Going to NYC Dec 31 to Jan 3. Been there three times before always in the summer. Comming from FL so the cold will be a shock, but wanted to see NYC in the holidays. Going with my wife, . We are in our late 30s but enjoy a good time. We are getting in about 4:00 on NYE. I have two hotels booked. The Sheraton New York Towers by times square and Holiday Inn SOHO. I wanted to see the ball drop, but after reading a few older posts on this site I am concerned. Will I have trouble getting to the times square hotel? I don't want to wait in a crowd all day. Should I get a party deal in a place in times square? My other thought is to stay in the SOHO hotel to avoid the time square mess. I love the villiages so we would just go out to a nice dinner. Then maybe go to central park for the fireworks. Any problem getting the subway from the village to central park and back late on NYE. What do you think? Just thought I will never get another chance to see the ball drop, but I don't want to stand around all day on one of only three days in the city. Thanks for any advice.

If you want to see the ball drop live you have 2 choices:

Stand out in the cold for hours in Times Square (from 4 pm on at the latest) in a pen with hundreds of other people and likely no facilities for food or bathroom

Try to find a restaurants (at VERY big $ - and likely already fully booked) that has a view.

I have seen numbers in the range of $800 per couple for this.

I did the standing n the street thing one year I was in college - and would NEVER do it again - it was hell.

Better have dinner elsewhere and then see fireworks in Central Park.

The Sheraton Towers is not really a Times Square area hotel. It's pretty far north. However, you will have trouble reaching the Sheraton Towers if you take a cab because many streets will be blocked by the time you get into Manhattan around 5 or 6. It won't be impossible, but it will be difficult, and you will likely have to walk at least a few blocks.

If you are coming into LaGuardia and decide to stay here, I'd suggest taking a cab into the Grand Central area and then taking the subway from there. You'll have to take the S Shuttle from Grand Central and then transfer to the R train to come up to 57th/7th ave and then get out at the 55th Street end of the station and walk a couple of blocks to the hotel. If you are coming into JFK, then take the LIRR/Air Train and then the subway to the same R station at 57th/7th Ave.

I'd strongly recommend the Holiday Inn to avoid the Times Square crowds (even if you do want to see the ball drop). Unfortunately, by 6pm, most of the area will already be cordoned off, so you will probably not get much closer to Times Square than the Sheraton anyway.

You could not pay me to go to Times Square on New Year's Eve. The subway will be packed that night until after 2am, so no worries about taking the train late.

New Year's Nation started in New York City and hosts a GREAT party every year. Cipriani Wall Street is this year's location:

www.newyearsnation.com

Thanks. I think I will skip the ball drop. I also will stay in SOHO on NYE. I might change hotels and go into midtown the other two nights. Hotels are real cheap for the 1st and 2nd. I have not decided about a party place near times square. The few where you can see the ball are very expensive. But others are reasonable. Buba gump says you can see the ball from the room and it is $1,000 a couple. Hawian Tropic is $250 a couple, but no live drop. You watch on a TV. I can watch on TV from Florida. So I may just skip the whole thing and stick to a nice dinner.

You'd have to pay ME $1000 to go to bubba gump at all.

Any restaurant with a happy, smiling little shrimp - that you are about to eat - as it's logo - should be banned.

You'd have to pay ME $1000 to go to bubba gump at all.

We just returned and stayed in the Embassy Suites. Very nice hotel, great breakfast and quiet.

We arrived early and watched the parade...lots of waiting in the cold but it was a one time thing and super fun. Crowds were overwhelming but cleared quickly.

Not sure I would do the ball drop either....it always seems colder at night.

We rode the subway all times of the day and our teen girls commented they felt safe. We were watchful but did not get apprensive at any point.

The Holiday Inn is not really in Soho but in Chinatown. If you chose the Sheraton and there are baricade issues, the hotel will give you a pass to get into the street. I don't know what kind of prices you have reserved at those 2 hotels, but neither are that great. The Sheraton is pretty worn and considered a convention and tour group hotel.

Quikbook.com has Gild Hall, a new, trendy boutique hotel downtown in the financial district for avg. $198/night plus tax. If you don't want to stay downtown, the Chandler in Murray Hill near the Empire STate building is $219 on quikbook. If you want to go to the fireworks in the park, another option is to stay on the upper west side. On the Avenue is on quikbook for $250/night. You can do slightly better at the Lucerne (also in that area) or better still at the Newton.

The upper west side is a great choice as long as you don't want to be i the madness. Lots of great restaurants, easy acces to the Park for fireworks and only a few minutes by subway to most places in Manhattan.

The Lucerne and On the Ave are nicer than the Newton - which is realiable, but more basic.

I'll check into these hotels. I did not see anything this cheap on NYE. I have priority club and starwood points. That is why I have these two hotels booked. I see a lot of cheap hotels for the 1st and 2nd. It is a pain to change hotels, but I really did not want the Holiday Inn or Sharaton for all three nights.

Thanks for the help.

Believe me .. and I can't say this emphatically enough. You do NOT want to change hotels if you are in town for only 3 nights. That is a huge time-waster for such a short trip and will accomplish nothing. In NYC, you will be out of your room most of the time and only there to sleep and change. None of the hotels you are looking at is going to offer you a truly blissful, transcendant experience for that price, just places in the middle to low end of the pack.

Therefore, there is absolutely no advantage to switching hotels. Just book something you can afford and enjoy your trip.

The subway runs all night, and there are cabs if you don't want to deal with it. Manhattan is easily navigated, so it makes little difference where you stay in terms of geography ... except that far downtown is pretty inconvenient, as is the Upper East Side. Both of these hotels are in good locations, the Sheraton more central.

I ditto Doug's sentiments about not changing hotels.