<p>Taking my soon to be 11 yo D there for her birthday the first weekend in Feb. I will be driving to NYC but will leave my car in a garage for the weekend. I would prefer something close the Gershwin theatre and/or Times Square so I can limit the use of taxis, but clean and safe is paramount. Not looking for luxury though. Don’t mind walking during the day, but leary of walking with my D at night in a city I am unfamilar with. I spend a lot of time in Boston, but Boston is not NYC. Last time we were in NYC we stayed on upper west side near where they blow up the ballons for the Thanksgiving parade, but that is further away from the Gershwin than I would like to be. I would appreciate any suggestions my fellow CC’ers have.</p>
<p>We go to NYC a fair bit. Here’s the way I do it. I go to [the site that Capt. Kirk advertises - never know what CC will censor] - you can search by neighborhoods - choose “Midtown West.” Take a look at what’s available for that weekend, and then go to Tripadvisor.com and read the reviews. You can filter so you see reviews by people who travelled as a family with children. This is somewhat time consuming, but if you are picky like me, it’s worth it. A few other thoughts: if you have a discount you can use (AAA, AARP, etc.), book directly with the hotel’s website, and if you’re willing to use public transit in NYC (and you should - no need to take taxis everywhere) then you may want to extend your search to Midtown East and the west side south of midtown. Oh, and given how high the bus and subway fares have gone up, it may indeed make economic sense to take a cab a short distance. On the other hand, in midtown at least the subway will almost be faster during peak traffic periods, especially if you’re going more than, say, 10 blocks. </p>
<p>Please PM me if you need more info.</p>
<p>OneToughMommy - Thanks. We use trip adviser a lot so I will look there. We have taken the subway in NYC before so I am familar with it, I guess I just need to figure out where we are staying and then look at logistics.</p>
<p>The first year that Wicked came out, we stayed at Novotel. It’s on 52nd St. The Gershwin is on 51st. Both are between 7th and 8th Av. We enjoyed our stay there. Actually, one side of the hotel is right on Broadway, and the lounge on an upper floor had a great view of Times Square.</p>
<p>On a recent trip, we checked Novotel’s prices, and they weren’t as good of a deal. So used The Milburn. It’s up in the 70s, but close to the subway. Good rates at that time.</p>
<p>The Sheraton in Times Square is very nice. Of course in midtown you will never have more than a very small room, but the lounge, lobby and service was excellent. Visit nycvp.com for great weekend deals (if CC doesn’t edit) Sheraton is in an excellent location.</p>
<p>One o fmy D’s favorites is the Room Mate Grace. It is a small, funky European-style hotel right off Times Sqaure - very reasonably priced and with very nice staff. It has a pool and a complimentary continental breakfast. The rooms are small but very well designed and we loved staying there. The Tablet Hotels website has lots of the boutique hotels. We have also stayed at the Doubletree, Sheraton, Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and New Yorker and all would fit your bill. Have a great time!!</p>
<p>We stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square North hotel, two weeks ago. It got good TripAdviser reviews, and our room cost under $200/night. It’s on 8th Ave and 51st. Free breakfast, too.</p>
<p>There are several new hotels on W 35th between 5th & 6th (Hilton Garden, Fairfield and a non-chain) that could be nice if the prices are good. (I don’t know anything about them, except I walk by them every day en route from Penn Station to my office near Grand Central).</p>
<p>I arranged a family reunion several years ago at the Casablanca in Times Square. It was a nice small hotel with an amazing breakfast buffet. The street level ‘lobby’ is small, but there is a great lounge/open space on the second floor.</p>
<p>check for bedbugs no matter what you paid</p>
<p>^^^Yikes, really?? I know I have read about bedbugs in the news the past year, but is it that big a problem? Of course, now I will be checking before we unpack anything. My D went to NYC for the weekend with a friend a few months back and her friends Mother refused to stay in the city fearing bedbugs.</p>
<p>I’d second the recommendation for Room-Mate Grace–it’s funky and fun. Also have stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in Times Square, Marriott Marquis, Doubletree Times Square, and The Muse–all are good bets. Nothing in NYC is cheap, but I made reservations through hotels.com and got a slightly reduced rate for all of the places above except for the Marriott hotels–we cashed in Marriott rewards club points to pay for the room.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about walking around in Times Square and theatre district. It is well traveled and patrolled. We stay at the Marriott Marquis with my points and walk everywhere with no problems. there is always a crowd out walking.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Comfort Inn Theatre District on 44th between 8 and 9. In August the AAA weekend rate was $200/night for two double beds. Check the Comfort Inn and/or Choice Hotel website for discounts and promotions. They always seem to have some kind of special going.</p>
<p>The London is very close to Times Square. Rooms are often offered at a good price (it isn’t cheap, however), and the hotel provides both a bedroom and a sitting room with a double door between. A cot for your son can be placed in the sitting area, and he can have his own space with his own television. Nice brunch downstairs as well. Stayed there recently, even after reading about it on one of the bed bug report sites. I think there was only one nice hotel I considered which was not mentioned, but I chose one which had previously been reported. It was a Garp move that paid off. I wasn’t bitten, so they apparently have the problem under control. </p>
<p>Do check every room in any hotel for bed bug presence, but know that all the five star hotels have had their infestations as well. Even retail spots have had problems. Most important is that you take proper precaution upon reentry to your own abode. There are web sites which list techniques to protect yourself. I practically had everyone strip naked outside, with every single item being “baked” briefly in a super hot clothes dryer before being allowed inside. This is a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea. </p>
<p>Even when the crawlers are nowhere to be found, the eggs can still survive. Only high heat will do the trick. No one wants bed bugs in their home. Avoid this with all you’ve got. Never experienced it myself, but I read horror stories online.</p>
<p>Booked Room Mate Grace. It got lots of great reviews and D said she loved the way the hotel looked on the web site. We got the room for $151 per night (plus tax/fees), 2 beds and funky looking room. </p>
<p>Thanks for the recs everyone. I will come back and review after our trip.</p>
<p>Just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. We did stay at the Room Mate Grace. Nice funky little hotel. Small rooms, but comfortable and the best shower! We had a standard room for $159 + taxes per night. Our room had two twin beds, a small table with one chair. Bathroom setup is a little different. Shower is separated from the sleeping area only by the shower curtian. There was no place to hang a towel or clean clothes. Not for those who are modest. Contenental breakfast was an additional $10pp. My D did not like the offerings, but they had plenty of food and a good variety. Coffee was good. D was dying to swim in the pool which is right off the lobby. Pool had a wet bar and they had a DJ which I thought was interesting. First night we were there there were 3 young women in the pool realxing with drinks. On Sat when we got back from seeing Wicked D told me she would like to go for a swim. As we walked by the pool on the way to the elevators, D exclaims “it looks like Jersey Shore!” I had never seen Jersey Shore and didn’t know she had either. (guess I need to monitor what she is watching on tv) I look over and the pool was filled with 20 somethings in bikinis and bathing suits, music was blaring and a good time seemed to be hed by all. D then decided she did not want to go for a swim. Our floor was loud that night, someone was having a party. Although they were loud, they weren’t obnoxious so I did not call and complain (hey I was 20 something once too). Hotel is 1/2 block off Times Square, nice location. Good value and I would stay there again.</p>
<p>Thanks for the review!</p>
<p>Sooooo, did your daughter enjoy Wicked? I saw it with the original cast. I would imagine a girl her age would like it a lot. The young actor currently playing Boq in the Broadway cast has been one of my daughter’s close friends for years. Sounds like a really fun mother daughter trip.</p>
<p>^ we both loved Wicked. Even if you didn’t like the acting, the storyline was interesting enough. But, the acting (and singing) was great. The man playing Boq was great! Will we get to see your D on stage sometime in the future? </p>
<p>I went into Wicked blind. D told me it was the backstory to the Wizard of Oz and I have heard the soundtrack a million times (at least) at home but the story had a nice twist. It was a great, but expensive (D has lots of new clothes) weekend. We took Amtrack down which was also nice. I actually got to sit for 4 hours and read on my Kindle. D got bored but she would have been bored if we drove too.</p>
<p>It sounds like you both had fun and your D surely got treated well by her mama! Glad you liked my D’s friend as Boq. He is a talented young man. </p>
<p>As far as my own D, I haven’t chosen to post on this forum information as to her own performances. She performs weekly in NYC in one show. But her biggest thing coming up, for which she is now in rehearsals, is her own original musical which is getting produced in NYC. She wrote/composed the libretto, music, and lyrics and she is also playing one of the leads in it. I just don’t want to post the details because, for example, it hit the theater press this week and she’d be identifiable. So, I prefer to share that kind of thing off the forum. Thank you for taking an interest. I’ll be going to NYC myself in a few weeks for the opening of her musical, and will see two Broadway shows too.</p>