Wife, DIL and I are surprising my son for his 40th with a long weekend trip to NYC. Hotel recommendations are welcome. Thanks

I like the Intercontinental Barclay for its convenient Midtown location but also because it's the kind of place I think of when I think of Manhattan.

The Lexington across the street from the Barclay is another good hotel and the Roger Smith just down the street is a nice, smaller hotel.

Park Lane.

We stayed at the Omni Berkshire Place last December. Fantastic location(near Rockefeller Center and St Patrick's), nice room, and I got a great deal through my Visa cc. By far the nicest option for the price at the time I booked.

I second the Park Lane Hotel. Great location on Central Park south, great views and nice afternoon reception every day. Also has a nice bar.

Exciting! For hotels, consider options like The Langham, The Greenwich Hotel, or The NoMad Hotel for luxury. Pod Times Square offers budget-friendly comfort. The High Line Hotel boasts charm. Each caters to different preferences, ensuring a memorable stay. Enjoy the celebration!

Essex House is my favorite. My go to when we need several rooms is The Lexington. Both are great hotels, Essex House is just more high end, rooms are bigger, etc.

it greatly depends what you want to see and do in regards to where your hotel is. With that said we stayed at the Warwick last summer and thought the location was fantastic. Also when we booked price was around $200 a night and the room was very large for NY standards. two block from central park, a block or so from time square, block from 5th ave. For us it was good.

Thanks for the input everyone!

As others have mentioned, it really depends on what you plan to see and do but allow me to recommend Park Central Hotel. The location is fantastic. It's on 7th Ave about a block and a half south of Central Park, diagonally across the street from Carnegie Hall. And it's a short walk to the theater district and Times Square but you're far enough North where you're not in Times Square.

Another vote for the Park Central.

Many in this thread have made good midtown recommendations but if youre going to do even a couple meals or activities outside of midtown i would highly recommend staying further downtown. Better bang for the buck, and a more overall enjoyable NY experience in my opinion. Here are places I have stayed and enjoyed:

The Beekman - can be booked with Chase/Hyatt points, sometimes a very good deal. Not sure what cash rates are. Cool vibe and nice bar and restaurant in the lobby. Otherwise just a normal high end corporate hotel

Bowery Hotel - very cool lobby bar area. Small but charming rooms. Very cool location.

Sonder - this is an aparthotel service that does short term stays. I have stayed at both downtown locations and liked both. Great subway access to Midtown and BK if youre gonna go that way at all.

Mint House at 70 Pine - another good FiDi location, aparthotel. Michelin starred restaurant in the lobby of an art deco high rise

Casa Cipriani - very expensive but super cool. Gets you access to the private members only club space. Great food, drinks, and service. Location is maybe a bit too far south but you still have good subway access.

I get why so many people stay in midtown, but to me the main attraction is proximity to broadway shows and being close to central park. Be honest with yourself - how many broadway shows are you going to and how many times are you going to walk around central park? Its no problem to take the train up there and spend the rest of the time enjoying the incredible bars, restaurants, shopping destinations, and activities (WTC, wall street, nightlife in the WV or EV, etc etc) of the lower part of manhattan. However, I go multiple times per year so my perspective is pretty skewed. Times square is not a draw for me, nor is top of the rock or the other midtown tourist stuff. What is a draw is having a great dinner, then a cocktail or 5, then taking a nice walk back to a cool hotel among new yorkers rather than tourists.

If you want other recommendations for stuff to do dont hesitate to ask, there are many knowledgeable people on this board.

We just got back and loved the Residence Inn Manhattan/Central Park. Great location and has a great free breakfast. Rooms were super clean and quiet.

There are several recommendations for the Park Central Hotel. So I looked at the reviews and they were not that great. Am I missing anything - looks like location is great.

Trying to find something "reasonable".

TIA and gig 'em!!

My visit was pre-Covid, so things might have changed

This is how you do nyc

Would love some lower Manhattan recommendations (restaurants, bars, shopping, entertainment). I go several times a year. And I do actually see 2-3 broadway shows per trip lol. But I'm feeling a little uninspired with Midtown in general.

To echo Garland above, get out of midtown (even if you end up staying there) to actually experience NYC. The neighborhoods where people actually live are by far more interesting then where people work.

aglaohfour said:

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Would love some lower Manhattan recommendations (restaurants, bars, shopping, entertainment). I go several times a year. And I do actually see 2-3 broadway shows per trip lol. But I'm feeling a little uninspired with Midtown in general.

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Sure, here are some favorites:

Crown Shy - Michelin starred restaurant in a very cool art deco building. Former Eleven Madison Park chefs (before they went plant based). They got their first star in 2019 I believe and though I've only been once post-COVID, I think and hope they are still destined for greatness

Asi Wind's Inner Circle - really awesome close up magic show right by Washington Square Park. You can buy tickets to sit at the table with Asi, and it is a very interactive show. Totally blew my mind, runs a tight 75 minutes, and is an intimate venue with no bad seats.

Shopping in Soho is interesting. There are of course tons of all the brands you heard of, including some flagship storefronts for brands that are mostly online, which I like because you can actually try stuff on before you buy online, but also lots of interesting boutiques. It's also just great people watching.

L'Artusi - great Italian restaurant that you have probably been recommended before. Can be difficult to get a table for dinner, but not as bad as Via Carota and I think the food is as good or better. Get the olive oil cake

Bowery Hotel Lounge - even if you aren't staying there, the lounge in the ground floor of the Bowery is super cool, especially when it's cold outside. Great people watching and drinks. It's also first come first served so depending on your timing you can end up with a great table or be stuck waiting a while.

Llama San - if you want to eat something totally different, check out Llama San. It is a Peruvian Japanese restaurant. This is a cuisine called Nikkei and arose due to a wave of Japanese Immigrants to Peru. Really interesting and delicious. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkei_cuisine)

John's of Bleecker Street - Yes, it has a ton of hype, but yes, it's that good. Get there just before it opens and you probably won't have to wait. Worst case scenario, order online to-go and walk over to Washington Square Park and eat it. Whole pies only, but trust me you'll be glad.

Comedy Cellar/MacDougal Street - if you want to feel like you're in your 20's again, MacDougal St can be pretty fun. We have gone and signed up to be on the list for Comedy Cellar, then bar hopped for a bit before standing in line to get into the show and had it work out. It is a bit of a commitment, but Comedy Cellar is Legendary

Question Party - Pub trivia turned into a party. https://www.besmartandparty.com/dates or Not Your Standard Bingo - https://www.standardhotels.com/culture/not-your-standard-bingo-the-biergarten

I've got plenty more if that doesn't strike your fancy. I have a saved Google Map for Favorites, Cocktail Bars, and Dive bars - if you want me to share them with ya just shoot me a PM.

That's an awesome list, thank you! I'm going in a couple weeks and will definitely check some of these out. I think I might stay at the Bowery. I always do Marriott properties, but it looks like it would make a nice change.

aglaohfour said:

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That's an awesome list, thank you! I'm going in a couple weeks and will definitely check some of these out. I think I might stay at the Bowery. I always do Marriott properties, but it looks like it would make a nice change.

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No prob. If you stay there, check out the John Varvatos store just down the block - it's the space that used to be CBGB which was ground zero for the NY punk rock scene: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBGB

For food, I really like Frank around the corner. Italian food, cash only.

Please Don't Tell (aka PDT) and Attaboy are nearby cocktail bars that are both good too. PDT you enter via a phonebooth in a hot dog shop, kind of a fun gimmick.

Tons of other good bars and restaurants in the area. Its the East Village though so you can sometimes find yourself surrounded by 23 year olds.

GarlandAg2012 said:

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aglaohfour said:

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Would love some lower Manhattan recommendations (restaurants, bars, shopping, entertainment). I go several times a year. And I do actually see 2-3 broadway shows per trip lol. But I'm feeling a little uninspired with Midtown in general.

---

Sure, here are some favorites:

Crown Shy - Michelin starred restaurant in a very cool art deco building. Former Eleven Madison Park chefs (before they went plant based). They got their first star in 2019 I believe and though I've only been once post-COVID, I think and hope they are still destined for greatness

Asi Wind's Inner Circle - really awesome close up magic show right by Washington Square Park. You can buy tickets to sit at the table with Asi, and it is a very interactive show. Totally blew my mind, runs a tight 75 minutes, and is an intimate venue with no bad seats.

Shopping in Soho is interesting. There are of course tons of all the brands you heard of, including some flagship storefronts for brands that are mostly online, which I like because you can actually try stuff on before you buy online, but also lots of interesting boutiques. It's also just great people watching.

L'Artusi - great Italian restaurant that you have probably been recommended before. Can be difficult to get a table for dinner, but not as bad as Via Carota and I think the food is as good or better. Get the olive oil cake

Bowery Hotel Lounge - even if you aren't staying there, the lounge in the ground floor of the Bowery is super cool, especially when it's cold outside. Great people watching and drinks. It's also first come first served so depending on your timing you can end up with a great table or be stuck waiting a while.

Llama San - if you want to eat something totally different, check out Llama San. It is a Peruvian Japanese restaurant. This is a cuisine called Nikkei and arose due to a wave of Japanese Immigrants to Peru. Really interesting and delicious. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkei_cuisine)

John's of Bleecker Street - Yes, it has a ton of hype, but yes, it's that good. Get there just before it opens and you probably won't have to wait. Worst case scenario, order online to-go and walk over to Washington Square Park and eat it. Whole pies only, but trust me you'll be glad.

Comedy Cellar/MacDougal Street - if you want to feel like you're in your 20's again, MacDougal St can be pretty fun. We have gone and signed up to be on the list for Comedy Cellar, then bar hopped for a bit before standing in line to get into the show and had it work out. It is a bit of a commitment, but Comedy Cellar is Legendary

Question Party - Pub trivia turned into a party. https://www.besmartandparty.com/dates or Not Your Standard Bingo - https://www.standardhotels.com/culture/not-your-standard-bingo-the-biergarten

I've got plenty more if that doesn't strike your fancy. I have a saved Google Map for Favorites, Cocktail Bars, and Dive bars - if you want me to share them with ya just shoot me a PM.

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Excellent recommendations for Soho area. My office is at 6th and Spring. I'll probably go back in a few months. A few places I need to try. One thing to add if you like pastry, try Dominque Ansel cronuts.

Some other places I like in that general area:
Sugarfish- sushi (not Sugarwood...Google it for a laugh)
Jacks Wife Freda - American casual, good bar
Emily West Village- deep dish pizza and other stuff
Bubby's - diner, home cooking
Chama mama - Georgian food in Chelsea
Pinch Chinese- dumplings

Here are the hotel names from the categories mentioned:

Luxury Hotels:
The St. Regis New York
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown

Mid-Range Hotels:
Arlo SoHo
The Roosevelt Hotel
Courtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan/Chelsea

Budget-Friendly Hotels:
Pod 51 Hotel
HI NYC Hostel
Hotel 31