GwenB

I get a friends and family rate at Marriott hotels... but the dates that I want to go in April are sold out for the Marquis and I don't want to pay $400+ per night... would love more of a $200ish room... Has anyone stayed at other Marriott or Marriott family hotels in NYC? We will have a child w/ us, so clean and safe are a must. THANKS!

nytraveler

If you look at tripadvisor.com you will see that all of the Marriotts in Manhattan get reasonably good reviews.

Unfortunately the one on E 92 St is in a very inconvenient location - so I wouldn't do that one.

kodi

Two years ago I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on West 40th and I was happy. They don't have a full restaurant there, but do have a breakfast cafe.
I was on my own and felt very comfortable and safe there. It's very close to Times Square, but far enough away so it wasn't noisy.

dmlove

We have stayed at the Marquis, the Courtyard Midtown East, the Renaissance and the Times Square Residence Inn, and a friend has stayed at the Courtyard Times Square. The Marquis is "glitzy", glass elevators and all, huge public spaces, and we did have a room with 2 beds (I can't remember if they were doubles or queens). The Renaissance is more subdued, nice lobby. The Residence Inn is good because of the included breakfast and kitchen. The bathrooms are very small (one person at a time). Most people on Tripadvisor seem to love the Residence Inn -- we thought it was OK, not great. Our favorite was the Courtyard Midtown East, for the price and for the fact that the room was huge by NY standards. We had two queens AND a sitting area. This is a plain hotel, though, nothing glitzy or fancy. Very nice staff. We liked the location a lot (3rd Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Sts., with a subway at the corner and a Duane Reade right downstairs). We got a similar report from our friend who stayed at the other Courtyard.

Kerry392

We have stayed at the East Side Marriott twice and have been very happy. The rooms are small, but clean and quiet. It is in a great location- about 5 blocks from Grand Central Station; you can also take the subway from Penn Station (the subway stop is about 1 block away).

dawnnoelm

Hi Gwen - I have stayed at two Marriotts in the city - one is Marriott Financial (I think they recently renamed it?) I liked this one - it has a lovely view of the river - but it is far away from say Broadway/timesquare - but I am not sure what you are looking to do. We were there on business so it worked well and we enjoyed a nice night out in Little Italy.

I also have stayed at the Marriott Marquis and personally I hated it... but I hated Time Square.

GwenB

Thank so much for all of the great info. This will be the first time we take our child to NYC-- so it will be a museum trip, park and possibly show trip. We're fine w/ the subway as long as we aren't in a shady part of town. Thanks again for your help... back to the marriott site to do some more research (sometimes it is SO much work to save $$!)

doug_stallings

Gwen, there are simply no "shady" parts of Manhattan where there are a great many hotels. There are a lot of inconvenient locations and shady hotels, however. All of the Marriotts in Manhattan are in safe neighborhoods, but as other posters have pointed out, the Upper East Side is a particularly inconvenient place to stay. I would also steer you away from the financial district, which is far downtown and has inconvenient subway connections on the weekends. But it does tend to have better rates. Don't neglect the Courtyards in Manhattan, which are uniformly good and tend to be a bit cheaper than other hotels.

mclaurie

As others have said, virtually all of the Marriotts in NYC are good so it really depends on who's traveling and what your plans are. You mention a child and museums. That sounds like the Mus. of Natural History on the upper west side where there are no Marriotts.

The Residence Inn and Courtyard Times Square South are both newish and would be an easy subway ride though. The Courtyard Midtown east has some very large rooms and would be an easy commute to the other museums on the upper east side like the Met.

GwenB

Yes, Natural History and MoMa. Thanks for all of the input... now to figure out whether to take the train or to drive!

Juldie

GwenB: My husband and I love the Residence Inn near Times Square. It is exceptionally clean and spacious. There is a pull out sofa, a refrigerator and microwave, even a crock pot for those who might use it. The hotel is very quiet and all of the staff are friendly.

It is an easy walk to Times Square yet you aren't in the middle of the hustle and bustle. You are near Bryant Park and a short walk to Herald Square.

The buffet breakfast is incredible. It is quite a savings in NYC. They have everything you could want. I highly recommend it.

Ann41

The Renaissance would be my pick IF they have finished renovations. You're lucky--the Marquis is a zoo, and the only time we stayed there, we had to wait for 30 minutes for our room. Doesn't sound bad, until I point out that it was 12:30 am when we arrived, with a 5-month-old, and I had already called twice to confirm that we still had a room and that it was ready.

GwenB

Thanks to all for your help. We decided on the Marriott East Side, as it had a rate less than 300 and is new and is close enough to where we want to go. We are excited to take our kiddo for his first trip-- thanks for all of your input.

mclaurie

Gwen, while the hotel has been recently renovated, it is far from new. The building is "historic."

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

I would look at the Courtyard Midtown East which is a newer building in what I think is a better location and may be cheaper.

GwenB

I actually cancelled this reservation after reading many negative reviews on trip advisor. I booked us at Le Parker Meridien for 255 a night... which was less than the Mariott. Our kiddo is excited that there is a pool on the top floor-- although I don't think that we will be at the actual hotel for much other than sleeping.

doug_stallings

Gwen, I think you've made a good choice. The location is really great, and the Burger Joint in the lobby is excellent.

mclaurie

You should know that in general, the Marriotts in NYC are very well regarded, especially the Courtyards and the Residence Inn. You just happened to pick one that's not so great.

The Parker Meridien has some nice amenities like the pool, views and the restaurants (Norma's is also popular) BUT, be warned that the rooms they list as having 2 double beds are actually 2 European doubles which are only slightly wider than a single bed. Just mentioning it since there are 3 of you. You might need to upgrade to a junior suite. You might want to check it out with them.

GwenB

I called to check the rate, and they volunteered that about the beds, so we books a "superior king" (as opposed to a standard king... they were the same price). Our kiddo wants to bring a sleeping bag and flashlight to "camp out" on the floor. They said we can add a rollaway bed for $30 when we get there if we would like. Thanks for all of the great tips. I feel really good about this choice.