Hotel Help in New York City, Please
 

Hello Fodorites. I would like your recommendations for a hotel in the city for three nights this summer, for my husband and son who are doing an east coast baseball tour. They are open to suggestions regarding area (we've stayed in Midtown before), but my husband has expressed an interest in Greenwich Village. They will be attending two mid-week night games(one Yankees, one Mets) using public transportation and will be "playing" in the city during the day. Would like to keep the room under $200/nt. Any great deals out there? What do you recommend? Thanks!

Neglected to mention, two beds are a must. So far, tht has ruled out several properties

Thanks again.

Check out www.biddingfortravel.com and bid on Priceline. Once you win your bid, call the hotel to request two beds. I have never had a problem getting two beds. It is usually more difficult to get one bed.

2 beds in NY may be tough as rooms are small. If 2 beds are a must PL may not be the way to go. You will certainly get the best deal via Priceline but may have to pay an upgrade fee for 2 beds upon arrival.

In the VIllage, there's the Washington Square Hotel. I don't know much about thoe hotel itself, but the location is wonderful (at Washington Sq Park). The only other hotels in the area are prpobably morethan $200 (Union Sq W, which is a very good hotel and has 2 bedded room but more like $300, and in Soho/Tribeca you have the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand which are also pricey). ANother Area with some decent hotels it Murray Hill (also convenient to subways for both Shea and Yankee stadium). Check Affinia.com, they have a handful of suite hotels that are very nice at reasonable prices. On the websites, go to the special offers area. I booked 1 bedroom suites (with kitchen and sofa bed in the living room) at Shelburne Suites for < $200 using the grandparent special (no proof of being a grandparent is necessary).

Sounds like a fun trip, my son would love to do something like that!

1 more thing, if the boys plan on going to the stadiums early for batting practice, they may even bump into a player on the subway. The one and only time we went to batting practice at Shea, we road the #7 train sitting across from one of the players for the entire ride.

Again, nice work, MFNYC.

The Shelbourne is warm and comfortable, even though the area is lackluster. There's nothing special about the Washington Square Hotel, until you step outside of it. Frankly, the interior reminds me of a mental institution (at least you'll go crazy in one of those ugly rooms).

Under $200 a night in Manhattan? Good luck! Check the travel section of the Times. Some grand hotels offer specials but I'm sure you'll have to compromise. NYC is booming, once again.

Thanks for your replies. I remain intimidated by Priceline and have never been able to figure out bidding for travel, but I will give it another try.

I did book the Washington Square Hotel, but after reading reviews on trip advisor, promptly cancelled it! Also eliminated the Larchmont (yuck), Inn @Irving Place (too fancy for this trip), Carlton Arms, and Gershwin.

The Broadway Inn has two doubles for $199, but looks like a Howard Johnson's. I am considering the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand, if I can't find anything less expensive.

My husband said, in light of the market, he'll budge on the two bed rule. Still open to suggestions, on area and hotel, if you have any. Thanks, and I'll post our final choice!

If you are a little intimidated by Priceline, try the website
http://www.betterbidding.com they are very patient and helpful, especially to new users.

Iregeo, here are a few thoughts.

What about the upper west side?? There's the Excelsior Hotel across from the Natural History museum which gets great reviews here. Neil Saunders wrote a lovely trip report about a weekend spent there you might read. There's also the Beacon Hotel on Broadway which I think has kitchenettes &amp; the Lucerne on west 79th. This is a fun residential area with easy access to midtown &amp; <i>I think</i> decent subway lines to the stadiums.

A bit further south at Central Park west is the Mayflower. This hotel gets some bad reviews because of &quot;worn&quot; decor but guys don't tend to care about that sort of thing &amp; the location is terrific, especially if you can get a park view room(not sure I'd go there without the view). Check out prices for the suites with view. Several people here have said they're great.

As to &quot;downtown,&quot; there's not a lot of choice, to my knowledge, <i>in</i> the village. Just below midtown, there's a new hotel called Giraffe that's getting excellent reviews on Park Ave south &amp; 26th. In the same area, The Park South Hotel often has specials on their website. This area in the east 20's is combo business/residential &amp; has some great restaurants. The Gramercy Park Hotel is a budget-minded place in a nice location across from the only private park in the city. You need a key to get in (which I think the hotel provides if you're a guest). I believe they've updated the public areas but some of the rooms are pretty worn.

The Maritime is a newish hotel in Chelsea. The building was formerly the maritime union building. It sounds very trendy. The rooms are all 300 square feet so make sure you can actually get 2 beds. The Maritime is right near the oh so trendy meatpacking district where there are 2 new hotels, The Gansevoort &amp; Soho House but I think these will be above your budget unless you can find some sort of special promo.

I agree the W Union Square is a good option if it's in budget. Maybe check their website to see if there are any summer specials.

I was recently in the lobby of the Tribeca Grand for the first time. It's great looking but I don't know how convenient the location would be. I'd choose the Soho Grand as a better place to be.

How old is your son?

ANother possibility is the Avalon Hotel on 32nd St near 5th av. This is near most subway line and convenient to either up or downtown. Many of their rooms are suites and fairly roomy. It also includes a nice continental breakfast.

Thanks a million! I'm off to do my research and will report in!

Sorry, mclaurie -- my son is 12. My &quot;boys&quot; are the biggest baseball fans known to man and are on their quest to visit every major league stadium in the country. After NYC, they're heading for Cooperstown, then on to Boston, where they'll take in a game while staying with family.

I am their appointed travel agent, which is fine with me so long as I keep getting to go to Europe!

There are also some littler league teams that play during the summer (remember the Harlem little league which wen tot he LL world series). There are various locations around the city where they play. In the village area they (the 12 yr olds, the older kids play elsewhere) play at JJ Walker field at Clarkson &amp; Hudson Sts (West Village). There's a local weekly paper called the Villager that has little league info (www.thevillager.com).

Thanks!

Iregeo, mclaurie beat me to the punch on recommending the Excelsior, but here is the review she mentioned: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34472050. If your family goes the route of the suite, the sofa in the sitting room pulls out into a bed so that father and son each get their own space.

As noted on the map (http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm), the B train will take you directly from the 81st St. - Museum station (half a block from the hotel) to Yankee Stadium in 10 stops; the 1 train at the corner of Broadway and 79th St (three blocks) will take you south either directly to Greenwich Village (the Sheridan Square station is the best starting point for an explanation) or, with a change of trains in Times Square, to Shea Stadium via the No. 7 train (aka, the &quot;Flushing Line&quot;).

I made my reservation via the hotel web site, got the same rate as was available on Expedia, and was able to choose my room (via a call to the hotel).

It sounds like a wonderful trip. Having been to a Yankees-Red Sox game this weekend, your family is in for some great baseball.

Just happened to find listings for 3 places in Greenwich Village-The Morton St Suites, the Minetta Lane Suites &amp; the Atrium. They all happen to have kitchen facilities which may not interest your guys. I can tell you both Minetta Lane (where there's a small off Broadway theater) &amp; Morton St. are both nice village locations. I don't know anything about these places nor do I know where the Atrium is.

FYI-There's a minor league baseball team in Brooklyn called the Cyclones that's become very popular, esp. with kids. Also, Chelsea Piers has a place to do batting practice etc.

Finally, I know several other people have recently asked for directions for taking the subway to Yankee stadium so if you do a text search there'll be info. :)

Neil, Your report of the Excelsior Hotel is wonderful and the price sure is right ($149 for two double beds with park view, $139 without). BUT... Trip Advisor reviews are horrid. Any advice for reconciling the two? Thanks.

There's also a small baseball card exhibit at the Met Museum. The boys should also grab a bite at Mickey Mantle's. It's not the greatest food, but it's filled with memorabelia.

MYNFC - This is GREAT stuff! Would you like to be their personal guide?!