New York City help for first time visitors
 

Our family (mom, dad, 13 and 17 year old daughters) will be in NYC mid June to see Wicked, Mary Poppins, and to experience the city. We currently have hotel reservations at the Helmsley Hotel (212 East 42nd Street) and The Milford Plaza (700 8th Avenue). Could you help me know which one might provide the best experience in proximity, cleanliness, and fun? Thanks!!

Of the two the Helmsley is the much nicer hotel. It is on the east side of town and a bit of a hike to the subway (Lex Ave line), but you have the 42nd St crosstown bus at your doorstep almost. Staying there you are close to Grand Central for easy lunch and some good shopping on 42nd as well.

The Milford Plaza is in the middle of the Theatre District, so it will be noisy at night. I understand that some of the rooms have recently been redone, but you might check some of the travel sites for recent reviews of the hotel.

Also you might check www.hotels.com for more suggestions of hotels that might be a better fit for your plans.

Far be it from me to defend the Milford Plaza, but I fail to see why its location would make it any "noisier at night" than the Helmsley which is likely to face just as much traffic on 42nd Street. If the reference was to a lot of people on the sidewalk at night after shows -- well, you're going to face that coming out of the shows period!

And while I used to post how horrible the Milford Plaza is, recent reports have indicated it really has been transformed. While I still wouldn't call it a luxury hotel, it seems it really might be a good choice and it's been a long time since I've heard a negative about cleanliness or upkeep there.

To be honest. I'd MUCH prefer the location of the Milford, which is a short stroll to the theatres you need as opposed to a pretty long trek or a taxi ride (especially to and from Wicked) from the Helmsley. I also like the huge variety of restaurants in the area (including restaurant row (46th just a block away).

It really depends on how long you will be here and how much time will be spent at the theaters.

I personally don't like the area around Times Square - but I know a lot of tourists do - esp if they will be at the theater several times in just a couple of days.

Given the choice I would rather stay on the east side or Cenral Park South or the upper west side (but being a native New Yorker Times Square to me is just very unleasant).

How long will you be here and what other plans do you have? Mueums? Shopping? All the basic sights?

but Marnkath didn't ask about hotels in those other locations. He's only asking a comparison between these two. Does anyone really think 42nd and 2nd is a "better" location than 45th and 8th?

But asking what else you plan to do and how long you'll be there is a good point. Even then, transportation will always be required to a lot of things you want to do, but is soooo easy in NYC.

You probably should check some of the hotel-review sites like Tripadvisor; the Helmsley was scheduled to do some long-overdue renovations last year. If they're not done, that would amount to a vote for the Milford Plaza, which has a very convenient location. When you're emerging from a show late at night, it's nice to know that you can get home by walking a couple of blocks rather than battling for a cab or trekking through the subway.

Wow, this is the first time I have posted on Fodor's and you have all been quick and very helpful. In response to the comments...we will arrive on Tuesday and leave on Saturday, I know...to short a time. We will see Wicked on Wednesday night and Mary Poppins on Thursday. Every other waking hour will be spent walking the streets, Statue of Liberty, Central Park (hopefully on bikes), Fifth Avenue, Canal Street, Little Italy, etc.

When we have theater tickets, we prefer to stay at a hotel within walking distance.

When I was your oldest daughter's age, my family stayed at the Milford on my first visit to NYC. That was over 10 years ago now (whew!), so my information on the rooms is out of date, but we found the location to be very convenient. I will say that the rooms were TINY, but we were comfortable enough. (My parents had one room and my sister and I shared another.) We spent so little time in the rooms that it really didn't matter much.

I've never been to the Helmsley, so I can't comment on it.

I, too, have stayed @ the Milford but not the Helmsley.
Considering the ages of your daughters, the Milford is in a more
"exciting" area than the Helmsley.
And our room wasn't small & they
do cater to tourists which you will
find helpful so another vote for the Milford.

Thanks for all of the help. It sounds like the Milford may be a bit closer to what we are doing, especially for a couple of late nights after shows. It might not be quite as nice as the Helmsley but sounds clean and not too bad.

I'm heading to NYC in May for a couple of nights and have stayed at the Milford Plaza. Excellent location. Room was small but just fine. Bed (queen) was comfortable, bathroom small but also fine. There are mixed reviews on trip advisor but again, the location is great. Right across the street is John's Pizzeria - excellent pizza!

Monica ((F))

Am I missing something here??? The Helmsley is far from the subway at Lexington Avenue?

The location of that hotel at 212 East 42nd Street is certainly within walking distance of the theatre district although not as close as the Milford Plaza.

I think it would be helpful for you to start making a map for yourself. Go to maps.google.com and you can plot both hotels and the 2 theaters you're going to. Fifth ave. is the line of demarcation b/w east and west. The theaters and Times Square are on the west side, as is the Milford, and the NY Helmsley is on the east side.

That Helmsley is a very decent hotel and you could easily use the Times Square shuttle subway from Grand Central (a block away from the hotel) or the crosstown bus that runs along 42 st. The Milford Plaza will prob. be more convenient but not as nice or as quiet, I don't care new renovation or not. NeoPatrick, the age of the Milford building and traffic on 8th ave. not to mention thin walls in the hotel will make that a lot noisier than the NY Helmsley, a modern skyscraper with thermopane windows.

There are hundreds of other hotels to chose from too. I assume these are both cancelable from your question. I don't know what rates you've gotten at these, but the Belvedere and Radio City apartments are 2 popular budget hotels in the Times Square area that would be nicer than the Milford (but not as nice as the NY Helmsley). Radio City apts. is just that, like apts. with kitchens in all the suites. There are also other suite hotels like the Affinia.com group that offer good sized family accomodation.