Soled - have fun.... you and your family will love NYC and will likely be surprised at how may friendly and helpful people ou meet (not to mention how many people there are in general and how so many of them seem to be in a hurry!).

Murray Hill is a nice neighborhood but i'ts just a bit less convenient than the other areas you're considering. The only easily available subway line in that immediate area is the lex Ave line (4,5,6). If you were planning to split your time between lower Manhattan and the museums on the east side of the park it would be a good choice but for faster easier access to transportation any midtown location is generally better. Hotels close to Grand Central in Midtown east have you close to the shuttle to Times Square and from those a bit further up (around 51st to 53rd) you can take the E train crosstown to transfer to other trains.

Boutique hotel used to mean a small property with unique decor, a more eclectic feel than a chain hotel and an attentive staff. It's been twisted around and means many things to many people.... kind of like the way the term "natural" is bandied about in regards to food. A boutique hotel with decent sized rooms and a moderate number of rooms in the property would indeed be a good choice but there are other "boutique" hotels like ian Schrager's Hudson that have over 1,000 rooms, most of which are barely large enough fopr the bed and the TV.

The Shelburne Murray Hill is a smaller hotel with very quaint pretty furnishings and a great staff. It really is the epitome of a boutique hotel.

Would I stay there again? Yes.

As far as subway lines, you can take the Lex to Grand Central and take the shuttle (S) to Times Square and pick up any other train. I never found the location to be inconvenient.

Thanks, Eva, Owen_ONeill and GoTravel! And of course to everyone else that's responded. I really do appreciate and have enjoyed the hospitality and interaction you've offered!!

cfc, I'm not sure how you've interpreted my posts as wanting a thumbs up or down on the Barclay when all I actually hoped for(and got in most cases) was just the opposite. For people to spell out the differences in properties and areas I can only see in a very limited website view, rather than real life.

When people describe those differences I can use the information that's important to ~us~ in deciding which property. So, the more facts I know about the Barclay and the Marriot Eastside the more I'm equiped to decide between the two. The better vision these posters can create through their written word, the clearer my choices become. The more I know about the areas in Midtown East and Park Central South, for example, the easier the decision. Honestly, this really can't be done efficiently through reading professional reviews and narrowly focused websites alone for a place as diverse, storied and as fascinating as New York City.

The info everyone has generously given has been great. With what I've read, I'm pretty sure my instincts coming into this forum about staying away from Times Square were good-for this trip.

As it stands now, if I find a hotel in Central Park South as nice and with the same NY feel as the Barclay or Marriot East, for the same price or less, I'll go with that. For convience alone. Regardless of whether anyone gives a thumbs down to either of those or not(they'll always be those that have had bad experiences at every property).

I just wanted to ask enough questions to get a more human feel to the advantages and disadvantages of the areas and properties that have caught my eye. In fact, once I note the relative good qualities of hotels as the Barclay and Marriot ES, the thing that becomes the most important thing is the area and it's convience/ambiance.

Anyway, I'll keep looking for something in Central Park S, then decide between that area, the two in Midtown E. and the Shelburne-unless some new info on something somewhere else really captures the ijmagination...

Thanks again folks, you've been great!

Look at Le Parker Meridian and The Salisbury on West 57th. Both are considered Central Park South. For more money, The Essex House, Ritz-Carlton, and The Plaza all on Central Park South across the street from the Park. There is also a Wyndham (from my understanding not affiliated with the Wyndham chain) and a Helmsly on 58th I beleive.

I've stayed at the Wyndham at 42 W58; indeed, it's not part of the Wyndham chain. The staff were rude, the accomodations were shabby, and they refused to fix a broken room heater in November! Some people think the place is charming, but I think it's just decrepit. Also, they don't take credit cards, just cash.

Just don't stay at the DaVinci hotel. After being denied my confirmed reservation, I booked at the Holiday Inn on 57th between 9th and 10th. the price was great....129.00 and the hotel was easy walk to central park, times square,et al. there were three Starbucks for morning coffee within a three block radius and the subway station was only three blocks away. There was no traffic, no hassle. The rooms were roomy and comfortable--not elegant, but not trashy....typical holiday inn. Price was right...we saw every corner of the city on foot--easily. I stayed at the Empire last xmas. I paid over 400 dollars for a postage stamp size room and it was not half as agreeable as the cheap holiday inn.

Soled, the one thing I forgot to mention is, that NY is the one city where the government rate will not help you out unless it is a very busy time in the city.

We usually use Priceline, but if you want more control, Quikbook.com is the way to go. They have good rates and a liberal cancellation policy and you know in advance where you are staying.

We have stayed at the Park Central in central park south and it is a great place to stay. The location cannot be beat.

October can be expensive because climate-wise it is the best time of the year. Use the available on-line websites and chart a plan that allows you to secure good and safe accommodations and yet still leaves you enough dough to SHOP! That's what we try to do.

have fun!

Soled: Can you define "NY feel"? You mention this a lot in your post and I'm not sure what you're looking for exactly. The Marriott East Side is a nice hotel - its just a hotel. The rooms have a bed, two chairs, a dresser, the baths are small but work well. The Michelangelo is just a much nicer hotel. What picture do you have in your mind of this "NY feeling" hotel and neighborhood? If you can explain it, we can point you toward it. And what do you want to do while in NY? Like others, I go for the theater, so would never consider the East Side as a good location - too far to hike cross town. I love the Times Sq. area because all the major subway lines converge there, there's great food in Hell's Kitchen and I can walk to any theater. I can get anywhere from Times Square quickly and easily. Give us a little more information here.

Yeah, TC, I guess me "NY feel" description was pretty vague. Not sure if I can accurately describe what I mean, but I guess my impression is of a traditional NY-pretty old style, I suppose-if that helps.

So the modern looking hotels(like the Helmlsey) may give a NY feel to folks that live there, but I meant something more classic. That was the very reason the Michelangelo and Barclay hotels stood out to me. And the reason many of the others on Times Square seemed pretty nondescript.

With that said I revisited the Marriot Eastside and looked closer at their rooms on their website, so I see exactly what you mean. So I ruled them out.

As things stand now, the Barclay and the Michelangelo are what I'm down to , but...if I found a hotel closer to Central Park South that matched their ambiance I'd go with that. I think that would be our best location. I know the Michelangelo os closer than the Barclay, so if I can get a better rate there, that may be where we wind up. Right now, there the only ones to not offer government rates.

As far as our iternerary goes, I'll respond later when I have more time.

Eva, thanks for the info on quickbook. I'll check it out tnight, after I mow the lawn.

Thanks!

Boy, I did a great job spelling in that last post, lol!

soled, the Michelangelo is only a couple of blocks south of the loosly defined boundaries of Central Park South hotels. It is only 8 blocks from Central Park. If you like the hotel, book it.

Oddly enough the hotel that you think of as "very NY" - is in fact trying desperately to be very Italian - The Michaelangelo. And it's in the heart of the Times Square area. I think you should stop all this worrying about the hotel filing you with ambiance and just book a conveniently located, good hotel at the best rate. You will spend so little time in the hotel that it won't matter. I think the Doubletree is a great choice with a 9 year old. You have much more room to spread out, you can eat breakfast and snacks in the room (saving a ton of money) they give you GREAT chocolate chip cookies (!) and they cater more to families. Its in a super location with lots of action (but not scary - just fun, ie. street entertainers, vendors, David Letterman, etc.), you can wait outside stage doors at any theater to see who comes out, you can spot lots of celebreties just walking around on 8th or 9th Avenues, you can get ANY subway line to anywhere from this location and there are many good, low cost places to eat that a 9 year old won't curl her nose up at. How much more NY can you get than that? I love the Times Square area. Its just about as NY as you can get.

Now....what are you going to do while you're there? That's another whole post. If you still want old world NY hotel ambiance, take your family to brunch at The Plaza.

Have fun!