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NYC, where to stay
I'm getting totally overwhelmed searching for places to stay in NYC for our May visit so I figured it would be easier to cut to the chase and ask you knowledgeable ladies. There are so many areas in NYC that I can't even narrow it down, I'm just totally confused. Here's what we want:
1. Vacation Rental, probably will go through VRBO or homeaway
2. 2 bedrooms (needs to accommodate 4 adults and 1 child)
3. Kid friendly if possible--we'll have our 1.5 year old with us
4. Walkable--no sketchy areas or anywhere so far that we HAVE to cab it everywhere
5. The main things we know we want to do are Central Park (with baby), Broadway (without baby), and some fancy dinners (without baby). We'll fill in the rest of the itinerary later, but these are our main wants.
So my question is--which area of town do you recommend that we stay? Is there a certain area we should avoid? FWIW, we are flying into JFK, renting a car, driving to Bear Mountain Ntl Park for a few days for a wedding, driving back to JFK and dropping off the car, then heading down to Manhattan for about 4 nights.
ETA: If it matters, DH has never been to NYC before and I've only been once but I was filming a game show so my entire 2 day stay was consumed with that.
Re: NYC, where to stay
Try Wyndam Garden Hotel, Times Square South.
I stayed here with my mom last June when we were in NYC. It's located about three blocks from the amtrak station. It's walking distance from a lot of broadway plays, and Time Square. The staff is really friendly and willing to answer any questions you have. They have suites and bigger rooms. We will definately be staying there again in the future when we return with my dad and brothers in another year.
For accomodations, I guess south of 96th Street and north of 14th Street or Houston Street? I dunno, downtown is my favorite (south of Houston, both east and west sides), but I don't have a child and you want to be relatively close to Broadway and Central Park. For walking distance, I would stay in either the Upper West side or Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods (and the neighborhood in between those 2, I don't know if it has a name but it would be the west side equivalent of east side's Sutton Place, the 50's).
But m+j, I would take advantage of the NYC cabs or public transportation (I prefer the subway over the bus, but that's just my preference) and not worry too much about walking to as many places as possible.
Also, a little tip, don't hang your purse off the back of your chair when you sit down to eat at a busy lunch-type place. Keep it on your lap or hang it off your knee.
Have fun in NYC!
eta: If you're open to a non-apartment or efficiency set up, there are academic clubhouses that have guestrooms available only for alumni of certain schools (typically Ivy League) and the rates are extremely competitive with hotels in the same area (usu. next to the Times Square area).
Blog: Call Me Imelda
We have had good luck using priceline for a four-star in Midtown West.
Of course, there is no guarantee that such a room will be "child-friendly," although I'm personally not exactly sure what that means when it comes to hotel rooms. LOL.
Thank you everyone! Miso--we were looking at vacation rentals vs. hotels since there are 5 of us and we figured it would be cheaper. Lots of the rentals I'm finding don't allow children. We also want a place where we can walk with LO and feel safe, both during the day and at night. I guess that's what I mean by child friendly.
Mavjen--great info, thank you!! Upper West Side was what someone else recommended, so I think that's where we'll look.
You're welcome, m+j, anytime. I added a footnote/eta to my post, see if it applies. I know that one of the clubhouses totally welcomed small children as guests.
Blog: Call Me Imelda
I'll link here, no prob.
NEW YORK CITY
amy ruth's
bouchon bakery
dbgb kitchen & bar
doughnut plant
eleven madison park
eleven madison park: the cookbook
fatty crab
gray's papaya
jean georges
le bernardin
mamoun's falafel restaurant
marea
the meatball shop
momofuku ssam bar
red rooster
shake shack
wd-50
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empire hotel
le parker meridien
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central park
citi field
columbia university
the high line
lincoln center
statue of liberty and ellis island
times square
wall street
yankee stadium
+v+ is a better resource, but I do have pics.
Hmm... that's tough because the areas where I'd normally recommend that a tourist with kids stay are completely non-residential, so you won't be able to find a VRBO there.
If you were staying in a hotel, I'd say West 50s, in the area of the Hilton and Parker Meridien. That area is within easy walking distance of a lot of tourist stuff but is less chaotic than Times Square, and is near a lot of subway lines.
But regardless, I'd say midtown would be your best bet -- particularly in the 50s. I'd try to stay east of 8th Avenue or west of 3rd Avenue, for better access to public transportation (note: public transportation on the west side tends to be better than transportation on the west side). The lower parts of the Upper West Side (particularly the 60s) would also be good. I wouldn't do the Upper East Side above 65th or so because public transportation up there is a PITA, and I wouldn't recommend Times Square proper because spending more than 10 minutes there makes me want to cry... it is so crowded and hectic!!!
I'd avoid the West 30s, Chinatown, Lower East Side, East Village/Alphabet City because of sketchiness, no man's landness, and/or non-family friendliness, and anything below Canal Street (meaning, Financial District/Battery Park City/Tribeca) because it is way too far from most of the stuff you'll want to do.
I'd expect though that you'll end up kind of all over the place, especially for dinners, so it isn't a big deal if you end up in a non-ideal location. It really is pretty easy to get around here.
Ok a few more questions...I think I'm going to try priceline since I read miso's blog and saw the deals she scored. My only concern is that my mom and sister were going to watch my son two nights so we can go out and he goes to bed at 7, so a hotel room with no extra room for him may get tricky.
Dumb question re: the subway: Would it be too hard to bring an umbrella stroller on with me? Are the subways too crowded for that?
Too crowded -- generally no, but it depends on the line and the time of day. For instance, the 6 train is a disaster during rush hour, so you *would* have a problem getting a stroller on at that hour. I'd often have to wait for several trains to go by before I would fit in, without a stroller. But I'm often one of 3 people in the car when I commute to work now (on another line).
I would consider whether you're able to walk up/down several flights of stairs with the stroller. Not all that many subway stations have elevators or escalators, and some lines are a few stories underground.