where is the best place to stay in New York first time?

[Vickie46]

I would love some advice. My daughter is wanting to visit NY. Which hotel is the best to stay at and which airport is best to fly into. I would also like to know how many nights should we stay? I don't have a clue about NY. Anyone have a good website to look at?

 

[WDWNY]

I'm from NYC so I'm not sure about hotel recommendations. For the airport, I say JFK or LGA. JFK you can take the air train to the subway if you want to save money. I recommend looking into the New York Pass, City Pass or Explorer Pass (I believe there are a couple of other ones I just can't think of at the moment). You buy it for a certain amount of days and you get into a bunch of tourist attractions for free with it. If you use it well, you can save lots of money using it.

For food, I recommend New_fork_city on instagram for suggestions. Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

We live near NYC so don't use hotels much. But those that have recommend the Doubletree in Times Square and the Marriott Downtown near Ground Zero. If I were you, I'd go with Doubletree or other midtown hotels since most of the touristy stuff is in that area.

How old is your daughter?

 

[DeezKnee]

I recently stayed at Doubletree and I thought it was great. And for the price it is really worth it. I will say though I don't have much experience with New York City but how many nights you want to stay depends on the stuff you guys want to do.

 

[Lvsdisney]

Flying into Newark and taking the train into Penn Station is easy too.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Newark airport is much easier to navigate but taking the train from JFK is also easy. Once you arrive at the terminal there are many hotels within easy walking distance. Avoid laGuardia.

The Times Square area is great with easy access to theater, the subway and tons of restaurants. Don't be afraid of the subway. It's relatively clean and safe. And you can get everywhere.

My favorite museums are the metropolitan...the subway goes right to it..,and the Frick, just a couple blocks away. The Guggenheim is also very cool.

NY is made for walking. Don't try to get too much in. Stroll around, watch people, take a buggy ride thru Central Park, see the Statue of Liberty, take a boat ride around the island

We live in Chicago but love ny for short visits.

 

[kydisneyfans]

You could spend a few days to a few months in NYC and not see everything.

We have stayed at the Hilton Times Square multiple times-great location. We have also stayed at the Crowne Plaza Times Square and loved it as well.

We have flown into Newark and either taken the Express bus or train to Penn Station. It's pretty easy either way, although I would definitely take the train during rush hours.

Museums, broadway shows, shopping, the WTC site, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, TV shows....it's all there.

 

[antmaril]

We fly into LaGuardia. I like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. The location is fantastic.

Have fun!

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Which hotel is the best to stay

The Plaza or the Waldorf

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I also recommend staying in the Times Square area, even though it is an absolute zoo. It is a great, central location. Get a good guide book or visit a travel website, such as TripAdvisor.

 

[ICF]

We fly into LaGuardia. I like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. The location is fantastic.

Have fun!

How do you recommend getting from LaGuardia to the times sq hotel?

 

[DisneyMandC]

We live near NYC so don't use hotels much. But those that have recommend the Doubletree in Times Square and the Marriott Downtown near Ground Zero. If I were you, I'd go with Doubletree or other midtown hotels since most of the touristy stuff is in that area.

Can't speak to the Marriott yet, but my husband and I booked a stay there literally this morning haha. We are going in April, so I'm glad to hear good reviews! Very nice review on Travelocity and we got a great price.

 

[disny_luvr]

We love the Hampton Inn Manhattan/Times Square Central located on 41st Street. It's just a block from Times Square and is close to Port Authority and about 10 mins from Penn Station. The hotel appears to be recently renovated with gorgeous rooms. The rates are very reasonable for the location.

 

[antmaril]

How do you recommend getting from LaGuardia to the times sq hotel?

I would either take a taxi or arrange for a car service. My friend and I were in NYC in September (the same day as Pope Francis). We knew things were going to be crazy busy, so I arranged for a car service. The two that come highly recommend are Carmel and Dial7.

 

[disfanforlife]

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on 8th avenue which was a short walk to time square. We came in by train to Penn and took subway, so not sure about flying information. Going again in March with a large group and we are all staying at a Marriot. Hoping it won't be too far of a walk for us! We are planning several shows, museums and are staying 3 nights.

 

[WDWNY]

We fly into LaGuardia. I like the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. The location is fantastic.

Have fun!

The elevators are fun there

 

[AZMermaid]

We won a trip to the Macy's parade and stayed in the Westin Times Square. This was a nice central location. We were on like the 18th floor, so the street noise was LOUD! All that honking is real! I'd totally stay there again... but on a higher floor!

We flew into a JFK but had a car service take us to the hotel (well, the sponsor set it up). I believe it was Carmel. Then we took taxis or the subway everywhere.

 

[LuvOrlando]

It depends on how much you want to spend if money isn't an issue I would stay at the Ritz because of its location on Central Park especially this time year because of a horse drawn carriages which are just beautiful Plus it's not too far from Rockefeller Center and fairly easy to get to museums and such. That said, my personal all-time favorite is the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. if you are interested in saving money and it's just you and your daughter I think the whole Pod thing is pretty cool

 

[clori]

We stay at a different hotel each time it seems. Basically we just get whatever sounds good and meets our price needs for the visit. One trip with just dd16 we stayed at the Pod Hotel in a bunkbed room for a night. The bathroom in the hallway was always spotless. It isn't near Times Square but a quick subway ride and the subway is fairly close to the hotel. It is a clean no frills hotel with tiny rooms - as long as you know what your booking it is nice. We have never stayed at the Mariott Marquis but dd wants to stay there. Even if you don't stay there you can go and look around.

Personally I don't like to be right at Times Square when it comes to sleeping. I loved the Hampton Inn Manhattan/Times Square Central. We took a bus from Boston to NY Port Authority and walked to the hotel. Across the street from the hotel is a McDonald's you walk through and out the opposite door and your at Times Square. The hotel had a nice free breakfast and at least my room was quiet for sleeping. Another favorite hotel stay we had was Affinia Manhattan. It is walking distance from Penn Station. I had a 1 bedroom suite since there were 5 of us and it was nice to have 2 full bathrooms, kitchen etc plus free breakfast.

For other people reading we've stayed in NJ twice. I stayed in Secaucus at two different hotels (Embassy Suites, La Quinta) both at a bus stop that goes into Port Authority in 20 minutes. It was nice having a 1 bedroom suite, nice breakfast, and indoor pool. While I wouldn't recommend it for a one time visit it can be cheaper and easier for families of 5. For me those visits were not just NYC visits. We also stayed in Stanford CT once (last minute change due to a blizzard). We visited friends in CT that trip and just did a day long NYC visit (to see family). It can be done but it is a much longer commute and not something I would want to do again.

Since you posted on the budget board - you might want to look at travelzoo.com to see if they have deals, look at a website like hotels.com but if you find a good price compare it with the hotel website with a AAA discount etc. As to how many nights you can fill as many days as you wish. I would recommend 3 nights to give you at least 2 full days but more if you can.

 

[mslhb]

Following. We are planning a long weekend there this summer and I am also looking for hotel recs!