catli55

I am taking my daughter to a competition in North Haven, CT. We fly into JFK, then a car service will take us to North Haven, Thursday evening, along with other Moms and daughters. Competition is Friday all day and Saturday until 2pm. We have tickets to see Matilda on Broadway Saturday evening (have to be kiddie show since our group is traveling with 7-9 yr olds...). Others are staying at 6 Columbus.

Any recommendations for reasonable hotels that is family friendly in same area as 6 Columbus or close to Broadway/Time Square since we have to make it to our 7 pm show?

What are must dos for Moms with 8 year old girl and grandma for the short time? ~ We have reservations for tea at 11 ... open schedule after that the entire Sunday afternoon and Monday until the 5 pm flight out of JFK

Also want to learn about the subway system. Any tips/recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
Cat

5alive

As to hotels, what month is your trip? What is the target price you'd like to pay? Do you know what your friends are paying at Columbus Circle for comparison? I assume if you can't save any money you will stay at the same hotel.

A native New Yorker will likely post in on this soon and can help you more with hotels. Our family went to New York last summer so I did a lot of studying but am not a native. You might look at the Belvedere Hotel. Not cheap but probably less than 6 Columbus Circle. I believe people on this site recommended it to me. It would be closer to Times Square but not as close to Central Park where your friends are.

As to activities, the best choices are probably Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. As a third option, maybe a ride in New York Harbor?

What does your daughter like to do? If she likes techie stuff, maybe you want to go to the Sony Wonder or Nintendo. My daughter loves unicorns. We went to The Cloisters, a second location of the Met, to see their unicorn tapestries. For many kids, this would be a boring destination, but for her it was a highlight.

One thing I wouldn't advise for kids that young is the Empire State Building. It was so very crowded and hard for my 11-year-old to see among all the taller people.

HappyTrvlr

Stop in to American Girl on 5th Avenue for the younger girls.

catli55

Thanks HappyTrvlr and 5alive! They got their hotel (6 Columbus) for $359/night but it is my understanding that the rooms are relatively small. I am staying with my daughter and my Mom so I was hoping to stay at a "family friendly" Hilton/Marriot/Hyatt types with 2 double beds instead of trendy but smaller type hotels. My husband and I stayed at Parker Meridien last year and it was a nice hotel but I don't think it is condusive to 8 yr old and grandma stay .
I will check out Belvedere hotel ... and I will definitely take them to Central Park. Ride to NY Harbor... is that that evening boat/ferry ride?

mclaurie

The Hilton Garden Inn and the Hampton Inn Times Sqaure North are not that far from 6 Columbus, within walking distance of the theaters and have rooms with 2 queen beds, even better than the 2 doubles you'd find at the Belvedere and many other NYC hotels. Prices fluctuate greatly by date so hard to say what the price will be for you. We're now getting into high seaon with nicer weather. Blakelyhotelny.com is another good option. I think there's curently a sale on travelzoo.com

5alive

mcclaurie would know best. If you like the travelzoo deal he mentions, snap it up immediately because those go fast in my own experience.