Good or bad deal in Manhattan
 

We are planning to go to New York
with one of our daughters and her full family,( 4 Children between 14 and 4).
Following the advice in Fodors, I found the following which seems fine to me,
...the recently renovated Shelborne Hotel, Lexington at 37 st, in the
heart of Murray Hill ( belongs to Affinia group)
,A one bedroom suite ,,,,comes to $220 per night including taxes,
PLUS a regular double for my husband and myself (plus
one of the kids)..comes to $175 per night including taxes,
Dates are May 23 to May 31, they are applying weekly rates.
I thought it was a good deal considering we are a crowd.....
For those NY experts what do you think of the location and the deal in general.
I used to live in a townhouse (long gone) in 136 E 36 street, just around the corner but I bet things have changed a lot. How is the neighborhood now?

Any suggestions ? Thank you.

I think that's a good rate. My friends' apt is nearby and I walk pass the Shelborne all the time.

FWIW, I'm looking at rates for a weekend in April, and even with a Travelzoo discount, the lowest I find is $200/n (inclu taxes) for a jr suite at the Affinia Garden (UES).

Fodors editor Doug lives in that neighborhood and added many good restaurant ideas to a recent thread about Murray Hill.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ues-in-nyc.cfm

Those prices are excellent for moderate season in NYC considering the number of people involved. The location is fine - not far from the subway (although I prefer the West side to the East) and there are a reasonable number of decent places to eat nearby.

as for what you want to do see - you should get advance tickets now if you plan on doing the Statue of Liberty or a broadway show - broadwaybox.com for discounts.

Thank you so much Ellen for telling me about Doug 's list of restaurants in that neighborhood
and others, this is exactly what we needed,....

I think the hotel and those prices are fine but just thought I'd mention that if you're counting on the suites there having kitchens, only the ones called "deluxe" do. Also, check pricing on quikbook.com Sometimes their prices are better or at least don't require prepayment to get the best rate. Do you know the Eastgate Tower has 2 bed/2bath suites? Not as up to date but roomier.

I have been doing some research and I would like to share it with you for what it is worth.
I thought that the Shelburne would be our best choice being recently renovated however I found out a few details that for a family with children as it is our case, are no good.
I believe that most bathrooms ( even those in the one bedroom suites de luxe) have only showers, they call them modern bathrooms but with small children it is not ideal,. The biggest minus I found is that the remodeled Shelburne has in all cases even in the two bedroom suite a Granite Pantry instead of a kitchen . This means I was told that there is no cutlery no dishes and they only fare a micro a sink and that the mini bar , once emptied , works as a refrigerator.
We do not plan to be really cooking in NY, but with four children , specially a 3 years old we were planning in doing some light dinner cooking for her. May be some noodles with cheese and butter
or some instant mashed potatoes with some fish heated in the oven.
For these reasons I believe we cannot go with the Shelburne although we like the new decoration.
I am a little worried regarding the East Tower hopping the 2 bedroom suites are ,pleasant and not too worn out. Has anyone stayed there recently.?

Go to oyster.com and look at the photos. It's dated but clean. Have you looked at the Beaconhotel.com?

if you are worried about cooking, there are tons of delis int hat area where you could buy a plate of potatoes and chicken or mac and cheese for not to much and you wouldn't need to cook per se. With disposable plates and the like you'd be set. And the Murray Hill area is really pleasant.

I haven't been to the Shelburne hotel, but the location seems nice. It's not too far from Bryant Park which is cool, and there are plenty of things to see in that area.

I'm not sure if you're looking for Broadway shows for the kids, but if you are - use Broadwaybox.com. I've always found great discounts on their site.
For the kids, I'd recommend: Mamma Mia, The Lion King, Cinderella or even Gazillion Bubble Show. I really enjoyed these shows..

They also have hotel discounts, and I think this is the discount for the hotel you're interested in!
http://www.broadwaybox.com/hotels/ne...nyc_hotel.aspx
Sometimes, there are "flexible" room rates which let you cancel ur reservation up to 1 day before arrival. I've booked through them for all my recent visits to ny, for the DoubleTree Hotel and Hilton at Times Square.

Anyways, I hope this helps!
and maybe I'll check out the Shelburne hotel next time I'm in NY
:)

The Shelburne is a great hotel in a great location. I wouldn't really be too concerned about the lack of dishes and cutlery. You will be given huge masses of plastic cutlery and plates, etc. when you order food or get take-out. Or you can easily buy them from a supermarket (there is one 2 blocks from the hotel).

I can't speak to the lack of bathtubs, but that's really something you have to decide on your own.

The Eastgate Tower is not as good a location, but it's ok and not too terribly far from transit. Check prices at the Affinia Dumont or the Affinia 50. Both those hotels have better locations.

yes we plan to take them to shows. thank you. Thank you all.