New York hotel question
 

Has anyone stayed at The New York Helmsley? Is it in a good location handy for tourist attractions?

The New York Helmsley is on East 42nd Street; I believe between 2nd & 3rd Avenue. You are a block from Grand Central where you can pick up the 4,5,6 subway which runs on the east side of Manhattan. You can also take the S train to Times Square and pick up the westside subways. Staying at the NY Helmsley, you will probably need to take a subway, bus or cab to many of the tourist attractions (depending on your comfort level for walking).

We stayed at the NY Helmsley in mid-April. Other than a fluke problem (their a/c was under repair and not working in the midst of the unseasonable april heat wave), it was an excellent hotel, with nice luxury touches. We paid about $150/nite (incldg tax), which I thought was a very good value for the hotel. NY is a great walking town and this location puts you in a pretty good middle-of-everything jumping off point and, as noted, it's extrememly handy to subways from GCStation. If I can answer any other specific questions for you, feel free to e-m.

Thanks for tyhe above info. Nice to hear agood report about the hotel. If I do have any other questions I'll ask. Will prob have load to ask before our trip -first time to New York- so all tips on what to see at best time of day to aviod queues etc are welcome. Thought of one now what about the tour buses are they good we want to see as much as we can in just 4 days?<BR>Thanks again

I haven't taken a tour bus in NY, tho I'm kind of a fan of the general idea, for getting a quick overlook at a city when you don't have a lot of time. Two alternatives to consider, however: the circle line boat tour around Manhattan (esp if it's a warm day - very refreshing). And a tip from Frommer's Budget travel mag that I just read: the M4 bus route on public transit (waaay cheaper than a Gray Line or similar bus tour). According to the magazine write-up, it travels from E. 32d street along Madison Ave all the way north to the Cloisters (branch of the Met Museum, devoted to medieval collections, with a great garden, I believe). Return trip south, the route goes down 5th Avenue - past the Met, Central Park and all the posh apartment/co-op dwellings.