My husband and I will be taking our teenage daughters, ages 14 and 17, to NYC at the end of May through the beginning of June. We will have 5 full days - not including traveling. It will be a first trip to New York for them so we will be seeing the usual sights as well as shopping, eating, soaking up the atmosphere, etc.

We are thinking about staying at the Residence Inn near Times Square. It gets good reviews on Trip advisor and the rooms seem to be large enough to accommodate all of us. In addition a kitchenette would be nice. What do you think about this hotel? The rate for the time we would be there is $239 for 4 of the nights and $259 for the other 2.

What is your opinion of the City Pass? I'm not sure that we will do everything that is included - we weren't planning on doing the boat tour - but perhaps it would be a nice way to get acclimated?

We will be flying into JFK. Is it best to take a taxi to the hotel? Or perhaps to arrange a car. I understand that taxis charge a flat rate from the airport - is that correct?

We plan to use the subway as our main form of transportation - other than walking, of course. What type of pass would you suggest that we purchase?

Well that's enough for now. I really appreciate the wealth of information and generosity of advice I find on this forum. Thanks for your help.

FYI, you haven't posted your question under New York so you might not get as many answers as you'd like. I don't know if you'd have to repost or whether you can tag it NY now.

My thoughts on your questions:

The Residence Inn is a great hotel in a great location but I'm not sure it's the best option for a family of 4. They don't have any rooms with 2 proper beds (because the kitchen and seating areas take up space) so the girls will have to share a sofabed. I recall reading these are not that comfortable and not that large (I think doubles rather than queens).

If you want a hotel with a kitchen, there's a special on travelzoo.com for the Affinia Gardens. A jr. suite (all one room like the Residence Inn) with 2 proper double beds is $199/night or a 1 bedroom with 2 double beds and sofabed is $239/night. What the Affinia doesn't have that the RI does is a table and chairs for eating. The jr. suite only has 1 armchair. The 1 bedrooms have a couch and a chair or two. I spent a few nights there recently in both a jr. suite and a 1 bedroom and found it very comfortable and convention. In addition to nice big mirrors in the bathroom, there's a lighted makeup mirror and stool in the living room I think the location is fantastic (especially for shopping). It's near Bloomingdales and lots of other shops. It's not as close to Times Square as the RI. Affinia.com has several other suite hotels in NYC and the Shelburne Murray Hill also has good rates for your trip and has recently been renovated. It's near Grand Central terminal.

If you like the idea of staying closer to Times Square, the Blakelyhotelny.com has rooms with small pantries and also includes a cont. b/f. A room with 2 double beds is $235/night. They also have some 1 bedroom suites for $285.

If you were willing to give up the kitchen, the Hampton Inn Times Square North has rooms with 2 queen beds and a special price of $201/night. It's a good location for first time visits near but not right in Times Square.

I'm not a fan of any of the passes. They exaggerate the money you'll save and tend to have you going to venues you might not otherwise choose. Some of the museums included in the City Pass have free hours (MOMA on Fri. nights) or are "pay what you wish" policies (Met & AMNH) and the pass doesn't cover special exhibits at AMNH so you only get general admission. Besides, in 5 days with 2 teen girls, I don't think you'd want to do all these museums. MOMA and the Met, yes. AMNH maybe. They might prefer the Frick, the Tenement Museum and maybe if they're into fashion, Parsons or FIT.

I think you should try to decide what you want to see, tally up entree fees for that and maybe then see if the NY Explorer's pass (where you can pick and choose your venues) makes sense for you. If you're planning on doing any bus tours, the bus cos. have combo tickets (look at Grayline hop on/off and also onboardtours.com) Goldstar.com is a website that gets some great discounts for certain dates on things like cruises, specialty tours (Sex and the City) and even some shows. That might be better than a pass.

As for transport, I think if you buy a 7 day unlimited metrocard for each of you (unlimited ones can't be shared), you don't have to think about it. Is it the absolute cheapest option? It's hard to say without planning every detail down to the minute. If you think you might do taxis some (for short rides, taxis for 4 are sometimes cheaper or the same as a taxi ride) you could get 2 pay as you go metrocards that can be shared and if you run out of money, you can always add to them. http://www.mta.info/metrocard/compare.htm

I would arrange for a car. They're usually more comfortable than a taxi.

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They usually have discount coupons on line ($4 from the airport) Print out coupon and write discount code # (from reservationist) when you book. You must give coupon to driver when you're ready to pay to get the discount. Once you arrive at JFK and collect your baggage, you call the service and they will tell you where to meet your driver - usually in 5 minutes or so.

And I think mclaurie meant to say that a taxi is sometimes cheaper than the subway for four people.

I would just grab a cab from the airport. The total cost will be about $60 ($45 flat fee plus bridge or tunnel toll and tip). A shuttle for 4 would be at least as much. I don;t take car services unless it's very late at night, since I don't like having to call the service and then trek out to the parking lot with my luggage.

Agree that the passes usually don;t pay - since it's hard to get to enough places to cover the cost.

For transit get each person a 7 day unlimited Metrocard - good for buses as well as subway.

I don't like staying near Time Square - too loud, crowded and tacky - but I know many tourists do. I would look at areas more representative of the city - like the upper west side, soho/chelsea or the Village.

Interestingly enough, we too will be in NYC the same time you will and we have one teen daughter. Our daughter has been to NYC before and REALLY enjoys seeing a Broadway show (believe it or not). She's seen Phantom and Mamma Mia! and loved them both. Our show for this visit will be South Pacific; though not actually on Broadway since it's at Lincoln Center.

I've also planned to visit The Intrepid prior to the show so that she might have a better understanding of fighting WWII in the South Pacific prior to seeing the show.

I would suggest the Hop-on Hop-off bus to get the first-timer circuit done. They will want to see all the landmarks of the city for sure. This is not in lieu of public transportation however, but it's a good way to make sure you get to all of the "post card spots". We will purchase the 7 day Metro card. One thing that's good about the pass, is that if you mess up and find yourself in lower Manhattan when the next thing everyone wants to do is in the Upper West Side, you just zip up there without considering the fare to do so. It takes a bit of stress out of micro-planning each day. (That's not to say that a good plan isn't helpful though).

We've planned to visit the Tenement Museum on this visit too. It has good reviews and looks very interesting.

Another good possibility is Ground Zero Workshop. More excellent reviews and will probably be of interest to them.

Finally, something we are going to try is a Sunset Sail on a schooner. They provide beverages (but they emphasize that it's NOT a booze cruise) and allow you to bring a "picnic" aboard, which we will do; sandwiches from a deli or something. There are a couple of operators, but this is the one I chose: www.sail-nyc.com

Don't forget bicycling/boating/walking etc. in Central Park. Even after several visits to NYC, we've never done that but this too will be remedied on this trip.

Check out travelzoo.com as a previous poster suggested. We got a great deal for $139/night. We'll be at 6th/26, east of Chelsea in a neighborhood section of Manhattan.

I really hope your family enjoys the visit. I know that we certainly intend to!

mclaurie - Sorry about posting in the wrong spot. The forums have changed considerably since the last time I was here. I didn't realize that you could post by state. It looks like someone has tagged this with New York. Hopefully that will work?

Thanks for your hotel recommendations. I'm checking those out today. I did what you suggested regarding the Citypass and it looks like we would just break even. Therefore, we'll probably not bother with it. That way we'll have more flexibility and not feel that we *have* to do something just because it's part of the pass. I think we've also decided on the 7 day Metrocard. We discovered while in Chicago that it is a pain to have one card for multiple people.

Centralparkgirl - Thank you for the links. I'll be looking into a car service.

nytraveler - I appreciate your suggestions. We aren't necessarily trying to stay near Times Square - just looking for a place that will comfortably accommodate all 4 of us. We'll be there 6 nights so a little room to spread out would be nice. We're open to any area of Manhattan that is safe and convenient to transportation.

Richland - My daughters also love shows. They saw Wicked in Chicago - they've seen Phantom. We were thinking about Momma Mia or South Pacific. I'm kind of interested in Jersey Boys, but not sure if they'd like that as well as one of the others.

Anyone have any suggestions regarding plays?

We are planning on visiting the tenement museum as well. I was hoping to do that on the same day as Ellis Island to tie it all together for them. It looks really interesting.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather. They are anxious to see Central Park. Oh, what was that recent Cinderella-ish movie with a musical scene set in Central Park? They want to see some of those spots.

The movie you are referring to is "Enchanted" (LOVED it!). I'm sure someone on here can give you Central Park specifics relating to the movie, but you might also go to www.imdb.com and search for details on the movie there---it's a very thorough site beloved by trivia geeks such as myself!

I second (third?) the suggestion for the Tenement Museum; when my daughter was 12, I took her to New York and that museum was one of the highlights of the trip.

I've seen Mamma Mia! twice (not on Broadway, unfortunately) and your girls (and you) will love it!

I am so jealous! You will have a great time!

I don't know where you are coming from but teens love Armani Exchange (A/X), Mexx, and H&M and they are all right in the same location on Fifth Avenue around 50th Street.

Just a note regarding "Jersey Boys"...I saw the Broadway "road show" when it was in St. Louis. I loved the show but am VERY glad I went with a gal pal and NOT my daughter. These are street boys from Jersey and there is alot of foul language and adult situations which I would not choose to have my daughter see. Even I was uncomfortable with the language, but I realize that it's part of the way things were for these kids from Jersey.

There are so many good shows on Broadway it's hard to narrow options. South Pacific has gotten rave reviews, is a classic and is playing at Lincoln Center which is a slightly different (in a good way) experience vs. going to Broadway. West Side Story is another classic that's gotten good reviews. Mary Poppins and Shrek are good fun. Hair is another classic. I think "In the Heights" is just terrific. Many of these may be available on discount from broadwaybox.com (left column)

I LOVE the idea of pairing The Intrepid with South Pacific!

Just so you know - a Broadway show is not an address - it is a theater size - Broadway theaters have at least 500 seats - off broadway 100-499 and off off Broadway theaters are very very small theaters.

As one of my tour guide friends put it - Last Row Last Balcony on Broadway you MAY see the actors faces - off broadway you WILL see their faces - off off Broadway - you will be IN their faces!

SKIP the Ground Zero museum and go to the Visitor's Center at the site -

TOO bad you'll be after FLEET week - your daughters would have enjoyed seeing all those cute young guys in tight white pants

Ah, yes - fleet week. the sailors are so young and cute, the officers so earnest looking - all wandering around town staring up all the time. They really infest Times Square. I never know when it is, until you see the town mobbed with sailors.

Our family of four was very comfortable at the Embassy Suites, near Wall Street. We had two queen beds and one sofa sleeper. Also, having two TVs was fabulous, because the teens have their own preferences for television viewing, that the adults do not appreciate! Ha ha

Also, their full hot and cold breakfast is included and it really starts your day off nicely.

Although I inadvertently let this thread slip into the abyss during our trip planning, I did want to come back to say thanks. We have returned from a wonderful family trip to New York - made better, in large part, to all the people who take time to share their expertise on these forums. So, thank you, thank you.

Are you not going to do a trip report?????? At least tell us where you stayed (how you liked it) and what shows you saw.

Mclaurie, I am definitely going to do a trip report! Right now I'm mostly working on organizing the photos and putting a less detailed, mostly pictorial report on my blog. Here's the link to that. http://hopelesslyordinary.blogspot.com/

We did end up staying at the Residence Inn and you were all correct, of course. Although it was a perfect place for two or even three the sofa bed was a little too small for the girls. We ended up putting it on the floor every night and they said it was much more comfortable that way. They're young though - they survived. ;-) It was very nice for my husband and I to have a King size bed and I managed not to feel tooooo guilty. We did like the location and the free breakfast and the front desk people were unfailingly professional and helpful.

In the above post I meant that we put the mattress from the sofa bed on the floor - not that our daughters had to sleep on the floor. Didn't want to come across as completely unfeeling! ;-)