We are a family of six (mom, dad, gram, and three children 17, 14, and 11) travelling to NYC 7/2-7/7/2002. This is my mom's first visit (she's in her seventies, but very vigorous and active). We have narrowed our search down to a 2BR suite either at the Hotel Beacon or the Roger Smith. Is either superior? Is the Beacon's location distant from midtown a drawback? Any assistance would be most appreciated.
Michael

The Beacon's location is not a draweback. Example: You want to go to Times Square, 42nd and Broadway. From the Beacon it is a five minute walk to the subway. The train ride (one stop on the express) takes about 3 minutes. Door to door it will take less than 15 minutes with waiting time. To get to the same place from the Roger Smith it is a 20 minute or more walk - the distance is about 3/4's of a mile. You could do this by bus and that is going to take at least 20 minutes; by train it would take at least 15 minutes and that includes a bit of wAlking. The Beacon units also feature a kitchenette so savings can be substantial if you have an occasional breakfast or lunch in the suite. Restaurants in the vicinity of the Beacon are as numerous as those in the area of the Roger Smith and they also tend to be less expensive. Also, if you decide to eat some meals in the room and also stock soft drinks and snacks there is a large supermarket store across the street and another a block away. There are no such comparable stores near the Roger Smith. 47th and Lexington is mainly a commercial area; the Beacon is in a residential neighborhood.

Thanks!

I can't comment on the hotels, but I can tell you as a tourist I would rather be in midtown than the Upper Westside. Don't get me wrong, I lived on the Upper Westside for years and it's a great residential neighborhood. But there is a reason why most of the hotels are clustered in midtown, that's where most people want to be. The Roger Smith is a short walk to Rockerfeller Center, Fifth and Madison Avenues, Bloomingdales, Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building, New York Public Library, Saks Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick's, you get the picture. Also cold soft drinks and snacks are available at Duane Reade which you can find every other block and I believe there is one directly across the street from the Roger Smith. Enjoy your stay.

Thanks! Now it's tied onene!
Any other tiebreakers?

And the Beacon is closer to Central Park, Natural History Museum and the Rose Space Center, Metropolitan Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, Sony Imax theater and Cathedral of St. John Divine, one of the largest cathedrals in the world. And who would shop at a Duane Reed when Zabar's and Fairway are neighbors to the Beacon. Not any New Yorker or west sider that I know. I don't think the children would find Bloomingdales, Saks and Madison Ave, that exciting (except for the Sony Tecnology Labn on Madison.)

rqf: You can't be the tie breaker, you've already cast your vote. And give me a break, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine is 2 miles north of the Beacon, not exactly in the neighborhood. Heck the Empire State Building, Macy*s, Radio City, the U.N., theater district, etc. are all closer to the Roger Smith. I was just making the point that their are all of the standard tourist attractions within a walk of the hotel. As for food, there is a world of gourmet prepared foods available at Grand Central Station, a short walk from the hotel. It's just a matter of where you want to be as a tourist and I'm sure you will agree most people opt for midtown.