New York - single woman, first time, which hotel?
 

Hi,

I've posted before and got great advice. Having looked at many, many hotels now I have narrowed down my choice. Either the Holiday Inn on West 45th Street, or the Incentra in Grenwich Village. There is a difference in price, but I'm mainly concerned about the location. Is it worth saving some money and staying in the Village or am I better spending the extra money and staying in Midtown. My sister, who has been to NY 3 times thinks that the Village is too far out to stay. What do you think?

Many thanks, Laura

Laura, Incentra doesn't get mentioned much, so while I know the location, I don't know what it's like to stay there. Curious to know why you picked that one vs. Abingdon Guest House, West 11th st. Townhouse, Rooms to Let or one of the other village places. Accidental?

I think in addition to location, there's a HUGE difference between staying in a regular hotel (Holiday Inn) vs. a small b & b. Without knowing a bit more about you (age, interests and what sort of comfort level you need) it's almost impossible to respond to your question.
I originally thought the upper westside would be good for a woman alone, but maybe you didn't agree.

Hi,

Judging by the views on Trip Advisor is how I came to make those two choices. The Upper West Side was fine, but I've had a hard time finding a hotel. I seem to find hotels that are quite cheap and don't look appealing or they look nice but are around $300 per night, which I just cannot afford. I'd be happy spending $200 but just haven't found something for that amount. I'm staying for 4 nights.

I'm in my 30's and have gone past the stage of staying in hostels, or sharing bathrooms. Ordinarily Holiday Inn's are fine so that is the kind of standard I'm looking for.

Many thanks for the advice.

Laura

The Village is too far out to stay? Huh?

I've stayed all over Manhattan by myself, ridden the subway late at night and never had a problem.

What is your budget and what are you going to do in Manhattan?

Personally, I don't like staying in Midtown.

What is the price difference?

I think the Village is a great area to stay in. Far better than midtown. I am not sure what "too far out" means..you can walk to midtown from most areas of the Village in about a half an hour and by subway the time between the two is no more than 10 minutes at most. I do not think it is worth extra money to stay in midtown; I would pay more to stay in the Village. It is a much more cozy, relaxed area with small restaurants, shops and a younger feel. West 45th Street is not a terribly nice area to stay in, especially for a single woman. It is perfectly safe, just not too appealing. I should say that I live in midtown and travel often to the Village for shopping and dining.

Hi again,

The difference in price is $625 in the Village to $826 in Midtown.

Thanks for all the advice! Laura

Stay in the Village, live for a week like a New Yorker and buy yourself something fabulous with the $200 you are saving.

The really great thing about staying away from the tourist areas is that you learn public transportation, you shop at neighborhood grocers, buy your paper at the neighborhood newstand, i.e. live like a New Yorker.

Agree on the Village as a better choice - but don't know this hotel. Would do almost anything not to stay in the Times Square area (loud, bright, garish, filled wth tourists at all times and with lots of bad, expensive restaurants - there are good ones too - but they're outnumbered by the bad/chains) unless I was going primarily for theater.

If you're going as a basic tourist you'll be traveling all over town anyway (a lot of things you'll want to see are further "out" than the Village). And it's a much better area for eating and shopping.

I have done some more checking around on Incentra. Here is a another review you might read

http://www.peningtonpress.com/sleepcheapnyexcerpt.htm

Without knowing when you're making the trip, here are some other places you might check that <i>could</i> be around $200/night but might be more for your dates.

<b>Upper westside</b>
The Lucerne
On the Avenue
The Excelsior
Wyman House

<b>midtown
Carlton on Madison (east 20s)
Affinia 50 (east 50s)
1871 House (east 60s)
The Lombardy (east 50s)
the Blakely (west 50s)
the Algonquin (west 40s)

<b>downtown</b>
Four Points by Sheraton (Chelsea)
West 11 th st. Townhouse (village)
Abingdon Guest House (village)
Rooms to let (village)

All that said, either of your original choices should give you a nice time in NYC.

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