lone english woman going to New York in March 2004. Can anyone recommend a good value, good location hotel.

Check www.biddingfortravel.com and then bid on Priceline. I have traveled alone to New York and had a wonderful time. I prefer to stay in Time Square, so that I can easily get to the subway and the theatre.

Priceline IS the best value but can be confusing, especially if you don't know the different areas of NYC. If you're not interested in "bidding" try quikbook.com, travelzoo.com or hotels.com which are discount websites where you can choose your hotel. The Gorham hotel is often mentioned here as good value & is well located.

Use tripadvisor.com to check hotel reviews. Get a map to familiarize yourself with areas. The 40's- 50's from 3rd ave to Broadway is the most popular area for tourists-considered midtown. The Upper West side is also nice-a bit more residential than midtown but has easy access via bus & train. The Beacon & the Excelsior are 2 hotels in this area that are reasonable with mostly good reviews.

Try the Gorham. It is clean, nice and small, well located, and I stayed there recently for $135 which was a steal.

I really like The Broadway Inn, and have stayed there twice:

www.broadwayinn.com

I agree with he Priceline approach. Some nice, moderately priced hotels that I've come across are Park South Hotel and Shelburne suites. Both are in convenient, quiet, safe neighborhoods. I recently got Shelburne from Priceline. Times Sq hotels tend to be a bit higher priced just because that is the main 'tourist' area. There are many other nicer neighborhoods where you may find better hotel deals (midtown south, midtown East and central park west). Any of these locations are easy access to other neighborhoods ad tourist sites.

Thanks for all the advice I will expolre the sites you mention

Another vote for the Gorham. We were there in August for $139, via their website (gorhamhotel.com) Great beds!

If you don't do priceline, try hotres.com and quickbook.com for great rates.