I would appreciate some itinerary advice from those of you who know NYC well. My 22 year old daughter and I will be traveling from the midwest to NYC at the end of June. When I return home, my daughter will be staying on in Manhattan for school. We will arrive in NY on a Monday, before noon, and will have that evening, all of Tuesday & Wednesday to spend together, before she moves into her dorm apartment on Thursday. We have both been to NYC before...but it's been a long while since either of our visits.

I have chosen a hotel near her new school (the upper west side), so that we could both get a feel for her new neighborhood. The hotel choice was based on location, price and good reviews I read elswhere. But after reading the reviews on this site, I am now second guessing my choice. The hotel: On The Ave. Any opinions out there?

Any advice on hotels, restaurants, sights, experiences, etc. would be welcome. Thanks

I don't know if you've done this before or not, but a Gray Line double decker bus tour is an excellent way to get an overvire of the City given yout limited time. If you only have time for one of the tours, I would choose the Lower Manhattan Loop. If you can do both the Upper and Lower Manhattan Loop, you can buy a ticket for both that is valid for 48 hrs.

http://graylinenewyork.com/

Some of the key sights to see are Ellis Island, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Ground Zero (you can see it best from the rrestored Winter Garden in the World Financial Center), Rockefeller Center, and Tine Square.

For great Italian food, you cant go wrong with IL Cortile in Little Italy.

http://ilcortile.citysearch.com/

For a pre or post theater casual meal I like Joe Allen on Restaurant Row (West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

Wow, glamrgal. I feel your pain. After reading your post I went to read the reviews. If you can, I would switch. I stayed at the Lucerne (just one night) and booked through hotels.com. Paid $130 + tax about a year ago. The place is very clean, lots of marble. My room was small & faced an interior courtyard so it was dark, but others have posted most of the rooms are larger than this. (There are evidently one or two small rooms on aech floor & the rest are bigger).

The Excelsior gets good reviews too. Having said that, I'm assuming your daughter is going to Columbia & I don't really consider this area of the upper west side the same neighborhood. It is, I think, as close as you can get though. If you can get out of your booking, why not try looking on quikbook.com?

As to suggestions for sights & restaurants, if you want one very special meal near Columbia, I would recommend Terrace in the Sky (400 w. 119th) which is at the top of a dorm/apt building. Excellent food & great view but pricey. You could also just go for a drink. There are lots of good neighborhood places. Good + inexpensive=long lines. 2 places in this category are Max (Amsterdam & 123rd st.) for southern Italian and Gennaros (Amsterdam betw 92-93. Neither take credit cards or reservations.

The major tourist site in the area is the Museum of Natural History & the new planetarium which is attached. On Central Park West is also the NY Historical society. All the way uptown is the Cloisters.

If your daughter needs anything for her dorm room there are lots of places in the upper 60's around Columbus Ave. including a Pottery Barn & a store called Gracious Home. (There's a Crate & Barrel on the east side in the 60's).

Hope you have a great time.

I second the recommendation for the Lucerne. It is a lovely place to stay on the Upper West Side.

i live in the upper west side, and just out of curiosity i looked online at On the Ave, and on Tripadvisor.com this hotel has rave reviews! I have never been inside so I don't personally know abou this place other than that it is in a nice area.

Carriage ride through Central Park
Stroll 5th Ave
A treat at the Plaza
MOMA
Staten Island Ferry
Brooklyn Heights
Pizza, Pasta
I would like to try Cuban or other type ethnic foods.
A day at a spa.

Adding to the suggestion of MoMA, it is temporarily located in Queens until 2005 and is not in Manhattan.

I stayed at On the Ave about a year ago and thought it was fine. It has a more contemporary look to it. Our room was small but adequate, and also very clean. It was about 2 blocks from a subway station and we were also able to walk to a number of restaurants, Central Park and American Museum of Nat. Hist. The Lucerne also looked nice (we were only in the lobby) and their desk staff was very helpful. I think you would be fine at either place.

-Rent a rowboat in Central Park at the lake and leisurely paddle around
-go to the TKTS booth either at 42nd Street (go early am for afternoon broadway shows) or the South Street Seaport (can get them for the next day's matinee)
-Central Park Zoo
-Bronx Zoo
-Botanical Gardens in the bronx
-Circle line Cruise

Thankyou to everyone for your input. I have gotten some very helpful ideas from all of you. I am relieved to read the posts from Karebear and Mizscarlett addressing my concerns about On The Ave. (Yes, the reader's reviews on tripadvisor.com were raves. That's a lot of the reason I booked it.) I plan to keep my hotel reservation and cross my fingers. I'll be glad to share my own review after the trip. Thanks again, all. This board was a great idea.

We stayed at On the Ave about a year or two ago and I was disappointed. Our room was sparsely furnished and small with barely enough room to walk around the queen bed. I didn't care for the decor -- an unattractive brown rug and a green bedspread. On the plus side, the location WAS great and staff were nice.

You might want to try the Hotel Beacon nearby. They have some very good summer rates, both on their website and through NYC Summer Breaks (if you have American Express card) at http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagepkey=950