We are going in June to N. Y. and we have
several hotels in our budget and we need
HELP to decide...
Belvedere
Avalon,
'Novotel New York
Hemsley Middletowne
Algonquin or Excelsior
Please tell us which would you pick!!!

The Algonquin is famous in the literary world, and once upon a time i was in new York with the president of a publishing company, so we stayed there.

After we arrived in our room, we discovered I could stand on the bed and just about touch both walls.

So we walked down to the front deask, lloked at the clerk, and said, in essence, "get real."

Bingo, a much bigger room, with a much better view, and thenext morning at breakfast we ran into a colleague. To me, there's something about running into people you know in NY that makes you feel worldly.

Breakfast in the hotel was good, too.

Which is not to say I'd stay there again. There's a lot of good hotels, in the middle range, in the city.

BAK

BAK

All the hotels on your list are decent budget hotels except the Algonquin. They must be running a special for it to be on the same list. As BAK says, many of the rooms are small and the bathrooms are outdated (but clean). The atmosphere in the hotel is terrific though along with the service and the public areas. The location is also excellent being near the theater district yet only a block from Fifth Ave.

The Belvedere is a favorite budget hotel also in a great location near Times Square but not in it. Rooms there have small fridge, I think microwave so that's handy. The Novotel is in this same area, closer to Times Square. It's a modern hotel and as I recall you go up an escalator to get to the lobby. Reviews on tripadvisor are very good.

The Avalon is a nice hotel but it's near Penn Station, not a very glamorous location and their workers have been on strike recently. While I assume that will be over by June, it's not what I would choose.

The Helmsley Middletowne is on the east side with rooms that look a bit dated but I think large.

The Excelsior is a nice hotel on the upper westside near the Museum of Natural History. If you like the idea of being in a more residential area, this would be a good choice.

So I guess it depends on who's going on this trip and what you plan to do.

Thanks for the help!!!

Do you have any other suggestions of
hotels, that are not on the list?

The Park South on E. 28th St. is very nice and reasonable. They have a cont'l breakfast on site and a nice restaurant--The Black Duck. It is also very close to the subway.
Also, on W. 76th St. is the Milburn Hotel, which sounds nice but haven't stayed there.

Different hotels fit different needs. If you want alternate suggestions, tell us budget, what kind of hotel you like (big/small, modern/classic,Times Square/quieter area) and who's traveling (ie kids, just adults).

The Hotel Metro gives you a LOT of room for the money. Very clean and a convenient location next to the Empire State bldg. Not much in the immediate area but Times Sqaure is an easy walk and the subway will take you anywhere. If you go, make sure you take your complimentray breakfast up to the tables on the rooftop patio - nice view.

http://www.hotelmetronyc.com/index.asp

We just stayed at the Grand Hyatt and LOVED it. The room we had was spacious , comfortable bed, nicely appointed, well managed and location was wonderful. I don't know if it's considered a budget hotel but, we got it for $120.00 for six nights using priceline. We stayed at the Swissotel a few years ago and we liked the Grand Hyatt better. We had the Grand Hyatt reserved before we did Priceline at $159.00 a night so, I think sometimes the rate is reasonable depending on time of year.

I've stayed at both the Novotel and Belvedere and would pick Novotel over Belvedere. It's just generally more aesthetically pleasing (newer, seemingly cleaner) and I liked the location better. But I'd stay at the Belvedere again if it was an option.