My 15 year old daughter and I will be joining another mom and daughter for our first trip to NYC in June. I would like to use my husband's Marriott points and I have a choice between the two hotels; Times Square location or 525 Lexington Ave. We will have 3 days to do the typical tourist things and go to the theatre. Can anyone tell me which hotel would be the better choice? Any other helpful hints for our travels is appreciated!

The Renaissance in Times Square is a much better location for the theater and I think for the girls. There is also the Marriott Marquis in Times Square which is also well located for your needs, but I would say the Renaissance is better. Everyone complains bitterly about the slow elevators at the Marquis. Do you know about tripadvisor.com where you can read hotel reviews?

What other helpful tips would you like? Do you know about how to get discount theater tickets?

We recently stayed at the Marriott East Side and I gotta say, we enjoyed the stay there. The hotel staff was really nice and the location, in our opinion, was great. It's not too far away from Times Square (we walked back and forth quite a few times) and it's walking distance to Grand Central Station. The nights were a little bit noisy, but I would assume it's even noisier when you're actually IN Times Square.

I've stayed at both hotels. When I travel as a woman alone, I really like the Renaissance. The lobby of the hotel is actually on the second or third floor. One must show a hotel key to enter the elevators to the lobby after a certain hour at night. This always makes me feel quite secure. The hotel staff is wonderful and the location can't be beat. (Never had a problem with slow elevators) You are an easy walk to good theater, restaurants and shopping. You are also within a block or two of three major subway lines, so its very easy to get anywhere else in the city. While the East Side is a nice hotel, I think the neighborhood is a little sedate for the girls. The Times Square area is very lively and safe - there are always lots of officers about. As far as noise, I think the Renaissance has some of the quietest rooms in NY. They also have HUGE bathrooms by NY standards - much bigger than the East Side Marriott. If you ask for two adjoining rooms, the set-up should be perfect.

There are lots of helpful hints regarding NY on this board - just read, read, read. My three: (1) If you want advance tickets for a show, go to www.broadwaybox.com for great do ahead discounts. Much better than standing on-line at the Tix booth. (2)Buy a copy of ACCESS NY guidebook. These books are laid out in street order according to neighborhoods. Much easier to find your way around than with the typical guidebook. (3) Take the girls to Chinatown on sunday morning to shop. Its easy to get there on the subway.

Another helpful hint is to do the TKTS booth in lower Manhattan, by the South St. Seaport, some fund shopping there as well. I think it opens at 10 or 11am, and it's at the back of the Prudential Buildling at the corner of Water and Fulton St. The line is MUCH shorter and since it opens in the am, you have a much larger choice of shows to see.

After your tickets walk up Water ST to Chinatown, and have lunch at one of the restuarants Mott St will be right in front of you when you get to Confusious Square.

Have a great time while you are here.

the TKTS line is very short if you want to see a straight play, rather than a musical. Window 6 is for that purpose only.

Thank you all so much for the great hotel information. We would like to see Mama Mia and I assumed that to get good seats we would need to purchase tickets online now, rather than taking our chances at the last minute.

The best choice is the Renaissance. I have stayed in both and by far the Renaissance is a better property. Although some of the rooms overlook Times Square, it's very quiet. The East Side Marriott is loud with street noises at nite. As previous poster said, the bathrooms are huge.

Go to http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/Mamma_Mia_10.asp?s=22

There are discount codes you can use to buy the tickets now by phoning. If they don't work for your dates, I'd wait a bit for new codes. The show's been running for a while and usually available with a discount, especially if you can be flexible about which day you go. If it must be a certain day, buy them at full price.

Discount tickets for Mamma Mia are currently only available for Wednesday and Thursday performances. That's not going to change for June. So, if you're planning on a weekend performance, get your tickets now.