NYC: Murray Hill or SOHO??
 

We are planning a trip for my aunt's 70t birthday and have 3 (over 60) and 3 (under 50)ladies going on the trip. We have narrowed our hotel search to one in SOHO (HoJo Express) or the Ramada Inn (at lexington and 30th). Both fit our rice range and have relatively good reviews on various sites. All things being eqaul as far as price, which area is better??? I know we will be taking cabs alot(with the 60+ ladies especially). But i also want an area that we can just walk out of the hotel and have stuff to do (cafes, shops, restaurants, etc).
Any thoughts??
We are going Nov 29-Dec 2.
Thanks!!
Linda

They are very different areas. I live equidistant from the two.

Murray Hill is quiet residential area with very few tourist sites. There are a couple of good restaurants including the Turksish Kitchen.

The Hojo I know is on Houston Street. It is a more gritty area with many, many inexpensive and varied reaturants and interesting shop. It is just a couple of blocks from the Tenement Museum. It is a neighborhood of wananbe writers, artists, and actors and working writers, artists, and actors. There are strong and vibrant Latino, Eastern European, and now Chinese and young Japanese populations.

There are throngs of people on the streets from Thursday night to Sunday AM.

It all depends on your personal taste.

For walking out of your hotel and having things to do and places to eat - many restaurants there are quite inexpensive yet good - it's SoHo. SoHo also has a lot of small art galleries - it is a great place to wander. As Aduchamp says, Murray Hill is more quiet and residential but also has its charms and is much closer to mid-town, Macy's, the Empire State Building and things like that. Although restaurants in Murray Hill are not as plentiful and IMO not as good as those in SoHo, there are some there. It all comes down to what you like.

Neither of those hotels is very nice, particularly for a birthday trip with older ladies. You have picked the most expensive time to come to NYC. If you can at all change your dates to the week before Thanksgiving or even the week of Thanksgiving, you'd have a much easier time finding affordable options. That first few days in Dec. is incredibly pricey.

The HoJo location is particularly unattractive/gritty and while there are plenty of cafes, shops etc. in the area, it's not an easy area to walk around b/c there are lots of cobblestone streets in the area. Houston St. that the hotel is on is a big multi-lane thoroughfare; as close to a highway in the middle of the city as you can get in NYC.

Murray Hill is fine, but that hotel is very basic. Do you know about reviews on tripadvisor.com? On the review pages there are "candid travelers photos" that are good to check.

The www.affinia.com group of hotels is all suites. I don't know how many rooms you were planning on getting for this group of 6, but perhaps a way to better budget would be to get a suite from Affinia which would fit more people. The Affinia Dumont has studio & 1 bedroom suites with 2 queen beds and a sofabed. I'm not suggesting you all stay together and share 1 bathroom, but it could be done if you had to. The Murray Hill East suites is another suite hotel that doesn't belong to the Affinia group.

You should also know that if you intend on doing "the typical tourist stuff" that is in "midtown west". Murray Hill is midtown east and Soho is all the way downtown.

The HoJo location is particularly unattractive/gritty and while there are plenty of cafes, shops etc. in the area, it's not an easy area to walk around b/c there are lots of cobblestone streets in the area.

That is simply not true. There are one or two cobblestone streets and if you do not like them they are easily avoided. Have you been there since the invention of the car? I beleive Orchard Street is cobblestone and remained so intentionally to create an turn of the century environment.

Stone Street downtown is cobblestone and has turned into the busiest restaurant block in the financial district.

Additionally the Hojo is accessible to the sites in the financial district by the bus on the corner of Allen Street, a walk west leads to Soho and West Village. It is funky and fun area. We are in late 50's and are always there. In fact today we are walking that way to get some pickles at Gus's, bialy's at Kossar's and some sherry vinegar in the Essex Street Market.

And that hardly meantions what else is in the area.

I agree that SoHo - esp Houston St - is not a particularly great area for a group of women of a certain age. The are wil be very busy, lous and mobbed with groups of 20 and 30 somethings. It does have more restaurants (although perhaps not to your taste) than Murray Hill - which is a quiet, more upscale residential area. But- not a lot of restaurants - and also not really walking distance to much.

And - neither of those hotels is especially pleasant - I think you would be disappointed with either. Agree to looking at other options that will give you more for your money - or upping your budget.

By the way, if you are planning mostly the mid-town NY experience and are taking taxis, you may be spending enough on the taxis to help pay for a more convenient location - especially if you are in SoHo. NYC taxis charge for both distance and time and the latter can be considerable with NYC traffic. Also with the size of your group you are looking at two taxis/trip.

NYTraveler: Many of those 20 and 30 somethings invading the LES live in Murray Hill! The area is hardly upscale and gentile, it is quiet with mostly service shops (dry cleaners, take out etc.), but rather young.

I agree, neither hotel is ideal though it is easier to get around via subway, bus or taxi from the HOJO (which is NOT in Soho, it is on the Lower East Side), and there are more restaurants nearby. Th the other hand, the Ramada is a nicer property.

BTW: Houston Street is a major street, but by no means "like a highway," the streets are not cobblestoned in the area at all, unless construction secretly started and finished from the time I left for work this morning, Soho (east of Wooster) and some parts of Nolita do have come cobblestones.

LindaSus: What is you budget? If you want to be downtown, near Soho, check out www.offsoho.com, you may also find it less expensive to stay closer to times square.

I was trying to portray a balanced picture. Maybe the women might want a real change of pace. Maybe not.

There seems to be a consistent theme that safe clean inexpensive hotels
in NYC have gone the way of Abe Beame. If that is the case than visitors will have to make decisions as to where they want to stay and first hand inforamtion becomes essential.

Personally I find Murray Hill one of the most non-descript areas in Manhattan. But I know that visitors who do not live in a city often find the Lower East Side intimidating.

Soho, without a doubt. Murray Hill is boring. Balthazar, Prada, Pearl River Mart, Kate's Paperie, and Sur la Table are all in Soho, quite close to the Soho Hojo. There is a FABULOUS gelateria on Orchard. Also, Gus's Pickles. You are also close to WD-50.

I'm not suggesting Murray Hill is an exciting area - just that a 70 year old might not be looking for what SoHo offers - and be more comfortable with a less busy street scene. I would think more the upper east side - but that wasn't given us as an option.

I agree with most here that for most visitors (especially younger ppl), Soho will be more exciting than Murray Hill.

But first, this HoJo is not actually in Soho, but in the lower east side, which is much less established than Soho especially for visitors. On the map it doesn't look that far but in terms of Manhattan neighborhoods and tourist experiences they could be night and day.

Secondly, for older visitors with some mobilibity issues (you mentioned planning to take cabs a lot), Murray Hill will be much more comfortable to them and easier to find cabs off the streets from.

Sure there may be more restaurants in the Lower East Side, but frankly I'm not sure if your aunt and the ladies will feel comfortable in many of these restaurants (mix of small hole in the walls and trendy spots that tend to be loud and dark). There are more mellow, sit-down restaurants in Murray Hill.

Hope you all have a great trip!

Both locations have their recommendations. I live near the Ramada. It's within steps of good a popular brunch spot (Pamela) and many good Indian restaurants. It's about a 15-minute walk from the chain stores and Macy's on 34th but not within easy walking distance of much else. It's much closer to Midtown, however, and in a fairly central location for sightseeing, but the disadvantage of being anywhere on the east side is that it's time-consuming and annoying to get to the west side, but both hotels have that disadvantage.

The HoJo is within steps of several good restaurants and a nice new Whole Foods, where you can get an excellent breakfast in the cafe. It's closer to shops in SoHo, but I'm still not sure you'd want to walk ... they're about 15 minutes perhaps. A wonderful art-house movie theater is next door. But it's close and convenient to little else. The subway is nearby, though, just as it is for the Ramada.

For you, I would recommend Murray Hill as an area to stay in.

It would interesting to hear from the original poster to see what their interests and sentiments are, rather than make recommednations for total strangers.

I agree with Aduchamp1--the poster knows their preferences better than any of us!

Older, does not mean dead! They are on vacation, why on earth is it assumed that the Lower East side might intimidate and that the restaurants are only for young people? There are plenty of nice, restaurants to celebrate her birthday at in the area that are a bit more upscale than what is in the area of the Ramada.

With that said, I don't think the HoJo is the nicest hotels in NY. Also, if I am not mistaken, there is a short flight of stairs to get to reception, though their may be an elevator inside that I can't see.

Marginal/Thingorjus: Il Laboratorio is the Gelato shop (www.laboratoriodelgelato.com) and WD-50 is definitely the best!

Howard Johnson and Ramada are not great names in the hotel business, but if these are your only choices I suggest you go for the Ramada property.

The Howard Johnson in located in the Lower East Side, not SoHo.

The Ramada is about 1/2 mile from Macy's and it is convenient the subway and to uptown, downtown, and crosstown busses. Get a transit pass.

thanks for all of your replies--alot of great information!
One of the posters was correct about older NOT meaning dead! Although thier age is up there, they are in great shape and certainly handle 20-30 min walks. Four of us are under 45 so the walking is not an issue. I lived in downtown Chicago, have visited many major cities throughout the world, so I'm not worried about SOHO possibly being intimidating...
Neither hotel would be my first choice (last 2 times i visted NYC stayed at the Royalton and the Plaza), with this group the budget is alot less than I would normally spend.
So I guess my first priority is I want a place that I can walk out of the hotel and have stuff to do and see. Subways are not an issue--I'm very familiar with riding them and navigating around...
Our first day we want to do some sightseeing (for those that have never been)--Satue of liberty, Empire st building, etc. Ovet the weekdn we'd like to visit a museum or two, maybe see a show, and of course SHOP!!!!
We would like to spend $400-500 a night. If anyone can suggest another hotle would love your input!
Thanks!!!!!!!

Are you planning on spending $400-500 a night total for two rooms? If so, it seems unlikely that you will find many hotels in that range given the time of year.

If you're willing to spend a little more ($50-100/night), you could look into one of the one bedroom suites at an Affinia property. There are generally two queen beds and a sofa bed. It's not ideal, but they are generally very nice hotels.

Enjoy your trip!

Yes, clarify what that budget is for. $400-500 for 6 people is unrealistic unless you're willing to stay in a hostel or some other non traditional accomodation. Is it possible to change your travel dates?

Before I would stay at either of the places you mention, I'd
>check the Pod hotel
http://www.thepodhotel.com/

>contact nyhabitat.com and see if they have an apt. or 2 for those dates in budget

>check with the larchmonthotel.com about their family suites

>check with chelsealodge.com

sorry, $400-500 is per room