Thanks for all your replies fellow fodorites. My daughter and I have decided we want to stay where it is more quiet so Times Square is out. Central Park area maybe is a better choice, suggestions in those areas?
We will be doing most of our shopping in the Soho area but when the day is done want to have quiet.

On the Upper West Side I can recommend the Hotel Beacon (or is it Beacon Hotel?), which is located on Broadway, somewhere around 73th-78th Streets. It's right there at the Beacon Theatre. Rooms were always affordable ($100-$150/night, depending on a deal), and we've always had a little kitchenette in the room.

The neighborhood around the Beacon offers lots of good restaurants, little shops, and a diversity of culture. Central Park is a few blocks over, as well as the Natural History Museum and Planetarium, Zabars, and the Sunday Flea Market at the little school on Columbus Avenue. Enjoy your visit to NYC. Peace.

Robyn >-

The West side generally has more moderate/inexpensive hotel hoices (also consider the Lucerne) and has better subway serice than the east side (2 lines vs only 1). Also, a huge number of good, inexpensive restaurants of any variety you can think of.

Also IMHO the West side is more typical New York - very diverse in every way - than the east side - which tends to be more homogenous/unrelieved upper middle/upscale.

I hate to tell you this, but if you want quiet, you're in the wrong city no matter what neighboodhood you are talking about. Central Park area will be just as noisy, and the hotels are just as expensive. Frankly, you'd be better off staying in a suburb if you want quiet.

I've stayed on the UWS near Lincoln Center several times and loved it. No big crowds and everything is still close by subway.

You may also want to consider B&B. There are a agencies that offer both hosted and unhosted apartments. On one visit, we had an unhosted apartment where the owner was out of town. On another, had a host who was a recording engineer for a classical music label. He told us what was in the area and what to avoid, and during down-time, told about the two Grammy Awards on his coffee table.

I presume the original poster realizes that "quiet" is relative, and parts of the UES & UWS are certainly quiet compared to other parts of the city.

Both offer easy subway access to SoHo. The UES offers convenient subway service to SoHo via the 6 train, for example.

I've stayed on the Upper West Side for three vacations now, and loved it every time. It's definitly 'quiet' compared to other parts of the city and I found it nice to come home to at the end of a busy day. Subway was convenient too, and there are tons of restaurants around.

The Milburn (76th and Broadway)is clean, very quiet, and affordable.

Upper West Side - Try The Milburn Hotel, very reasonable, spacious rooms and lots of places to eat. Details www.milburnhotel.com
Have stayed here and very satisfied.

Also you may want to consider The Embassy Suites located at 102 N. End Avenue located in Lower Manhattan on the Hudson River. Recently stayed at this hotel and I thought it was very quiet at night. Hotel is located across from The Hudson River, wonderful views. All rooms are suites and price includes a full breakfast and complementary drinks/snacks in the evening. Wonderful walks from this hotel along the river. Very good value when you consider the breakfast and evening reception. Have recently stayed here and have booked again for October.

Sandy