NYC hotel help
Jun 17th, 2013, 08:11 AM
#21
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I'm sorry to disappoint you - but Times Square is NOT close to almost everything. It's not near a lot of things you would want to do with a kid.
Do not miss:
Central Park and small zoo
Museum Nat'l Hist
Staten Island ferry (view of harbor and SoL etc)
The Met (most kids love the Egyptian dep't, the Temple of Dendur and Arms & Armor)
Do not miss:
Central Park and small zoo
Museum Nat'l Hist
Staten Island ferry (view of harbor and SoL etc)
The Met (most kids love the Egyptian dep't, the Temple of Dendur and Arms & Armor)
Jun 23rd, 2013, 05:03 AM
#22
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Thanks Doug and nytraveler..Will buy the tickets in advance!!! Also we love to walk..Actually am getting the New Nike sneakers for the purpose 
we plan to do the Central park trip a few times during the visit..Me jogging and my son on a rented bike! Also thanks for the advice about the Rock!!
we plan to do the Central park trip a few times during the visit..Me jogging and my son on a rented bike! Also thanks for the advice about the Rock!!
Aug 9th, 2013, 06:14 PM
#25
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Thankyou everyone for your input on our NYC trip..Had a blast...Hotel Casablanca was the best ever..Ricks cafe was such a great respite when we came back everyday after a ton of walking..Biked in Central park..Did the Sun and Stars visit to Rockefeller..The Statue of liberty visit was kind of a let down..Has to stand in the line for 2 hrs to get back on the boat from the island! My son loved the Intrepid museum and the Concorde tour!!
Aug 9th, 2013, 06:28 PM
#26
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Nytrveler, please name a single area inNYC that is closer to Central Park AND the Staten Island Ferry!
It IS central. I think you suggest people stay in a quieter more residential neighborhood than Times Square. What you fail to understand is that most tourists live in nice, quiet residential neighborhoods. What they don't have at home is a Times Square, Can't you understand most people travel to experience things totally different from what they have at home?
You are smart NOT living in Times Square. But tourists aren't looking for a place to live.
It IS central. I think you suggest people stay in a quieter more residential neighborhood than Times Square. What you fail to understand is that most tourists live in nice, quiet residential neighborhoods. What they don't have at home is a Times Square, Can't you understand most people travel to experience things totally different from what they have at home?
You are smart NOT living in Times Square. But tourists aren't looking for a place to live.
Aug 10th, 2013, 06:13 AM
#27
Good to hear that the Hotel Casablanca was a good choice for you! Glad the trip was great!
Neo, they will never "get it". I'll be in NYC again soon, happy to stay in a friend's apartment on the UWS. But if I were going and paying for a hotel room, it would be in the Times Square AREA - because it is the most central area for the things most tourists like to do. They (the locals who post here) will NEVER get that. Ever.
Neo, they will never "get it". I'll be in NYC again soon, happy to stay in a friend's apartment on the UWS. But if I were going and paying for a hotel room, it would be in the Times Square AREA - because it is the most central area for the things most tourists like to do. They (the locals who post here) will NEVER get that. Ever.
Aug 10th, 2013, 07:27 AM
#28
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I like the Hilton garden inn myself... Larger rooms - two queens - not as crazy as the Marroitt marquis ...
Op - glad you had fun!!
I always just take the Staten Island ferry across for a view of the Statue of Liberty...
Works great!
Op - glad you had fun!!
I always just take the Staten Island ferry across for a view of the Statue of Liberty...
Works great!
Aug 10th, 2013, 09:14 AM
#29
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I don't agree that's it's local versus tourist.
When I go to London I don;t want to stay in Picadilly Circus. We like to be fairly central - but in a more pleasant area - so do Knightsbridge or Mayfair.
And if I were going to NYC for the first time - most of the places I wanted to see would not be near Times Square - many more uptown or downtown.
When I go to London I don;t want to stay in Picadilly Circus. We like to be fairly central - but in a more pleasant area - so do Knightsbridge or Mayfair.
And if I were going to NYC for the first time - most of the places I wanted to see would not be near Times Square - many more uptown or downtown.
Aug 10th, 2013, 10:36 AM
#32
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"And if I were going to NYC for the first time - most of the places I wanted to see would not be near Times Square - many more uptown or downtown."
And there we have it! You are NOT like a usual first time visitor to NYC. What are the TOP places most people want to see on their first visit to NY? The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, BroadwayShows, Radio City, Times Square itself, and the Statue of Liberty. Ok Midtown west is not that close to SOL, but what neighborhood is? Meanwhile please name the 5 top attractions of any other neighborhood that are all more popular than the ones I mentioned for midtown west. And I haven't even brought up Fifth Ava shopping, St Patricks, MOMA or many others.
Yes, nytraveler you simply do not relate to the "normal" NYC first time visitor. And your London comparison is just lame. Piccadilly Circus is NOT Times Square. In fact Knightsbridge is where many more tourists stay than in Picadilly Circus, and Mayfair is probably second. So what you're really saying is you prefer the areas where the MOST tourist hotels are, which is the counterpart of Midtown West in NYC!
And yes, Starr's, I realize she still won't get it.
And there we have it! You are NOT like a usual first time visitor to NYC. What are the TOP places most people want to see on their first visit to NY? The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, BroadwayShows, Radio City, Times Square itself, and the Statue of Liberty. Ok Midtown west is not that close to SOL, but what neighborhood is? Meanwhile please name the 5 top attractions of any other neighborhood that are all more popular than the ones I mentioned for midtown west. And I haven't even brought up Fifth Ava shopping, St Patricks, MOMA or many others.
Yes, nytraveler you simply do not relate to the "normal" NYC first time visitor. And your London comparison is just lame. Piccadilly Circus is NOT Times Square. In fact Knightsbridge is where many more tourists stay than in Picadilly Circus, and Mayfair is probably second. So what you're really saying is you prefer the areas where the MOST tourist hotels are, which is the counterpart of Midtown West in NYC!
And yes, Starr's, I realize she still won't get it.
Aug 10th, 2013, 10:46 AM
#33
Hi LG. I didn't realize I hadn't returned to do it.
The pictures and specific directions to get here were posted on Facebook when PhillyFan was planning her trip.
Short answer = it was great.
The pictures and specific directions to get here were posted on Facebook when PhillyFan was planning her trip.
Short answer = it was great.
Aug 10th, 2013, 10:48 AM
#34
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I'm sorry if I'm not "normal".
But if I were a first-time visitor I would do 1 day in midtown: Rock Center, ToTR, Library, Grand Central, stroll up Fifth Ave for some of the uber shops and drop in at St Pat's.
Other than that:
Downtown
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Staten Island ferry
911 memorial
explore the Village
Visit State Supreme Court (yes, I'm mad for Law & Order)
Check out galleries in SoHo (or even DUMBO)
Uptown
Central Park
The Met
Museum of Nat'l Hist
Cloisters
And, if time, NY Historical Society and some of the other museums
Caveat: I admit that I do not have a shopping gene - IMHO it is terminally boring unless looking for something specific you need
Of course I would go to a couple of shows and see TS briefly then - but that would be plenty.
Now, maybe we can't become someone we're not - but I don;t recall that my choices as a small child would have been very different
But if I were a first-time visitor I would do 1 day in midtown: Rock Center, ToTR, Library, Grand Central, stroll up Fifth Ave for some of the uber shops and drop in at St Pat's.
Other than that:
Downtown
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island
Staten Island ferry
911 memorial
explore the Village
Visit State Supreme Court (yes, I'm mad for Law & Order)
Check out galleries in SoHo (or even DUMBO)
Uptown
Central Park
The Met
Museum of Nat'l Hist
Cloisters
And, if time, NY Historical Society and some of the other museums
Caveat: I admit that I do not have a shopping gene - IMHO it is terminally boring unless looking for something specific you need
Of course I would go to a couple of shows and see TS briefly then - but that would be plenty.
Now, maybe we can't become someone we're not - but I don;t recall that my choices as a small child would have been very different
Aug 10th, 2013, 11:45 AM
#35
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The biggest appeal of staying in Times Square for us, and I think for many tourists, is that at the end of a long day of walking and subways you can go to your hotel, freshen up and rest, walk to a Broadway play, and after the play have a drink and a short walk back to the hotel ,because by then you are tired and thinking about getting going the next day and the last thing you want to do is have to get on the subway or in a taxi.
That in itself is a great reason to stay in the TS area.
That in itself is a great reason to stay in the TS area.
Aug 10th, 2013, 12:03 PM
#36
So nytraveler...Midtown and then Downtown and then Uptown?
That means that the Times Square AREA would be centrally located for your visit to NYC.
Centrally located is a good thing.
And as Neo has said here, the hustle and bustle is something that some tourists LIKE when they visit. It's a fun part of being in NYC. It's fun because it's so different from "home". Those tourists would probably choose somewhere else to LIVE if they moved there - just like you have.
We're in agreement then
That means that the Times Square AREA would be centrally located for your visit to NYC.
Centrally located is a good thing.
And as Neo has said here, the hustle and bustle is something that some tourists LIKE when they visit. It's a fun part of being in NYC. It's fun because it's so different from "home". Those tourists would probably choose somewhere else to LIVE if they moved there - just like you have.
We're in agreement then
Aug 10th, 2013, 12:27 PM
#37
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The Casablanca is a cute boutique hotel. Most rooms are on the small side.The Hilton Garden Inn has larger rooms. The 2 bedded rooms are 2 queens, so lots of space. Neither of these will have views. I might be nice to get a talker hotel with a view. Check the Distrikt.
Aug 10th, 2013, 12:52 PM
#39
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I think they already went on their trip, mclaurie. But it was an interesting thread and I'm glad the OP had a great trip.
We went to New York last summer, and I based our accommodations on pricepoint and simply being in Manhattan (as opposed to New Jersey or Brooklyn). I didn't try to avoid Times Square, it all came down to price. And when we went to Times Square, none of us really cared for it as a destination. Still, if we had found the best deal for a hotel there, then we would have taken it and made the best of it. Maybe we would have come to enjoy Times Square more. But that's not the point. You're in New York, and how cool is that?
We went to New York last summer, and I based our accommodations on pricepoint and simply being in Manhattan (as opposed to New Jersey or Brooklyn). I didn't try to avoid Times Square, it all came down to price. And when we went to Times Square, none of us really cared for it as a destination. Still, if we had found the best deal for a hotel there, then we would have taken it and made the best of it. Maybe we would have come to enjoy Times Square more. But that's not the point. You're in New York, and how cool is that?
Aug 10th, 2013, 02:36 PM
#40
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I never understand why some posters continue to pound on anyone who wants to stay in Times Square/Midtown West area. The argument makes no sense, as Starrs points out. It is very centrally located and its easy to get on any train from there. There is NO hotel that is located close to everything in NY, so what's the point of this "better location" argument? I don't think its so much about convenient location, TS/MW is a convenient location. Seems some just don't know anything about the upscale hotels there, so continue to degrade everything out of old habits.
I'm happy the OP enjoyed NY and the Casablanca. I like that hotel myself.
I'm happy the OP enjoyed NY and the Casablanca. I like that hotel myself.
