Will be in NYC end of July and looking for a hotel, will be sharing with my sister so we need two doubles (I know, hard to find) and would like to stay south of the theatre district, but not too far down town. Have already done times square, central park, etc on a previous visit. Has anyone stayed at the W union square or sheraton TriBeCa. Are they good locations?

I am NY'er and have little knowledge of the hotels.

Under the W at Union Square is a subway station with a confluence of many lines. Across the street is one of the most popular green market. Around the corner is Gramercy Park, the area in NYC that most resembles London. And Union Square at just about any time, and especially weekends attracts all types.

Tribeca is an area that attracts young business types but has some fine restaurants and interesting architecture.

I'd look at The Standard, which straddles the Highline. There are two newish hotels in Midtown below Times Square: The Gansevoort and the Eventi. Both are nice upscale hotels with pretty good locations. There's not a lot near Union Square, so the W may be your best bet. But there are a lot of new hotels on the Lower East Side if you are interested in that area.

There are a lot of nice boutique hotels below 14th.

Soho Grand, Tribeca Grand, 60 Thompson, W Downtown, the Hotel Gansevoort, Smyth Tribeca, Gild Hall, and Thompson LES all come to mind.

Not exactly Union Square but the Giraffe Hotel on Park and 27th isn't that far away.

If looking for something more budget friendly there are several Holiday Inn hotels downtown. There is a Club Quarters Hotel near Wall Street that can be a great deal, especially on the weekends.

I have stayed at the Club Quarters near Wall, and the rooms are so tiny, you can shut off the light with your toe.

There is also another hotel that attracts hispsters-Blue Moon Hotel.

http://www.bluemoon-nyc.com/

There are scores of bars and restaurants near there and the night scene does not end.

And there's the Washington Square Hotel in the Village

The W Union Square is a fabulous location but the hotel itself gets mixed reviews I think mostly because it's so expensive vs. what you actually get. The Sheraton Tribeca is as far south as you can go without being in the financial district so if you don't like being too far south, it's not a good option for you. In addition to the places Ryan & Doug mention, there are lots of other options that are south of the theater district yet not as far as Union Square. The Gansevoort Park and the Giraffe are both in the Gramercy/flatiron district and very nice hotels.

We're staying at The Chelsea Pines Inn this Fall. They get rave reviews, and the prices are quite reasonable for NYC.

http://www.chelseapinesinn.com/

The Chelsea Pines won;t work for the OP sine they want two beds and the rooms at Chelsea Pines each have just one queen bed.

The Marriott Courtyard on Varick might be something you could look into. They have rooms with 2 dbl. beds and it's perfectly situated to explore SoHo, Chelsea, the West Village, etc.

The Four Points in Chelsea would also have two beds. A good location at 25th and 7th.

Priceline is great for getting a room suitable for 2 people only, but the bed configuration can't be determined nor guaranteed. You may get a great price on a queen bedded or king bedded room but rooms with two beds in Manhattan aren't nearly as plentiful as Q or K bedded rooms.

I would think that the fatuity of that advice would guarantee that no one goes to Kimberly's blog.

Had anyone stayed at the gansevoort on park ave south? Any reports of bed bugs? Budget is not an issue. What about the trump soho?

Audchamp1 what neighborhood do you suggest to get a real sense of NYC? Any cool restaurants you can recommend?

New York consists of hundreds of neighborhoods, some where people of the same economic, ethnic, or even sexual orientation live together to other residential areas where all types live together to where certain businesses congregate to areas where every store is different. To me, there is no typical neighborhood.

Many visitors think the Theater District or midtown typifies New York, but 67% of people who go to Broadway shows are visitors.

There are have been many discussions of restaurants on these boards, so you should indicate budget, likes, dislikes. And if you go to the box above "View by State" and click on New York, you will find many.

And cool is very subjective, I stay away from trendy restaurants becuase you often a premium for the PR, while others flock to them.