New York Hotels
 

I am planning a 3-4 day trip to NY with my 11-year-old daughter. I am thinking of staying in the Times Square area since it would have such a "wow" factor for her but am not sure of hotels in the area. We are planning on visiting a couple of museums and a trip to the Statue of Liberty. Any hotel/activity suggestions would be appreciated. I am female so safety is important. Thanks.

I imagine safety is important to males and females. NYC is the safest large city in the USA. Fodors' contributors don't recommend unsafe hotels in any case.

Your dates and nightly budget will be needed to make specific recommendations.

Yes, please tell us your specific dates and budget.

Both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum offer free "Hightlights" tours throughout the day; they last about an hour and are a good way to cover a lot of territory. You can always leave a tour if something catches your fancy, like the dinosaurs, or even backtrack once the tour ends. My daughters love "Night at the Museum," so they had a blast recognizing things from the film.

Since you're planning to do two museums, perhaps you'd consider the upper west side? I was always a midtown west fan until my first solo trip last January, where I stayed at the Belleclaire. Next month I'm booked at Park 79. I've heard good things about The Beacon and The Lucerne, too. The upper west side is less crowded, prettier, and if your hotel is near a subway stop, you're good to go. I do a great deal of theater, but the subway got me to Times Square in ten minutes.

Have a great trip!

We are planning to travel in early October and our budget is mid-range but we can upgrade since it is my daughter's first trip there. Thanks for the info.

So you don't have any specific dates in mind?

Mid-range? How about USDs instead?

Mid-range in NYC, especially in October, is not mid-range elsewhere. It is a busy time of year and prices increase dramatically. (Mid-range in October might actually be close to $500 per night--Is that good for you?) Prices also vary based on weekday versus weekend. Please give an actual dollar amount you are prepared to pay and we can be more helpful.

Krystyna - Listen, people are trying to help you but you keep coming back with nebulous responses. Sorry if we seem dense but terms like "mid-range", "affordable", "not too expensive" and even "early October" are meaningless without a point of reference. What's mid-range to you might seem overly pricey to others or, in the case of NYC may be a lot more than YOU expect. Hotel rooms in the city can range from around $200/night for a tiny room in a fleabag motel to $15,000/night for a suite at the Plaza so in that case Mid-range is around $7,00o/night. Even if you use a range of between $200/night and say $1,200/night (which you might find at some of the luxury hotels) mid-range then becomes $600/night. Is that what you are looking for??? Also, as for "early October" are you talking weekdays, weekends or perhaps Columbus Day weekend? All will have different price points.

Help us help you, share some pertinent facts about your travel plans and your budget.

Since you are bringing your daughter, she might love The Ace Hotel which is very close to Macy's and Herald Square. It's only been open a year or so and it's very nicely done. The rooms are large by NYC standards, (I toured the hotel when it opened) and each room has a guitar, since alot of their guests are musicians. Try the website www.acehotel.com

There are several new hotels in the city so you should not have a problem finding a hotel, but pricing in October is going to be high as mentioned earlier so just be aware.

Have a GREAT time.

As stated, mid-October can be a busy time in New York as it tends to be a very busy time for conferances, etc.

There are several majors hotels in and around Times Square. I might suggest you check the major hotel chains first: Marriott, Hilton and Starwood. That should give you a sense of cost. All have properties in Times Square or within a few blocks.

In terms of other possibilities, when my colleagues from out of town come to New York they've had good luck with The Warwick Hotel on 6th Avenue.

I've been checking rates for a possible last minute stay this coming weekend and the Waldorf-Astoria has had one of the better rate offers.

If you're looking for a smaller hotel, I've stayed several times at the FitzPatrick Grand Central and believe they offer reasonable value. It is not right in the heart of a tourist area but it is within a half block of the subway and in an area that is reasonably safe.

Another option to consider is the Hotel Wales on Madison and 91st. Again not right in the heart of the tourist areas but a very easy walk to numerous museums and it is located in a heavily populated residential area. Rates will be below more well known places where you're paying a premium for being in Times Square.

As stated, mid-range can mean something very different, especially in New York. If mid-range is defined by you as $500 and above per night then I'd suggest The Peninsula (though $500 could be too low.)

My suggestion is the easiest thing to do is go onto a site like orbitz or expedia and narrow down your choices by star-level and location. That will at least give you a sense of what your expectation of cost should give you in terms of quality level.

I just stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square North and it was a decent hotel. Right near Times Square and subway right next door. I got it for points so not sure on price but it was clean and quiet. Included free breakfast. nothing spectacular but it worked.

We have just booked Staybridge suites in times square for December - www.staybridge.com - looks very nice. Other are right though you need a budget amount in mind.

I am going to NYC with my two daughters the second week of Oct. Although I booked my room months ago, I am still getting emails from Hotwire, Travel Zoo, Quikbooks. Rooms are running from $350-$500 a night for what I would call mid-range hotels (this includes tax which is high in NYC). I am not sure you can find anything for less than $300 a night.

Agree - if we are to provide really useful advice it would help if you gave us dates (to see if there are any special deals) and a $ amount. Agree that around $300 is the least you would expect for a moderate hotel.

I would assume you are going on the weekend since your daughter is 11. If you go the first weekend in October there are some choices under $300 although not many. If you go the next weekend, prices jump up particularly around Times Square where the rooms are running around $350 up. I was looking on kayak.com. It would help if you let us know the dates and if you would consider another neighborhood. Then we can help.

Thanks for the info. My daughter and I are planning 3 nights in the timeframe of Oct 7-12. We are flexible on choosing the days out of that timeframe. I was looking at prices and it looks like most hotels are $300-$500 per night. I was hoping not to go above $400.

There are several 4* hotels available on Priceline for October 8-9-10 for under $300.

Sorry, I meant Hotwire, not Priceline.

Check out The Muse, a Kimpton boutique hotel.
http://www.themusehotel.com/

Try Travelzoo for specials.
Weekends are usually easier to find deals.

The museums are mostly uptown and the Statue of Liberty ferries are all the way downtown if you plan on actually visiting the statue (and if you do, book asap on statuecruises.com) so Times Square is not really near either. But if you want to stay there for the wow factor, I'd pick one of the big skyscraper hotels with views like the Marriott Marquis, the Renaissance, the new Intercontinental Times Square, the Millenium Broadway, the W Times Square or the Crowne Plaza. Since that's a holiday weekend and prices this fall are very high, I don't know which will be within budget, especially if you want a room with 2 beds which is usually more expensive.

Some of the websites to check are quikbook.com, kayak.com, oyster.com and hotels.com to shop hotels. I notice there's a prepay/non-cancelable rate of $382/night for 2 double beds at the W Times Square on quikbook.com Tax adds ~ 15%.