starrs

The Newton would be a great location. I'd go with that one.

adamore

Thanks for your feedback, I'll check out hotel Newton. Im tossing up between location vs bathroom I e newton is not as well located as tthe other ones I've mentioned but has shared bathrooms (most reviewers said they were clean and not much of a wait)
What would you choose?

abram

I'd never chose a shared bathroom if I could afford a private one.

nytraveler

The Newton only has a couple of rooms with shared bath - and you share with only one other room. Not sure about other options.

I wouldn't do it either - but the OP has a limited budget at the most expensive time of year. And the other choice is Long Island City versus Manhattan.

starrs

All the ones you have posted have been shared bathrooms.

The Newton may be the best location - of the three you have posted. Close to the subway, lots of restaurants nearby and in a great neighborhood.

adamore

Hotel Newtown is located on corner of Broadway and West 96th Street. looks like there is a metro stop right underneath the hotel. is there much to do at night in the area or would one need to catch a cab or subway at night ? (not sure how safe this is)
thanks

starrs

It is one if the safest parts of NYC and is a fabulous area. It's a real neighborhood. The subway is right there as is the bus that runs down broadway. A few blocks to Central Park. A couple of blocks to riverside park and the 91st street flower garden. It's near where I stay in an apartment where families have lived for generations. Absolutely lovely area. Great restaurant choices within a block or two including my favorite Thai restaurant next door.

adamore

Hi again.
this was the reply for the City Sonnett guy about the studio loft in grenwich village.

"do want to point out that the studio loft you would be renting is private section of a larger loft residence, not its own private apartment. Both you and the the owner who has the rest of the large loft use the same entrance into the space from the public hallway.
As lofts are large in NY, they can, and are often, divided internally. That is why there is not formal kitchen in the space-just a microwave, small fridge, etc -no stove cooker or oven.
I just want to share this. It is not a hard sell on our end-not our style- its important that you be comfortable."

Is it considered legal if they rent part of a larger apartment?

would grenwich village have what we need in terms of good nightlife and connection with Midtown?

thanks

janisj

book the Newton already!

(It is just as illegal to rent out part of an apartment as it is to rent out the whole thing)

nytraveler

The Newton is in a mid/upscale residential area with all of the avenues lined with restaurants - inexpensive to moderate - or every possible ethnicity. It is 3 blocks from Central Park and an easy walk from all of the museums that line the east and west sides of the Park - or one can take the 96th st crosstown bus to get to the east side museums/Museum Mile.

NO - this is NOT legal. You are just renting a room in someone else's apartment and wold have to deal with whatever they and their friends are doing in the other rooms. Note the renting company did not say it is legal.

DebitNM

Is it considered legal if they rent part of a larger apartment?

No.

" public hallway"

Not a private residence.

doug_stallings

NYC is very safe, probably safer than Sydney. And New Yorkers ride the subway in large numbers until at least 1am on week nights, a bit later on weekends. It's not at all necessary to limit yourself to a hotel or neighborhood where everything is within walking distance. In fact, that's not what a tourist should do at all. You really want to get out and enjoy the city at all hours. This is one reason proximity to the subway is more important than a central neighborhood.

You seem stuck on Manhattan even at the cost of your own comfort. Ok. The Newton is in a Vibrant residential neighborhood with dozens of restaurants within easy walking distance, a supermarket on the corner, a drugstore next door, and a popular theater as well as my gym across the street. You are about three express subway stops from Times Square or a bit longer on the local train.

nytraveler

Sorry not to address the safety issue.

First, New York is the safest large city in the country.

Second this is an area of mixed housing and while some of the brownstones are moderate the people living in multi-million $ co-ops and condos on the avenues - never mind the ones worth tens of millions on Central Park West and Riverside Drive would not be living in an area that isn't safe.

No place in NY is close to all the sights - since what you want to see is in an area two miles wide and 9 miles long - plus islands in the harbor. You will have to take subways many places (cabs can be problematic since you tend to be stuck in traffic - esp at that time of year). And I believe Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the first gridlock alert day - when the city requests people not bring their cars into the city - to make the traffic disaster worse.

adamore

thanks again for your supplies. I will go with the Newton. I hope its easy enough to reach the sights on the east of manhattan , staten island ferry and the shopping on the east side, as there are only 3 metro lines within walking distance. but you are right its not worth the risk to book the apartment/loft.

nytraveler

Suggest you get a detailed map of the subway system. North of 59th street they go only north and south - either east side or west. Starting at 59th St there are a number of crosstown options and connecting lines that let you go everywhere.

Actually the Newton is on top of the 3 broadway lines - 2 local and one express (1, 2 and 3) - and is 3 blocks from the lines that runs along Central Park West (A, B, C and D).

To get to the Lexington Ave line (4, 5 and 6 trains)on the east side you could take the 96 St crosstown bus. But for midtown and downtown sights it's easier to just take the broadway line downtown and connect at one of the many stations with multiple lines.

For the eastside museums I would walk through the Park if the weather is nice - or hop on bus at 96 or 86 St - based on which musuems you want to visit. The Natural History Museum, Planetarium and NY Historical Society are on the WEST side of the Park - a pleasant stroll from your hotel.

doug_stallings

The irony here is that the Country Inn & Suites Long Island City is actually more central to all the sights in Manhattan than the Newton.

If you are choosing strictly on the basis of neighborhood, then Hotel 31 is your most central hotel. But it's not the best hotel on your list; the Newton is better.

The other thing you need to keep in mind is that transportation in NYC is not only subways. Buses are very important, especially for the east side, and a lot of tourists forget that or don't even try to ride them except on 5th Avenue. From your hotel, there's a bus one block away on 96th Street, that will take you to the east side a few blocks walk from the Metropolitan Museum. That's a much faster way to go from west to east.

starrs

Hopstop is great for planning subway, bus or walking routes

nytraveler

There are museums along Fifth Ave starting with the Museo del Barrio (105th St) an the Museum of the City Of NY (103rd St) and headed downtown past several others, including the Guggenhaim until you get to the Met, which runs from 80th to 85th Sts.

But doubt you will be able to see them all. For the Met and Natural History do visit the web sites in advance, since they are huge and can take days if you try to see everything.

BigRuss

THERE IS NO METRO IN NEW YORK.

The train system is the Subway. The buses are buses. If you ask about the Metro, people will assume you are either talking about Metro-North (a commuter rail) or talking about some other city.

nytraveler

Oh - and agree that Metro will just get you stares - except for Metro North - which is a suburban train system - not Manhattan.