Going to NYC, what's the best hotel around Times Square?

[laybar]

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Originally Posted by Nrvsbride If you want to stay in times square then the W is the nicest hotel there. There are others that are nice but that is the nicest. However, keep in mind that NYC hotels are small. NYC is very crowded and you don't pay for luxurious space you pay just for being in NYC. So unless you are going to get a penthouse overlooking central park in the Plaza Hotel, any room you get is going to look small in comparison to when you travel anywhere else. If you go a little farther uptown and stay near Central Park then I would recomment the Empire Hotel, which has one of the hottest nightspot right now at the top of their rooftop. The Empire Hotel New York City - Official Site Also, like another member said the Gansevoort is hot but its way downtown in the meatpacking district. It also has a rooftop pool which is fabulous. The Mercer Hotel is also downtown and its great. Another great one is the Martime Hotel: The Maritime Hotel It has a lot going on at night too. Here is my question for you, what are you planning to do in NYC? Are you planning to mostly sightsee or hit up the nightlife and shopping or a combination of both? The nightlife is way downtown. The touristy places are closer to timesquare and farther up. I'm sure you want to stay in a nice hotel but honestly if your coming to sightsee there is no point in going crazy over it since NY is the city that never sleeps. You will be out all day doing a million things that you really only need a place to crash. And there are no hostels in NYC. Everyone gets their own private bathroom. I would honestly recommend the Royalton Hotel. It is located in midtown very close to times square. It is modern, was recently renovated, has an awesome bar inside and the bathrooms are spacious. They have huge round bathtubs. I've stayed at the Plaza and the Four Seasons and this hotel had bigger bathrooms. New York Hotels in Manhattan - Royalton Official Site One last thing, you can't go by professional photogs vs. amateur. Of course the paid photographer is going to take a pic of the nicest room. Most people stay in the average room so it is going to look significantly different.

the royalton is actually another good option! it was renovated & reopened less than a year ago.. it's near bryant park.. not too far from times square..

[*Heather*]

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Originally Posted by laybar I work w/ NYC hotels here & there are SO many different kind of hotels you can select from.. are you limited to Times Square? What exactly are you looking for? What price range? What kind of hotels do you usually like.. therefore I can direct you to the most appropo place.. let me know, but in the meantime.. Out of your hotel list from a week ago, here are my comments in CAPS: Affinia Dumont New York - IT NICE & COMFOTABLE, BUT FOR ME, NOTHING TOO SPECIAL Four Seasons Hotel New York - VERY NICE.. LOOKING @ OVER $700 / NIGHT PROBABLY Hotel Gansevoort - THIS IS STILL GOOD< BUT I THINK IT CAN BE CONSIDERED 'LAST YEAR'; IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THIS KIND OF HOTEL, LOOK @: BOWERY HOTEL (DOWNTOWN) EMPIRE HOTEL (LINCOLN CENTER) GILD HALL (DOWNTOWN) SIX COLUMBUS (COLUMBUS CIRCLE) HOTEL ON RIVINGTON (LOWER EAST SIDE) DUANE STREET HOTEL (TRIBECA) ANY OF THE THOMPSON HOTELS (A FEW THROUGHOUT NYC) Mandarin Oriental Hotel - SUPER PRICEY BUT OF COURSE REALLY NICE.. STAYING THERE NEXT WEEKEND FOR WORK, ACTUALLY! Marriott Marquis (still need to throw it in there) VERY TOURISTY & CONVENTION HOTEL BUT IT WORKS & LOCATION IS PERFECT Sofitel Hotel - IT NICE, BUT THAT'S JUST IT FOR ME. W Times Square - VERY TRENDY.. BUT A LITTLE MUCH MAYBE.. W'S IN NYC ARE NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE WITH ALL THE BOUTIQUE / INDEPENDENT HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS HERE. A COUPLE OTHER OPTIONS: CARLTON HOTEL NY (GRAMERCY PARK) GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL (GRAMERCY PARK) GREENWICH HOTEL (WEST VILLAGE) - NTO SURE IF THIS OPENED JUST YET THOUGH LONDON HOTEL (MIDTOWN) - THIS HOTEL I LOVE!! ROOMS ARE AWESOME & BIG! ALSO IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING FOUR SEASONS & MANDARIN ORIENTAL, YOU MIGHT AS WELL CHECK OUT THE PLAZA AS IT JUST REOPENED AGAIN IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR & IT'S SO NY! HOPE THIS HELPS YOU!

I just stayed at the Hotel on Rivington when I was in NYC 2 weeks ago and I LOVED it there! Not sure if you're into the Lower East Side, but I thought it was a great area. There is so much going on around there right now!

[Infinity22]

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Originally Posted by Nrvsbride If you want to stay in times square then the W is the nicest hotel there. There are others that are nice but that is the nicest. However, keep in mind that NYC hotels are small. NYC is very crowded and you don't pay for luxurious space you pay just for being in NYC. So unless you are going to get a penthouse overlooking central park in the Plaza Hotel, any room you get is going to look small in comparison to when you travel anywhere else.

That's a very good point you made there, and one I haven't really taken into consideration.

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Originally Posted by Nrvsbride If you go a little farther uptown and stay near Central Park then I would recomment the Empire Hotel, which has one of the hottest nightspot right now at the top of their rooftop. The Empire Hotel New York City - Official Site

What does the Empire Hotel have around it for it's nightlife? Is "downtown" in NYC considered to be the Times Square area or down by the south end by Wall Street?

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Originally Posted by Nrvsbride Here is my question for you, what are you planning to do in NYC? Are you planning to mostly sightsee or hit up the nightlife and shopping or a combination of both? The nightlife is way downtown. The touristy places are closer to timesquare and farther up. I'm sure you want to stay in a nice hotel but honestly if your coming to sightsee there is no point in going crazy over it since NY is the city that never sleeps. You will be out all day doing a million things that you really only need a place to crash.

I imagine we'll do what most NYC tourists do and that is strick around Times Square and visit the regular close tourist attractions. Last time I was there, which was the weekend before Christmas in '04 we took a red tourist double decker bus around town and saw a lot that way. With it being so cold we weren't able to really venture into Central Park, so I assume we'll probably do that this time around.

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Originally Posted by Nrvsbride One last thing, you can't go by professional photogs vs. amateur. Of course the paid photographer is going to take a pic of the nicest room. Most people stay in the average room so it is going to look significantly different.

What I meant by the professional photos compared to the amateur ones was that it was surprising how pros can make certain spaces more attractive than they actually are. The amateur photographs were simply to show how things really are. I wasn't implying that the hotel websites use amateur photos, TripAdvisor does.

[Infinity22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laybar I work w/ NYC hotels here & there are SO many different kind of hotels you can select from.. are you limited to Times Square? What exactly are you looking for? What price range? What kind of hotels do you usually like.. therefore I can direct you to the most appropo place.. let me know, but in the meantime.. Out of your hotel list from a week ago, here are my comments in CAPS: Affinia Dumont New York - IT NICE & COMFOTABLE, BUT FOR ME, NOTHING TOO SPECIAL Four Seasons Hotel New York - VERY NICE.. LOOKING @ OVER $700 / NIGHT PROBABLY Hotel Gansevoort - THIS IS STILL GOOD< BUT I THINK IT CAN BE CONSIDERED 'LAST YEAR'; IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THIS KIND OF HOTEL, LOOK @: BOWERY HOTEL (DOWNTOWN) EMPIRE HOTEL (LINCOLN CENTER) GILD HALL (DOWNTOWN) SIX COLUMBUS (COLUMBUS CIRCLE) HOTEL ON RIVINGTON (LOWER EAST SIDE) DUANE STREET HOTEL (TRIBECA) ANY OF THE THOMPSON HOTELS (A FEW THROUGHOUT NYC) Mandarin Oriental Hotel - SUPER PRICEY BUT OF COURSE REALLY NICE.. STAYING THERE NEXT WEEKEND FOR WORK, ACTUALLY! Marriott Marquis (still need to throw it in there) VERY TOURISTY & CONVENTION HOTEL BUT IT WORKS & LOCATION IS PERFECT Sofitel Hotel - IT NICE, BUT THAT'S JUST IT FOR ME. W Times Square - VERY TRENDY.. BUT A LITTLE MUCH MAYBE.. W'S IN NYC ARE NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE WITH ALL THE BOUTIQUE / INDEPENDENT HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS HERE. A COUPLE OTHER OPTIONS: CARLTON HOTEL NY (GRAMERCY PARK) GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL (GRAMERCY PARK) GREENWICH HOTEL (WEST VILLAGE) - NTO SURE IF THIS OPENED JUST YET THOUGH LONDON HOTEL (MIDTOWN) - THIS HOTEL I LOVE!! ROOMS ARE AWESOME & BIG! ALSO IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING FOUR SEASONS & MANDARIN ORIENTAL, YOU MIGHT AS WELL CHECK OUT THE PLAZA AS IT JUST REOPENED AGAIN IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR & IT'S SO NY! HOPE THIS HELPS YOU!

No, we're not limited to Times Square but we'd like to stay in that area since that area is our main focus. I origially thought we were looking for something modern or contemporary but as long as it's nice and not really ornate, it'll do! Let's just say that the Four Seasons price range seems a little high for this trip that we're taking. I'd say somewhere in the $500-$700 range though. That's kind of a bummer because I was hoping the Mandarin Oriental Hotel would be the one.

Loved your reviews of my list though, that really helps!

Again, thanks to you all for your continued help.

[laybar]

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Originally Posted by Infinity22 No, we're not limited to Times Square but we'd like to stay in that area since that area is our main focus. I origially thought we were looking for something modern or contemporary but as long as it's nice and not really ornate, it'll do! Let's just say that the Four Seasons price range seems a little high for this trip that we're taking. I'd say somewhere in the $500-$700 range though. That's kind of a bummer because I was hoping the Mandarin Oriental Hotel would be the one. Loved your reviews of my list though, that really helps! Again, thanks to you all for your continued help.

If you're looking to stay near Times Square area then I would suggest the Royalton or London.. they're not directly there but VERY close by.. walking distance.. The london hass much bigger rooms & really nice! love their bathrooms! Royalton has a good scene. I think you can find both around the price range you mentioned ($5-700). Let us know which you decide!

[Infinity22]

Sorry to resurrect this topic but we're just about a month away and we're now just finally booking everything! Anyone stay at the Essex before? I heard they just went through a $90 million-plus revamp.

[Jess]

The Muse Hotel is great! It's a modern and trendy boutique hotel - they have complimentary wine every night. It is a Kimpton hotel and was not ridiculously expensive like a lot of the hotels in Time Square.

[Infinity22]

We ended up staying at the Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park South. It was a great hotel and the location was awesome! Times Square is a lively place but I'd much rather stay a little further north now that I've had my experience at the Essex House.