway or taxi, so there is no reason to limit yourself to that area. You can quickly get around.

I live in Manhattan so haven't stayed at hotels... but lots of posters like the Affinia hotels.
I believe they have kitchens, etc. There is one on East 50th which would be convenient.. and one on East 64th (which looks very nice from the outside) which could also work.

Radio City apartments sells out months in advance. On shorter notice Affinia is a good choice - and agree that you don;t need to be within a few blocks - just plan a half hour in advance and you will be able to meet somewhere for lunch.

Although, frankly that's never something I would consider in NYC with all there is to see/do. I mean you'll be having dinner together every night won;t you (can't imagine meeting the beau for lunch - work day, IMHO, should always be separate from real life.

Also, don;t know what the business is - but I don't know anyone that gets a lunch hour unless you are taking a client out. The usual routine is to grab a salad or sandwich at your desk while working - so you get to go home sooner. (Unless this is an unusual business work hours here are NOT 9 to 5 - it's 9 until whenever the work is done. I know few people who are out of work before 7 pm - and often much later when it's busy.)

We stayed at Club Quarters Rockerfeller, just across the street. We loved it and it had a small kitchenette and a few dishes which were great.

Club Quarters also gets good reviews at a modest budget - but I think this is another place that sells out far in advance.

The San Carlos, the Benjamin, the Blakely, the Kimberly, Best Western Hospitality and the Affinia 50 are all suite hotels within a 10 minute walk of Rock. Ctr. where most rooms have kitchenettes. These are all nicer than Radio City apts. which is closer.

Some nicer hotels without kitchens near Rock Ctr. that haven't been mentioned are the NY Palace, the Elysee, the Chambers, Omni Berkshire.

Thanks for all of the advice and information! Club Quarters and Affinia sound interesting, plus all the other places mclaurie mentioned. I'll be checking into them further this week. I'll actually be working (writing) from the hotel most of the time we're there.

The room that we had at Club Quarters had a couch in it as well as the bed and a desk and chair too so it would be a bigger room to spend time in.

Thanks, live42day! It might be the perfect place to stay in January. They don't have much availability for December.

Just to update, we were in NYC about 40% of the time December-early April. Prices were high during the holidays of course, and unfortunately, the cancellations policies for some of the hotels mentioned didn't work for us. Also, a lot of them were also booked before we could finalize our plans.

The Hilton "family of hotels" had a very good promotion through March, and they had a 24 hour cancellation policy, so we ended up mostly staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square and the Doubletree Suites Times Square. Both had refrigerators and microwaves. The Doubletree Suites did not, in my mind, have a true kitchenette. There's no way to wash dishes, and no dishes and utensils are provided. However, I appreciated the extra space two rooms gave us since I was in the room a fair amount.

We also briefly stayed at the Staybridge Times Square, which was fine but a little cramped. It did have a very well equipped kitchenette. The window in our room had a large crack, which we reported. I'm not sure if the front desk already knew. Housekeeping could hardly have missed it.

We also stayed at the Hampton Inn North, which was clean with large rooms but no refrigerator, and a weekend on our own dime at the Hilton Garden Inn near Herald's Square. It had the same amenities as the Times Square location in a smaller, less updated room.

And we did meet up for lunch almost every day, LOL!

The Benjamin Hotel does have some rooms with kitchenettes. You might also look at the Shelburne, which also has kitchenettes. I think it's one of the closer Affinia hotels to Rock Center, but obviously not as close as the Club Quarters. The Affinia 50 is closer and also has apartment-style units. There's also a newish Residence Inn on 6th Avenue relatively close to Rock Center; that's surely worth a look. I'd actually look at Marriotts; there are more conveniently located Marriotts than almost any other chain.

There are tons of regular hotels along Lexington within walking distance of the area as well.

MareW, call AKA. They have apartments and offer hotel like amenities. Concierge, etc.
They have one on 44th Between Broadway and 6th, 5 minute walk to Rockerfeller Center.

Thanks, but I posted this question in October, and also wrote a (long) update.