flyaway2day

want to take kids to NYC for 1st time at Thanksgiving- where would be best place to stay to hopefully watch Macys parade from hotel- open to 4 1/2-5 star accommodations- not eveen sure of parade route. Please, any input is appreciated. Kids 9 & 12

maxima

here is the 2012 route:

The parade will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West, moving down Central Park West to Columbus Circle. The parade will then turn onto Central Park South and head south on 6th Avenue until hitting 34th Street and turning west. The parade will conclude in front of Macy's Herald Square.

Be aware: there is no public or press access in the telecast area on 6th Avenue between 34th and 38th Streets and on 34th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue. The south side of 34th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue will has limited public viewing.

for hotels... perhaps the Hilton on 6th Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas) but you need to face 6th Avenue.

many of the performances you see on TV such as the Rockettes only perform in front of The parade will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West, moving down Central Park West to Columbus Circle. The parade will then turn onto Central Park South and head south on 6th Avenue until hitting 34th Street and turning west. The parade will conclude in front of Macy's Herald Square.

Be aware: there is no public or press access in the telecast area on 6th Avenue between 34th and 38th Streets and on 34th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue. The south side of 34th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue will has limited public viewing.

Hotel's Perhaps the Hilton at 53rd and 6th avenue

..many performers such as the Rockettes will only be performing in front of Macy's. but you can see the floats bands and balloons.

book your hotel room early

MariyaJohnson

Thanks. That was a pretty much helpful piece of advice. Thanks for writing the blocked paths and informing residents here.

doug_stallings

Thanksgiving week is typically the most expensive week of the entire year in NYC, so you should expect to pay over $400 per night for a modest room that might otherwise cost $250. A room that faces the Thanksgiving Day parade will cost upwards of $1000 per night or more, so I'm not sure that's really an option for you, but perhaps it is. I'd recommend the Trump International or the Mandarin Oriental as the best hotels for that since they both have rooms facing the parade route (though the Mandarin Oriental rooms would be on a very high floor above 25). Or perhaps the Ritz-Carlton at 6th Avenue and Central Park South. The Hilton might also work. There are relatively few hotels directly along the parade route now that the parade goes down 6th Avenue (when it was on Broadway, there were quite a few).

It's a busy but nice time to visit NYC, though you should know that the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center isn't lit until the week after Thanksgiving, but most other Christmas decorations go up before, and most of the department store windows are revealed on the day after the parade or around that time.

Otherwise, you will be on the street with everyone else.

nytraveler

You are coming to NYC the most crowded and expensive weekend of the year - so be prepared for mobs and everything to e very expensive.

The problem with watching the parade form a hotel is that from the upper floors you will be able to see nothing - since the street is so far below you. And many hotels reserves the first couple of floors - prime location for seeing the parade - for meeting rooms rather than sleeping rooms.

And - in the hotels on the route (Hilton is a standard business type 4* hotel) will have mostly rooms that do not face the parade route or are on too high a floow.

Suggest you contact these hotels by phone to find out if they have parade view rooms available (and be sure to find out how those rooms are defined - I would not take anything above the 5th floor) and determine what the cost will be (I can't imagine anything under $1000 and may be a lot more).

Also, do understand that the performances take place in front of Macy's - so you can see them only on TV - unless you are a VIP with tickets/entrance to the grandstand in the Herald Square broadcast area.

As for Thanksgiving dinner - do reserve far in advance and realize that there are set seatings (noon, 2pm, 4 pm etc) and set menus at many restaurants. Opentable.com will usually list which places are serving on Thanksgiving and what the price will be.

Now - Friday is Black Friday - the day on which stores start turning a profit for the year. Typically they open very early on Friday (some at 5 or 6 am - some actually at Thursday midnight) and will be packed in elbow to elbow. Macy's even has "facilitators" at he bottom of escalators who pull the people moving too slowly off so they don't pause and cause pile ups at the bottom. Do not try to shop on Black Friday.

Also, Friday and Sat are usually gridlock alert days - so plan on using feet or subway to get anywhere - since traffic comes to a complete standstill at times.