Message: My husband and I and our 3 and 7 year olds will be in NY for a week in late September, we can't wait! Can anyone help with suggestions on trustworthy babysitting? If we stay in a motel (the Stanhope is sounding good) are their babysitting services ok? We might be sub-letting an apartment near Central Park for our stay, haven't decided yet. Any suggestions would be great. Thanx.

PS. I just love this site, I've spent the last 3 hours reading all the comments, which has been a great help.

Barnard College has a babysitting service. You call and leave information with their office and then students look through the job offers and pick out ones they can work and then call you back. The going rate is $10/hour plus cab fare after 10 PM. You're hiring responsible college students, so I don't think there are any trust issues. Your hotel would probably be fine too. I've babysat for tons of people through Barnard and no one ever had a complaint about their other sitters.

I would only trust a babysitter through the Stanhope, or any other reputable hotel you're staying in. I'm sure they are experienced. Ask how long they've been used at the Stanhope, and only hire someone who has been with them a long, long time. Also ask the Stanhope if they've done background checks on their babysitters. I'm sure you'll pay at least $20/hour, but it's worth it.

Call me paranoid, but the only people I'd trust to babysit my children are relatives and friends. There's to many wackos out there.

The first time I left my kids with a sitter we booked through a hotel service, I was nervous. My friends had suggested I "accidently" leave my purse behind, so I could go back in unannounced after several minutes without looking too suspicious. We were only going to dinner about 5 min from the hotel so we'd only be gone a couple of hours, but still it's a bit nervewracking.
However, when the sitter arrived, all of my fears went away. She was a grandmotherly type in her early 60's. She had the kids call her "grandma Bobbi". She was very sweet. The next time we used the service we asked for her by name since we felt comfortable with her.
If you find someone you like, just ask for them during your stay. Good luck.