Has anyone stayed here? How is the location? Is it better to stay in midtown due to proxmity to the theatre, etc.?

My parents stayed there when my apartment was not yet ready to accomodate guests, and they found it to be fine for there purposes...clean and comfortable.

The location (upper west side) is a nice neighborhood (it's less noisy than midtown) and there are many great restaurants there too (especially for breakfasts).

In my opinion, as a New Yorker, as long as you're close to a subway station (which you are) you can get anywhere with minimum hassles. Worse comes to worse, catch a taxi. Meanwhile, the hotel is right by the 79th st. stop on Broadway...four stops later is Times Square. So if it's less expensive and you don't need to book any special hotel amenities (such as spa treatments) I say, "go for it"! Good luck.

It has been recently renovated and have read, on this forum, positive reports. It is in the 70's on the upper west side. This is mainly a residential area with excellent transportation and tons of rerstaurants. Once on a train the ride to the theater district is around 7 minutes or so. A walk to the theater district involes a distance of around 1 1/2 miles - can be done in 30 minutes. Walking is perfectly safe in that area.

I'm seeing this thread a little late in the game, but I say On The Ave gets a big thumbs up.

I stayed there recently and my daughter and I were very comfortable there. Great location. The Upper West Side is wonderful.

If you haven't already gone to New York by the time I am posting, try to get to Isabella's for lunch. The restaurant is a couple of blocks east of On The Ave. Very good.

If you've already visited New York...did you wind up at On The Ave? How did you like it?

Isabella's is a great restaurant, located on the corner of Columbus and 77th Street behind the American Museum of Natural History. Enjoy!