Hi
My husband and I are travelling to the States (from New Zealand) early November. We plan to stay in New York for 5 days. Neither of us have been to NY before and plan to see the wonderful buildings and generally walk around to appreciate it all. We are not sure what area it is best to stay in for easy access to the sites and sounds. We are also unclear of what hotel to stay in. We like the good things in life and from a hotel seek a place that is clean, fresh and friendly; probably smaller rather than large with a NY flavour. In terms of our budget, unclear of price; $200 -$300 per night? Also, good places to eat. Thanks, much appreciated

You might consider the Super 8 Times Square. It's in a very convenient location for accessing the subway, etc. And it's quite reasonably priced. The price also includes a nice continental breakfast. It's not "upscale" but it's clean, comfortable and conveniently located.

Hi Smithy, Welcome to the States! Do search for previous entries about New York-there's a scad of info. You might want to re-post using NYC in the title. Make reservations ahead if you have heard of a great restaurant. What's his name-Batelli?-gets filled up weeks in advance during peak times. I'll see if I can find that post and get back to you. Ellis Island moved me to tears.

Mario Batelli is the chef to whom I referred and below is the info:

babbo ristorante e enoteca. 110 waverly place. new york. 212 777 0303

The Algonquin Hotel has lots of literary history. Friends of ours stay at the Edison for their frequent theatre forays. Sofitel is always nice.

For $200-300 per night, you can do much better than the Super 8. The trouble is, early November is a popular time to visit, and if you don't have reservations yet, you may find yourself in a bit of a bind. That said, we love the Michelangelo in midtown, and the Parker Meridien seems popular, too. They are usually in your price range. I would suggest that you search here and read some of the recent NYC hotel advice given; also, you might look at tripadvisor.com.

As for location, I'm no expert, but I can tell you that from my own research I realized there's no such thing as the one perfect place to stay in NYC to see everything. I chose midtown b/c, well, it's in the middle! I have stayed in lower Manhattan several times on business trips and hated the long cab rides uptown to meet people or go to a show.

Best of luck to you! Make that reservation soon!

Super 8 "no way Jose" Read tripadvisor.com

Try
Michelangelo
Casablanca
Drake Swissotel
The Elysee

Check travelzoo.com for specials.
The Library

Smithy, please look at the Autumn in New York post-very neat places visited!