We are taking our mothers to NYC over Labor Day weekend to see the US Open. Moms are okay sharing a room or sharing a suite with us. So... which one of these hotels would be the better choice?

Shelburne Murray Hill ($229 for one bedroom)
Southgate Tower ($209 for one bedroom)
Eastgate Tower ($209 for one bedroom)

Given the similiarity in prices, I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the location or furnishings, etc. of one hotel is better than the other?

If you plan on taking the subway (the #7 is the train you'll need) the Shelburne Murray Hill or the Eastgate Tower are closer to Grand Central station. The Southgate is right near Penn Station so you could take the LIRR from there but it will be more expensive than the subway and the area is not as nice or interesting IMO. Many people really like the Shelburne.

I would also double check on the affina website for special offers. People have reported taking advantage of a grandparents special (without needing to be a grandparent). You might also consider the Beekman Towers. It's not as close to Grand Central, but a nice hotel in a slightly more residential area than the others. If you're thinking of taking cabs at all, the Beekman is right near an entrance to the FDR drive to get out to Queens.

kathyl I just happened to read reviews of the Shelburne Murray Hill on tripadvisor and was a bit surprised to see a number of negative comments. People regularly recommend the place on this board but I've never been in the hotel. I just know the location and the reputation on the board.

People on tripadvisor complained rooms were shabby and, most disturbing, that rooms smelled musty and from smoke despite having reserved a non-smoking room. I know you can't please all the people all the time, but based on these reviews I would change my recommedation. If the Mothers are okay with walking, I would really consider the Beekman Towers. It's about a 10-15 min walk to the Grand Central subway but it's a nice area near the east river and Beekman Place. They have a restaurant/bar on the top floor with great views and a piano. On the Affinia website it shows a rate of $209-224 for a one bedroom suite on that weekend.

If you don't specifically want to all stay together, have you considered bidding on Priceline for 2 rooms? You could probably get 2 rooms in a 4 star hotel (which means 2 bathrooms) for $100-120 each.

I had a group of visitors stay in the Shelburne during memorial day week for a family event. In total the group booked 10 rooms. Some were 1 bedroom suites, others were studio suites. Everyone loved their accommodation (and some are very picky customers) and raved about the roominess. The only room I actually saw in person was my brother's 1 bedroom suite (for a family of 3) and it was not shabby or musty. It was clean and quiet. Each of them said they'd gladly stay there again if they visit NYC.

We were the ones who used that grandparent special. At the time the 1-bedrooms were $178 and the studio suites were $158. Som last minute bookers used travelhero.com to book because the grandparent special raised it's prices. Travelhero also had very good rates at the time.

I don't know the locations of the other hotels, but the Shelburne is convenient to lots of public transportation, and near a residential area with coffee shops, delis, retaurants, and other conveniences.

I just looked at the recent negatives on tripadvisor. All I can conclude is that possibly some rooms may be inferior to others.

All the 10 rooms booked with my group were non-smoking and no one complained of smoke odor.

Thanks to mclaurie and MFNYC for the feedback. The grandparent special is not available for our dates and I also tried travel hero.

I have been leaning towards the Shelburne and then saw the comments on tripadvisor, and then I balked. I have considered priceline but am a bit gun-shy--I'm a priceline virgin. I did read up on biddingfortravel.com, which made me more nervous since there is so much fine print. I'll re-consider priceline, but since we don't get to spend much time with the moms, we thought a suite with separate rooms would be nice. Don't worry, moms get along great with each other and with us!

I've stayed at the Shelbourne Murray Hill and I loved the hotel. I don't understand the negative comments at all.

Kathyl I assume you realize some of you (or all 4 of you) will have to share a bed if you all stay in a one bedroom suite together. Some of the Affinia hotels have 2 bedroom suites that can (must) be reserved on the phone.

I understand being worried about bidding on Priceline. The only fine print you should be worried about is PL reservations are not cancelleable. I guess the other issue is some hotels you might get would be further to walk from the subway than others if the Mothers are not in great shape.

I personally would prefer at least 2 bathrooms if there are 4 women. I'd do whatever to accomplish that. Maybe make an affinia reservation that can be cancelled (through them) and do some investigating. I think an ideal scenario would be a one bedroom suite attached to a double room.

Here is another thread I found with more info on suites etc. It reminded me that the San Carlos might be another good option as well as the Kimberly (which has an indoor pool). Both are not too far from Grand Central.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34464786

Good luck.

I had inquired about the 2 bedroom suites at the Shelburne. At the time is was more expensive then booking 2 separate 1 bedroom suites. Some of the suites had 2 double or queen beds and a sofa bed (in the living room), others have a king a sofa bed. The sofa bed is definitely not big enough for 2 adults (for 2 kids it would be ok). They also may have rollaways. These specific you'd have to ask the hotel directly. Most booking sites can't guarantee the bed configuration, but in our case, for some of those with the families, they booked throught the sites (either affinia or travelhero) then called and requested a specific room type. It all worked out.

Another nice suite hotel is the Avalon.

Let me clarify what I just said, after booking eith a studio or 1 bedroom suite, I called to ask for a double bedded suite vs. a king bedded suite where necessary.

Thanks, again for all the advice. I think I'll book the Shelburne via affinia and then call to request specific bedding preference--two double beds. Hubby and I were planning on letting the moms have the bedroom and we'd sleep on the sleeper-sofa. I hope we'll be fine on a queen or double sleeper--I'm rather petite. In case only king or queen bed is available we'll ask for a roll away.

If time and courage allows me, I may even give priceline a try and then cancel with affinia.

Hello

I was interested in reading everyone's thoughts on the hotel as I too am booked to stay at the Shelburne on September 7th for 6 nights. From the website it looks very nice indeed so one can only presume that they must have a few inferior rooms scattered around the place. I do hope that we won't be disappointed.