Hotel ideas for short two day trip in NYC for Christmas
 

Hi everyone. I'm asking for hotel help again as our trip is finally beginning to take shape. We (husband, myself, teenager) will be in NYC from 12/20 (evening) to 12/22 (morning). Then we head to DC for about a week.

We'll arrive and depart via Amtrak from Penn Station and are mainly interested in seeing the "holiday" sights - Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the store windows, maybe Central Park. I think we'll be taking a tour (maybe two) through OnBoard NYC (they seem to get better recommendations than the large hop-on/hop-off tours). The pick-up is "on the West Side of 7th Avenue, between 50th & 51st Streets, under the Winter Garden Theater awning."

Price is moderate - ideally under $300. When we travel, we tend to like places along the lines of a Doubletree or Hilton so not necessarily 4 star but never below about 3.5 stars

Suggestions?

We have stayed at the DoubleTree Times Square several times and like it. It is right in the heart of the hustle and bustle of times square, but we consider that a plus. The value in the hoho bus depends greatly on the "guide" . . a good one makes it good and a poor one makes it poor. When we get a poor one, we just get off and wait for the next bus. We use it when showing someone the city for the first time. After that, we depend on subway and feets

At that time of the year, I'm not sure what you'll be able to get for $300. This is the most expensive time you can come to NYC, and sadly, $400 is more likely. Do a search on Hotels.com or Expedia to get a sense of prices. Pick something ideally in Midtown and hope for the best. But don't count on finding anything decent for that rate.

last December we stayed at the Hampton Inn Madison Square Gardens, which is a few blocks from Penn Station. The room was miniscule but clean with a modern bathroom. The buffet breakfast, which is included, was a big bonus

p.s. Have you investigated taking Megabus to Washington? I am sure it is a lot cheaper than Amtrak. I use it between NYC and Baltimore and find it very comfortable.

A quick look at Kayak shows that there are some reasonable hotels available for your dates. I think it's so close to Christmas that business people are no longer traveling and most tourists are heading for home (the prices are typically much higher before the 20th and from the 26th on).

The Doubletree is listed at $400 per night but the Marriott Marquis and Renaissance are listed for only about $300 per night. Note - this is the rate for 3 - assuming you can share 2 double beds.

If you are sure about your dates I would make cancelable reservations immediately at one of these and then you can look around more to see what other options you have. (Frankly I wold never stay near Times Square but I now for some reasons a lot of tourists do.)

Wow! That's great advice. Thanks so much.

I think kingofnyc.com is better than onboard tours fyi. If you can manage with 2 double or queen beds, you have lots of options. The Hampton Inn Times Square North & Hilton Garden Inn Times Square are 2 that have 2 queen beds and a great location.

You can find a nice room for less than $300 a night at that time, I have done it several times. The Affinia Manhattan would be a nice location and hotel to consider re what you want to do and the short time you have. They have studio suites available w/two beds, full kitchen, 350-400 sq ft, for $259 for the nights of 12/20 and 12/21 (refundable). I just checked. Non-refundable rate for same rm. is $231, a real bargain. Book NOW.

Personally I avoid staying right near Times Square in mid to late Dec. It is so crowded you can barely walk on the sidewalks. If I am visiting the area I am ready to get a way to go back to the hotel to sleep. Affinia Manhattan is just removed enough from the craziness.

Have you looked at Quikbook.com? I'm seeing a few things there. I also looked at the Marriott website and found several reasonable options including the Marriott Marquis as nytraveler notes.

Just a note - the prices I listed included taxes (which are 16 or 18%) - so the prices are actually similar. Don;t forget to check if taxes are included in the rate when reserving.

Agree I would stay almost anyplace but Times Square - but it is what you asked for.