My teen daughter and I just returned from NYC. We had a ball! We stayed at the Herald Square Hotel; this place is on 31st and B'dway, in the garment district. It's a no-frills place, but it's clean and the staff goes out of their way to make you comfortable and help you out. Besides, we did not go there to sit in the hotel room. We went took the subways; we walked all aver the place; we saw Spamalot. Sure, the area isn't as exciting as Times Square. I intend on taking a cab after the show, but they are hard to find. So we ended up walking back around 10:30pm; there were plenty of people walking home from work, etc. We always kept our wits about us and paid attention to where we were walking. We had no problems at all. As for places to eat, we walked 2 blocks towards Penn Station; on 31st between 7th and 8th are smaller ethnic restaurants. On the other side of the station is a place called Stage Door, where we had the best pancakes. We also discovered Century 21 down in the financial district. Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore lower Manhattan; we'll do that next time. Get out an explore neighborhoods, not just Times Square. We love NY!

As a former denizen of Manhattan, I have to say that Times Square has nothing to do with NYC anymore. It is now just an extension of some mall in Iowa. I cringed when I was walking through the area one day and saw (GASP!) a RED LOBSTER.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad that Times Square has been cleaned up. I can remember back in the 80's when you would be absolutely terrified to walk from Port Authority to 5th Ave by way of 42nd Street. You literally had to run from the drug dealers, con artists, homeless families (remember all those homeless family hotels in the area?), and pimps. You could never take a child through that area for fear that a door from a Porn Parlor would open and they would get an instant education!

However, I think that more could have been done to make Times Square more of a "New Yawk" place instead of an urban Disneyland. I guess you can't have it both ways???

JG

angelize,
I will be staying at the Broadway Plaza Hotel this August. Also, in the broadway district. I am happy to hear you felt safe in that area. I recently made a post wondering about the area. Some good reviews, some bad. Thanks for the information.

glad you had so much fun ! Spamalot was a lot of fun - smiled all night...always look on the bright side of life

Sure thing Reynabeyna...
Let us know how things worked out for you. The Browadway Plaza Hotel is a few blocks down from where I was; we walked around a lot in that area during the day, and it's pretty bustling. I probably would try to get back to the hotel by 10:30pm or so, unless you can catch a towncar or a cab. Like I said, there is not much going on at night, and some of the side streets look a bit desolate because businesses are closed. However, there are restaurants and pubs open, and people walking around. I always look for someplace close to Penn Station, and would not hesitate to stay in the area again. From the photos on the website, your room looks to be larger than the one I stayed in at the Herald Square Hotel, which was just right for one, but a little cramped for two. Have a great time, and not to worry so much.