I'm taking a spur of the moment drive up to NYC next Monday (taking the folks for a trip) and was wondering if anyone could suggest a nice area/hotel to stay at. We'll probably be taking in the sites, so something within a short driving distance would be nice. Something not too expensive, but also nothing too run-down. Also, are there any areas I should avoid? Oh, and we'll be staying Monday through Friday. Thanks again.

Please, I know someone could help me out. NYC is a big city and I don't want to end up in the wrong area or too far from everything. The trip is only a couple of days away. Thanks.

Put NYC hotel in "search this forum" at the top of this page and you will come up with lots of hotel suggestions.
Do not plan on driving in the city. You will need to park your car and walk and take public transportation.

Normally when people ask for hotel help, they provide a budget. There are no bad areas of Manhattan but there are bad hotels. Look at reviews on tripadvisor.com. Check travelzoo.com for specials. Quikbook.com is another good website for hotels.

The Travel Inn is the only hotel in NYC that has free parking. It's not far from Times Square where a lot of the tourist activity is located (theaters, hop on/off tours, visitors center etc.) It's not fancy though. Since you say you're "taking the folks" maybe a suite hotel would be a good idea.

I see an amazingly cheap price of $155/night on quikbook for the Salisbury hotel for a room with 2 double beds. They also have larger suites.

For parking the car, go to iconparking.com and find a garage near whatever hotel you chose. Don't use the car in Manhattan.

If you are intent on driving into Manhattan, then parking will be a big part of your budget, and since the city is very busy now (and because hotel rates are highest during the week), you will pay a premium. You do have a few options if you want to stay outside of the city. There are hotels in the Meadowlands area, which is just across the Hudson near Giants stadium. There are many chain hotels there, and all offer free parking. Similarly, there are some hotels (much more expensive) in the Newport area of NJ, which is adjacent to the PATH train system. Most of these also offer free parking. In Manhattan, the Skyline Hotel on the far west side of Manhattan offers fairly reasonable rates for both rooms and parking. There is a Comfort Inn in Long Island City in Queens, near several subway lines for quick entry into Manhattan; they might offer a deal on parking in a nearby garage. While the area around this hotel isn't the nicest, it's fairly safe and reachable by cab from midtown. Check Quikbook or Hotels.com to see if you can get good rates, but expect to pay $25 to $40 a day to park in Manhattan.

There are many good areas to stay in. WHat's your hotel budget? If it's only 2 of you, wuold you consider using priceline? You can probably get a deal with that. ALso, what do you plan on doing or seeing.

In general, most hotels are in decent areas. I personally am not crazy about Times Square. I know it's popular with tourists, but there are much nicer areas. Times Sq is perfectly safe, it's just crowded and chaotic, with many chain restaurants and tourist traps. Near Central Park is always nice, as is much of midtown south, and midtown east. Gramercy Park/Union Sq/Village/Soho areas are also very nice, but hotel choices are more limited there.

If it your first visit to NYC, don't stay outside the city but do park your car and take public transportation in.

The Apple Core Hotels are some of the most reasonable hotels in Manhattan.

The only hotel I can think of to flat out avoid would be the Hotel Pennsylvania.

The Milford Plaza is a good choice.

Keep in mind a moderate hotel room in Manhattan will cost you $175-$300 per night. There are no hotels under $100.

We recently had a very good experience at the Affinia Gardens, on the upper east side. We needed a two bedroom, two bath suite and it was the best price, in a newly-renovated building, with very good customer service. You might want a suite, too, if you're planning on one room with your folks. Affinia has other properties, too.

If you're willing to stay on the upper east or west side - try affinia hotls or on the upper west side the excelsior, beacon or Lucerne(nicer) - you may be able to park you car on the street for free. (You can;t drive around the city - there is no place to park and every in and out of a garage will be at least $20 - even for a couple hours - you need to use feet and subways to get places.)

These are residential areas and free parking is possible on side streets (not avenues, which are metred and limited) but you need to follow EXACTLY the alternate side of the street rules for stret cleaning. (If you leave you car when they're cleaning they may tow it and it will cost in excess of $1000 to get it back with fine, tow fee and storage.)

Otherwise it's garage (minimum $30 per day even away from the center) or try to find a train station in NJ where you can leave the car safely for several days. I don;t know which stations allow this/are safe - but if you search this board you will find reco'd stations.

Agree it's much better to stay in the city - since commuting back and forth is a major pain in the butt (time, money and fighting traffic/business commuters) every day. Plus - why come to New York and stay in a suburb that looks like everywhere else in the world?