Okay, I have yet another question. Thanks in advance for the help. If we want to do the typical touristy things in NYC (Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central, etc.) which part of the city is the best to book a hotel in? And any suggestions on a good, moderately priced place would be super. Thanks, Cindy

Hi Cindy
Wherever you stay in NYC, you aren't going to be close to everything. If, for instance, you stay near Times Square, you can probably walk to the Empire State, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center and maybe Central Park, but you will have to take the subway or a cab to lower Manhattan to visit the WTC site, Brooklyn Bridge etc. And vice versa. So, you need to look at a map and decide which area would be best for you. I had the same problem, but finally settled on the Times Square area, but knowing that I'm going to have to get some transport to a lot of the places I'd like to see.

If you plot the things you mention on a map (try maps.google.com ) you'll see they're split between "midtown" 34 st - 59 st. and the downtown financial district, so there's no one best place to stay. Most first time visitors chose to stay in midtown but you could just as easily stay downtown and maybe get a better deal. A while ago I suggested you look on travelzoo.com and it's still a great place to find bargains. For the first week in July, when you said you were coming, you can get the 4* Millenium Broadway in midtown/Times Square area for the great price of $189/night plus tax.

If you want to stay downtown, the new, trendy Gild Hall hotel is a bargain $153/night plus tax on quikbook.

The important thing is to stay within reasonable walking distance of a subway stop!

My advice to all visitors is NOT to stay in Times Square.

Inevitably, when tourists complain that New York is dirty and crowded, they stayed in Times Square.

For "new" visitors, I strongly prefer midtown east of 6th Avenue.

Repeat visitors should consider downtown and uptown locations.

Enjoy!

Having stayed at the W Times Square as a visitor, and now being an NYC resident, I second Gekko's excellent advice.

Mike
My travel blog: www.stricklandia.com

I have found the Park South Hotel to be one of the most reasonably priced nice hotels in the city.

Right on the Lex line on 28th Street, it is close to everything.

Small boutique hotel without the price and it includes and excellent breakfast.

It really depends on what you want to see/do. And what type of atmosphere you want.

Times Square is frenetic - loud, crowded, dirty - and the last place I would ever stay.

There are area of midtown that are much more pleasant.

There are areas downtown that are trendy and interesting.

There are nice residential areas uptown near a lot of the major museums and Central Park.

The key is being near a subway station - since you will be using it a lot.

Also - what do you mean by moderate? How many of you are there? When will you be in NYC?

Thanks for all the great recommendations. My husband and I are planning a trip to NY. Can you please clarify where "downtown" is? I have the NY Access guide and they don't list any area as "downtown." Thanks!

Map of NY neighborhoods:

http://tinyurl.com/ysj9yq

I tend to think of "downtown" as more of a direction in Manhattan than a neighborhood. If you're in Times Square, for instance, you would travel uptown to Central Park, and downtown to Tribeca, for example.

cindyk612,in the context here (of locations for hotels) I think people mean "downtown" would include places that tour books would call "financial district" Soho, Tribeca, maybe the village ("Greenwich Village") and Chelsea)etc.

In other words, places other than the Times Square and midtown area where the vast majority of hotels are.

I'm a big fan of Hotel Chelsea. It's a bit eclectic and maybe not for everyone, but the rates are good and getting around from it's location is easy.

http://www.hotelchelsea.com/

Hi cindyk612,
I disagree with gekko. We have stayed all over the city, Times Square included and often, it is our favorite location. Staying on the East side around Park Ave is pretty but not necessarily near too much. It does depend on what you would like to do. Times Square is always busy. Restaurants, movies shows and people watching are abundant. We love to go to the Marriott Marquis's lobby on the 8th floor. You can get a table right in the window overlooking Times Square and have coctails and pizza or sushi. It's a very exciting locale. Downtown, like the financial district you might find cheaper hotel room and there are some very nice choices but you have to decide what you will be doing. You will need cabs to restaurants etc. and it is much quieter to walk the streets at night. I guess you have to know if you are looking for peace and quiet or a lot of hubbub.
Either way you should enjoy.

It's true the financial district - although not other areas of downtown - can be quiet at night. And if you go to the upper east side you're not near that much except many of the major museums.

But - Times Square is constantly frenetic - not just busy - but mobbed - asin you have to wak in the street since there are too many people for the sidewalk.

If you want to stay in midtown you can do midtown east, central park south or midtown west away from Times Square. Near the same sights, but not SO frantic.

You can also do the upper west side, which is mid/upscale residential with a ton of good inexpensive restaurants, busy but not frantic - with mostly locals versus tourists - and near Central Park and a lot of museums.

Or you can do downtown away from the financial district - and have a nice amount of street life - but not the hysteria of Times Square.

Don;t think you should stay in Times Square - unless that is the atmosphere you really want.

I was in NY last October and it was sooo expensive. My hotel was about 700-800/night and the la quinta inn was over $300/night. Maybe summer is less. I would recommend signing up for the kimptonhotels group mailing list. They just sent me an e-mail which happens two or three times a year where their hotels are vastly discounted. The Muse in NY which was in the $500s/night and looks great was only $179/night. I booked it for labor day weekend. They have great hotels in most of the major destinations and I almost could plan my trips around finding a great deal with them and then look for airfare.