NYC Hotel--Times Sq or Park View

sallyawp
Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:03:14 +0000

Fortunately, there are some real hotel gems in all different locations in the City (Times Square – I love the Michelangelo, which is quite quiet and lovely). I think that choosing where to stay should be dependent more on what type of neighborhood someone is looking to step out onto and where that visitor wants to be most of the time. The great news is that most parts of Manhattan will be easily accessible from any other part by taxi, subway or bus.

Certain areas, such as Midtown East, where many hotels are located, don’t have as many quick places to eat (delis and the like), so I tend not to recommend those areas to friends coming to NYC. Other areas, such as the far west and far east sides, are not as accessible to public transportation, so I tend to discount those areas as well. Central Park South might be a nice, centrally located area to stay in – fairly easy to get taxis and a walk of only a few blocks over to Columbus Circle to catch the Seventh Avenue subway line. I would be happy to provide some more specific recommendations if the OP would give some more detail on what his/her guests are looking for in NYC.

One last thing, a previous poster recommended Isabela’s (a restaurant) on the Upper West Side. I would strongly disagree with this recommendation. As a longtime UWS resident, I will tell you that all of the locals that I know do not eat there – way too many tales of hairs and various had-been-alive insects in food to count over the years (and I, unfortunately, have had two bad personal experiences there as well – thought the first was a fluke, went back and had it happen all over again).