A group of my friends (in their 30's and all couples) wish to stay in a central midtown hotel for an occasion at end of April and I have narrowed it down to 3 hotels which are offering group rates of around 300 dollars a night:
Michelangelo, Sofitel and Westin Times Square. Which would be the best for a 'lively' group and does this rate sound about right?

I think for a "lively" group the Westin would be best. The other 2 are great hotels but smaller boutique type hotels that are quieter and not in the center of activity (which many people like). The rate sounds "ok" but no bargain. Have you checked websites like quikbook, travelzoo etc.?

thanks for that tip - quikbook came up with some good rates for other hotels - thus confusing me more! the Affinia Dumont looks good too - any thoughts on them or others?

Affinia Dumot is fine, but it's not really in central Midtown; however, it's less than 5 minutes from the 33rd/Park stop on the 6 train. I'm not personally familiar with the Michelangelo; if you are looking for a small boutique hotel, I prefer the Casablanca, which is right off Times Square but not on a crowded corner, like the Westin. It's under $300 a night. Of the 3 hotels you mention, I prefer the Sofitel because it's farther away from the hubub (I really don't like the Times Square area, though, because it's constantly crowded and too noisy). If you want a Starwood Hotel, I'd suggest you try the W: The Court, which is on the east side but very close to Grand Central (so it's quite convenient); it has big, stylish rooms and a cool bar. It's often around $300 a night.

The Affinia Dumont is an all suite hotel with kitchens in the rooms so you get more space than in a regular hotel room. With all due respect to Doug the Fodor's editor, midtown is generally considered 34 - 59 st and the Affinia Dumont is on 34 st so it certainly fits that bill. I suppose then "central midtown" would be in strict terms in the low 40s rather than the 30s but this hotel is not inconvenient. What it isn't is in the theater district which all 3 of your first choices were.

I think it would help to know what style your group is (ie are you into trendy, modern places or more classic) and what you plan to do while in NYC.

we're only going to be there a couple of nights - the days will be shopping (mid and downtown) and nights will be restaurant followed by bar - no theatre!
Just looking for value for money (as luxurious as possible under 300 dollars) central hotel with a bit of life in it, and nice rooms (spacious if possible)

If you are looking for a hotel with a bit of life, see if you can get one of the W hotels for your price range. These are often more than $300 a night, even on Quikbook, but almost all of them have happening bars, and I think that will appeal to you. Many also have good, trendy restaurants. You won't find that at the Dumont, though it has an excellent gym for a hotel its size. The Westin would be the second choice if that's the kind of place you want. The Sofitel will probably be too quiet for your tastes.

I agree that most of the W hotels have active bars. The trendiest is the Union Square W. The only one to really avoid is the W Lexington where rooms are miniscule. You might check the W website to see if they have any weekend specials.

The Hudson has good bars but the rooms there are also quite small. Perhaps an upgrade to a junior suite there would work.

Interestingly, while I agree the Sofitel is too quiet for what you want, the block it's on has 4 or 5 other hotels, all with reasonably active bars--the Royalton, the City Club with dB Bistro Moderne, the Mansfield and the Algonquin. I wouldn't necessarily choose to stay at any of those (the Sofitel rooms are better) but being on the same block ain't a bad idea.

Since you mention shopping downtown, you could also considers staying downtown which is much younger. The Soho Grand might be a good idea.

Agree that the W Union Square or the SoHo Grand would be excellent options for a lively group celebrating an occaision.