Does anyone know where the closest washateria is to the Le Parker Meridien-57th street between 5th and 6th avenues? We have 3 kids and will need to wash some clothes during our stay.

They're called laundromats here. And I don't think you'll find much in that area. You can always use the hotel cleaning services, but that will cost a fortune.

Hi Dana,
The Parker Meridien is between 6th and 7th Avenue. If you head west on 57th street to 9th avenue you'll probably find a laundromat on or off 9th avenue in the west 50s. Since you have three kids and knowing the prices at the Parker Meridien you'll probably save a fortune even if you take a cab over to 9th ave and back! Almost all laundromats will wash, dry and fold by the pound and it isn't expensive so you could drop the laundry off in the moring and pick it up in the late afternoon (they'll supply the detergent).

I've seen the laundromat on 9th and trust me, you get some pretty unsavory types doing their laundry in there. It's not necessarily unsafe, mind you, the people are just a little funky. I'd suggest asking the concierge for a recommendation, or if someone here can come up with a reputable place that they use regularly, you might try it.

If there's a Plan B where you don't have to use the laundry at all, by all means go for it.

Use a laundry service from a dry cleaners. They pick up and deliver and charge by the pound. You don't want to spend your time in a NYC laundromat.

I agree with the last poster. Do not bother to do your own laundry. Natives drop off their laundry at the local dry cleaner & have it washed by the pound. It is cheap, comes back clean, folded and ready to repack or put in your drawers. Over the many years I have lived in NYC, I have never once resorted to a laundry mat or used any laundry services provided in my building. You should have no problems finding nearby dry cleaners on 8th & 9th in that area.

I think "washateria" sounds better than "laundromat"

Here's a laugh - I opened up the thread out of curiousity because I didn't know what a washateria was. I thought it would be some type of place where you could pay to go have a quick shower if you needed to clean up while in the city but didn't have a hotel room. Boy did I feel dumb.

didn`t it used to be a place where you got food out of lttle windows,,

Dear Dana: I hope you don't mind my question, but I am really curious about the term "washaterias" it is a family way to name laundromats,just in your family?? (like at home we used to call the grocery stores "groceterias") o maybe is a national way in your country or city? please educate us, it is nice to learn new words!!!
And I sympathize with your problem, having 4 children! but we used to go to hotels or resorts that had laundromats (or washaterias), hope you find a solution!

I think laundromat sounds better because washateria kinds of has that "diarrhea" ring to hit. Now that I think of it, they're both kind of dumb.

To x: Thanks for the laugh. Yep, that was the Horn & Hardart automat. Hey, sandwiches, laundry, what the difference?

We had this discussion a couple of months ago at work. I've always known them as "washaterias". That's what my mom always called them when we lived in Texas. We asked around and it seemed like those who used the term were from the South. Just our little informal poll.

Dana, I went to Bigyellow.com and found almost 300 laundromats.

See if you can cut & paste this website. If you can't then just go to Bigyellow.com and key in laundromat as a category in New York City. Many places owned by Koreans let you drop off your laundry and pick it up later. They charge by the pound. You can also have it delivered.

http://yp104.superpages.com/listings...ges.com-150218