NY Hotels- Midtown E or W ?
 

Will be in NY 5/16 to 5/18 or 19th. granddaughter graduating from college there & recommended Midtown East but looking both East & West for best prices. Want near trains & walking distance to restaurants.Is there a big difference between E & W?

Everywhere in Manhattan is walking distance to restaurants - just depends which ones.

Midtown West is home to the theatre district and Times Square. It is more touristy. Midtown East can be 10-30 minutes walking distance from all this, depending on where the hotel is located. Midtown East is also full of shopping and restaurants and offices. It's just that the shops there are less touristy in nature - not full of souvenir shops and those electronics shops that cater to tourists.

The West Side is served by several more subway lines. On the East there is one subway line running on Lexington and subway lines that run from E to W. There are also several bus lines on both sides of town and running from E to W.

MaryDee, the only time I hit on a Midtown East hotel in Priceline (if that's what you're using) it was the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central. Very accessible. There are more tourist attractions around mid-town west, though.

It depends on what you plan on doing and what atmosphere you like. Midtown west is closer to theaters, possibly a little closer to Rock center - but tens to be frantically busy - with lots of tour groups, tons of tacky tee shirt shops, going out of business electronics stores - and alsways noisy.

East side is also business but some high rise residential farther east. Also lots of restaurants and not far from midtown shopping unless you go very far east (like the UN). The area is also very busy, but not so frantic or garish.

I'm a native so I'm prejudiced against Times Square - but I know many tourists like it. (And no, I don't like similar areas in other cities when I visit them either.)

Midtown east is usually less expensive and not as crowded as midtown west which may be why granddaughter suggested it. Many tourists are fixated on staying in or near Times Square (midtown west) and most locals can't figure out why. Unless you're planning on going to the theater a lot, there's no particular reason to stay in midtown west. Depending on what your plans are, the upper west side might also be a good choice.

Courtyard Midtown East is very good value for money and central. On the Avenue is a good value on the upper west side.

Don't worry so much about exact location of hotel. Concentrate on getting a nice hotel within your budget and then narrow options based on location. Where is the graduation and what other plans do you have?

mucho gratias to all..and appreciate the names of hotels!

Good MTE hotels are the Affinia 50 and the Affinia Dumont. The Affinia 50 has the best location - 50th between Lexington and 3rd, and the #6 train is just around the corner. Lots of restaurants nearby (Smith and Wollensky is across the street).

The Dumont is at 34th and Lexington. Both properties get great reviews for their decor,cleanliness and service. www.affinia.com.

I liked staying in Midtown East (50th & Lexington), as it was quieter. We stayed at the Benjamin, which may be more than you want to spend. Really enjoyed it there. http://www.thebenjamin.com/