NYC Hotel Ideas
 

My husband and I have been looking at so many hotels to stay in New York in September and we are so confused as to what will be best suited to us with two kids aged 9 and 11. He thought the Affinia Manhattan looked good. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Beacon Hotel on the upper west side has suites, and very good prices. I nave reserved it for a June get-together with girlfriends.

The Affinia Manhattan is a great choice; we've stayed there. Lots of space in the suites, great location both for getting to Times Square for theater and everything else kids will want to do there, but also good location for getting to southern neighborhoods like Chelsea, the East and West Villages, Soho, Chinatown, etc. That is a great location and hotel for having two kids those ages w/you.

The Beacon Hotel is in a really good area. The Upper West Side is a top choice for families. There are many placed to dine, and the Beacon is close to the subway which can take you anywhere. The Upper West Side is a nice residential area and across the road is wonderful Fairways (spent a lot of time in there).
This would be my choice with children. Plus the rooms have a kitchen which always is handy.

IMHO the Upper West Side is a better choice with 2 kids. You're right near Central park and the Museum of Natural Hist - two of the city's best sights for kids. Also there is a host of good, inexpensive neighborhood-type restaurants of almost every ethnicity - much better dining choices then Times Square - esp with 2 kids in tow. The Beacon has suites at good rates - but you can also look at the Lucerne, Excelsior and On the Ave to see what they have available for your family.

But - IMHO Times Square really doesn;t have that much to do except theater - and you can hop on the subway and get there from the upper west side in 10 minutes.

A few years back, we had some families visiting us who stayed at the Shelburne (also an Affinia hotel). They had 1 bedroom suites which had a kitchen/dining area as well. They were all very pleased with the accommodations. The Affinia line in general has some good options for families.

Another option that the kids would love is The Ace Hotel on W29th and Broadway. Close to several subway and bus lines, close to lots of shopping, walkable to Times Square and lots of restaurants in the area. www.acehotel.com. What might be fun is to get a room with a room for the kids with bunk beds, so you have a little more room. Also all the rooms come with a working guitar, the kids might even leave with a new interest.

Have a great time while you are here.

Any of the suite hotels work. The Affinia Manhattan is in a convenient location literally across from Penn station but it's not a particularly attractive spot, lacks a neighborhood feel (it's not only across from the station and MSG but also near Macy's and lots of shops) and it's one of the older buildings/hotels in that group. What it does have are some 2 bedroom 2 bathroom suites if that's what you want but so does the Eastgate Tower and the Affinia Gardens (and the Beacon). The Affinia Shelburne is the most recently renovated of the group but not all their suites still have kitchens since the renovation if that's important to you; only those deemed "deluxe" have any sort of kitchen.

If a suite with separate bedroom(s) and a kitchen is not key, the Hampton Inn Times Square North and the Hitlon Garden Inn Times Square both have rooms with 2 queen beds (if the kids can share) that are good sized and well located. Some other suite hotels include the Kimberlyhotel.com the Best Western Hospitality and the nycsalisbury.com The Blakelyhotelny.com has some 1 bedroom suites too with 2 double beds and a daybed in the living room.

Most NYC hotels are pretty small. We recently stayed at "The London" and were in love with the rooms. There are basically 2 rooms in one because there are doors that seperate the "living" area from the bedroom. Bathroom was great and beautiful. Pretty modern! We only had 1 child with us but a roll away fit perfectly in the "living" area and I'm sure 2 roll aways would be just fine.

Good Luck. We have been to NYC numerous times and have stayed at probably over 25 different hotels and this was by far our favorite.

Also, The London's location is way better than the one you mentioned staying in. If I were you I would stay closer to Times square, close to central park, etc. London's location is aMazing.

I've always been impressed with the Salisbury. Large rooms, most with kitchenette. Extremely convenient to subway. I've also stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square North, and liked it too.

We stayed at the Affina 50 with our two kids. The hotel is nice, nothing fancy, but is big by NY standards and has a small kitchen which is great for saving $$ on breakfast / lunch / snacks. We found a great price on Travel Zoo