Trying to decide between Michelangelo, Hotel Giraffe & Bryant Park Hotel. Or perhaps the new Alex hotel. Looking for friendly (not at all snooty) service, a comfortable and nicely decorated room, a feeling of being pampered. Generally prefer simple, unfussy decor, but with a feeling of quality. Any thoughts?

i live in nyc, so i haven't stayed at any of the hotels, so this isn't worth all that much, but I've conducted business with the Bryant Park before and it's a nice little place and everyone I've dealt with had been really nice. Not a single bad moment, and I'm probably someone any of them couldn't care less about.

Hi. I live in NYC as well, but have had family visit on numerous occasions and have stayed with them at many of the hotels in the city. To be honest, of the ones you mentioned the Bryant Park and the Michelangelo would be good, but to be really, really honest, if you prefer simplicity, unfussy and comfortable, I would seriously consider the large chain hotels in times square i.e. the Marriot Marquis or Sheraton...although huge and lots of people, they offer true comfort as opposed to many of the more boutique type hotels, or the new, hip ones that try to give you funky decor ("W" anyone?).

Thanks for your suggestion about the chain hotels. Two things concern me though - Times Square is a very boisterous neighborhood - we'd like something a little off the main tourist path with a neighborhood feel to it, & also we don't want a standard hotel room that could be in any city - we have stayed in many Sheratons & Marriotts, and are looking for something unique. But thanks again.

Did you check the tripadvisor for feeback on these hotels. The new Alex looks quite nice.

I stayed at the Michelangelo last weekend for the first time for 4 nights and on Tues. I wrote comments on here on my stay under my business computer name "emd1", if you want to see them. I usually stay at the Essex House (westin hotel on central park) or one of the 2 Sheratons on 7th Ave., but tried put the Michelangelo this time.

I stayed at the San Carlos last month.
Wonderful!. 50th/Lexington. good neighborhood. I search many hotels before making my choice.

emd can't find your comments (tried a text search here & looked on raants & raves). Did you like it or not?

I can't advise, ike, 'cause I haven't stayed in any of them. But if you're looking for a "neighborhood feel" I wouldn't choose the location(s) of the Bryant Park or Michelangelo. The Bryant Park is just behind the main public library. While they're both in great areas for sightseeing, theater etc.,they're both in more of a business area(s) rather than where a lot of people live. I was stunned to read the rave reviews on the Giraffe on tripadvisor (since I'd not heard of it). Unless you've seen good reviews I'd be a bit wary of the Alex since it's so new.

Hello again...sorry about the chain hote thing but if you're looking for off the beaten path and quiet, I have the perfect place...it's called the Inn at Irving place. It's right off of Gramercy Park, which is a pristine and quiet neighborhood, it's a 15 room bed and breakfast in an old brownstone, antique furniture in all the rooms, a tea salon downstairs, continental breakfast delivery to your door in the morning, and a nice lounge/bar that doesn't get crowded in the basement area...also the area is beautiful but close enough to Union Square to get to the subway in under 10 minutes.

Thanks for all the help. The Inn at Irving Place looks lovely, but unfortunately is beyond our price range. Based on these comments and on tripadvisor comments, I am leaning toward the Hotel Giraffe - any negatives with the hotel or neighborhood? Thanks again.

I've had relatives stay at the Giraffe a year or so ago - they loved it - they had a pretty roomy (for NYC) one bedroom suite, and really liked the staff and the wine in the afternoons in the lobby . . . The neighborhood is very accessible to transport and walking to midtown, Flatiron, Times Square and downtown, but still out of the way of a lot of the hustle. I think it's good choice.

mclaurie: just type in "emd1" in the search box and it will come up- I just did that, it is like the 4th post down and it Michelangelo in the title.

Have you considered The Library Hotel? Excellent reviews, wonderful theme.

The Library Hotel sounded great, but has been booked for several weeks (we are going next weekend). I called the 4 hotels I was originally considering. The Hotel Giraffe has the smallest rooms (280 sq. ft) in my price range (under $300 including parking), but has the nicest location and the room has a terrace. The Bryant Hotel is hard to resist though - they have a package that includes a large (425 Sq ft) king-bed room with a terrace overlooking Bryant Park and valet parking and a drink at the bar for $299! The Alex also has a package with a fairly large queen sized room (340 sq ft) with valet parking and a martini package - and the room has a kitchen but I don't think we'll use it. I've ruled the Michelanglo out - don't really like the fact that the rooms are either noisy or overlook an interior courtyard.

What's the best way to try and get last-minute tickets for a seemingly sold-out show without paying double (Bombay Dreams)?

Again, thanks for all the help - this forum is terrific!

In your interest, I just read the reviews on tripadvisor for the Bryant Park hotel because the room you describe is appealing. It's hard to advise you without knowing what else you plan to do while in town. On pampering basis, I'd stick with the Giraffe. It sounds like the Bryant Park can be hit or miss on service. But if you plan on theater, dept store shopping & regular midtown stuff, the Bryant location is great, just not "neighborhoody." If you're celebrating a special occasion, maybe if you tell them at the Giraffe you could get a room upgrade?

As to theater tickets, have you checked ebay? Sometimes people buy & then can't use them. They should sell for around face value.

I have stayed at the majority of the hotels you listed. My first pick would be Giraffe and then Bryant Park. If your willing to stand in line, there are 2 TKTS booths which sell same day tickets to available broadway shows for 1/2 price. Just saw Producers that way - However, lines are very long.

as far as the TKTS booths go, the seaport allows you to get matinees for the next day and let you start getting same-day tickets earlier, it also suffers from a lot less crowdiness.. also a good area to spend some time in if you can afford it

tkb123 - what sort of room did you have at the Hotel Giraffe. We have booked a Deluxe Queen. Does it feel very small? What did you prefer about the Hotel Giraffe over the Bryant Park? Thanks.

Will try the TKTS booth - hope they have tickets for Bombay Dreams.

it's possible Bombay Dreams may show up on TKTS, but if it does, it'll probably be at the Times Square one because it'll be very last minute. Even though there is really bad buzz about it (there are so many better shows out there now) and got little recognition from the Tonys, it's still consistently selling out about 90% of its tickets, which means TKTS is pretty unlikely (it was not available at all the past week).

Even if it does, it'll probably not drop below 25% off, so my advice to you is consider buying tickets. There are several discounts available for it, you should check out

http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/Bombay_Dreams_351.asp

and strongly consider it for the following reasons: (1) you probably aren't going to spend much more than you would at TKTS; (2) you'd be guaranteed tickets; (3) you'd know exactly where those seats are; (4) you don't have to spend a crapload of valuable time standing in a crowded line.

most people going to TKTS, should be absolutely flexible on what show they plan on seeing it. if you're going for a specific show, in most cases, it's not worth the effort

I prefered the service at the Giraffe a little more than the Bryant. I usually get a normal queen size room. I tend to be a shopper and the Giraffe is close to 5th and Madison and close to Lexington for the train. I tend to like the Murray Hill/Union area a little more than so close to Times Square. Both hotels are nice. It really depends on what activities your into and how much you wish to walk. Agree with Brad on Bombay. Not a lot of good buzz about it and a recent search showed Bombay hasn't been listed at the TKTS booth in the last 2 weeks. There are soooo many other shows to choose from