help with choosing right hotel for family

My husband and I will be taking our 12 and 13 year old daughters for a visit to New York in mid June. We plan on hitting the typical tourist destinations including Statue of Liberty, Natural History Museum and a matinee of Wicked. I have ';narrowed'; our choices down to the following

- doubletree times square $2289

- san carlos hotel $2289

- residence inn times square $2279

- hotel metro $2266

- affinia manhattan $2197

- affinia dumont $2153

- courtyard manhattan midtown east $1791

all of our options include a king bed and sofabed. The first 4 include daily breakfast. We would like a nice, clean and centrally located hotel. Any help would be appreciated.

Rox

help with choosing right hotel for family

I would eliminate the Affinia Manhattan b/c of location and the fact that there are options that are cheaper in better locations.

The Doubletree TS is all 1 bedroom suites so I know you will get 2 separate rooms there. The San Carlos and the 2 Affinias also have SOME 1 bedroom suites but also some studios. Do you know which those prices represent?

What%26#39;s important to you?

Do you care about a kitchen?

Do you care about some privacy (and prob. 2 tvs) Would you prefer if the girls got a proper bed vs. the sofabed?

Do you like the idea of b/f at the hotel or would you prefer going some place different each day?

I don%26#39;t think any of the b/fs are hot (except maybe the Metro).

There are rooms at the Courtyard MTE that have 2 queen beds and a sofabed. There%26#39;s a suite at the Metro that has a king bed in one room and 2 twin beds in the other room. Is that what the price you%26#39;ve quoted is for?

All the sights you%26#39;ve listed are in different areas so any hotel you chose will require some traveling.

help with choosing right hotel for family

Thanks nywhiz! I knew I could count on your insight. The quote at Hotel Metro is for the 2 room suite. The Dumont is for 1 room with king and sofabed while the Manhattan is for the 1 bedroom suite. The breakfast is not a really big draw for us since it is usually available pretty cheaply. While I like the idea of having 2 seperate rooms, the difference between those 2 room hotels and the Courtyard is enough to cover our Wicked tickets! Is the Courtyard in a good location? It is ranked #10 on tripadvisor so I am assuming it is a nice place. I hate to even ask but is there anything else I should check into that offers a king and sofabed or reasonable suites?

Thanks

Rox

Hi!

A few years ago, when we were a family of four, we stayed at the Residence Inn Times Sq and enjoyed it. However, the sofa bed there was not average size--it was sort of between a twin and full bed and would not sleep two older children(ours were 2 and 7 then). The hotel usually only allows 3 ppl per room but let us have 4 since the girls were so young. We recently looked again for friends, and the same policy is in effect--3 people max per room. A call to the hotel elicited this info: so many people complained about the size of the sofa bed that now they are strict on the 3 max rule.

Hope tis helps eliminate this one from your list.

Hope you have a great trip!

Tessie

tessie

Thanks so much for your input. I also questioned this when I saw on their website that these rooms accommodated a max of 3 ppl. So, I called the hotel directly and told them I was traveling with 2 adults and 12 and 13 yr old daughters. The lady I spoke to told me 2 adults and 2 children were allowed and the sofabed would accomodate the girls. I am glad to know first hand from you that it is probably not large enough. Thanks for your time. Thankfully, my list is getting smaller.

Rox

Tessie%26#39;s right, so one less on the list ;). For me, the sofabed would be the biggest issue. The Courtyard MTE is very near the San Carlos and I think a good location although not near Times Square (nearish Bloomingdales). That Courtyard has some rooms with 2 queen beds and a sofabed and if you could get one of those for about the same price, I%26#39;d jump at that. I really think the sofabeds in general are not very comfortable. The Affinia Dumont has some studio suites with 2 queen beds (rather than sofabed) and I%26#39;d check that.

As far as other places to check, there are dozens of hotels with rooms with 2 double beds but I gather that doesn%26#39;t appeal to you? The Excelsior on the upper west side directly across from the Mus. of Nat. Hist. should have some rooms with a king and sofabed or something similar.

I%26#39;d say of the list that%26#39;s left, the best values are:

%26gt;the Doubletree Times Square - 2 separate rooms, b/f, good location

%26gt;Metro-real beds for everyone and full b/f I think

%26gt;Courtyard MTE least expensive and nice hotel

So what%26#39;s the nearest hotel to Times Square with a suite that can sleep 5. Ideally a room with a separate sleep area. It sounds like DoubleTree. Though I really don%26#39;t want spend a ton of $ either. Another option is we are ok to be near a safe subway station to get us out to a more inexpensive part of town.

';what%26#39;s the nearest hotel to Times Square with a suite that can sleep 5';

Doubletree Times Square

Radio city but you%26#39;d need a 2 bedroom for 5 I think

Salisbury %26amp; Buckingham not too far

Affinia Manhattan also not too far

Okay I am still not 100% sure I am making the right choice but I am going to make the reservations at the Doubletree Times Square. I will probably spend the next 3 months doing more research and planning and driving my husband crazy trying to plan the perfect trip. Thanks for all of your help.

Roxanne

Glad to have helped about the Residence Inn. Another idea for you would be the Blakely Hotel, a boutique hotel. We stayed there as well with our children and thought it was just wonderful. Big beautiful rooms. Great location. Prices are dramatically higher than when we went in 2006--we had a two room suite for $285(!!)--but it seems prices have skyrocketed all over town. Anyway, it is one to check out. They have a two bedded room for about $350 on the random June dates I entered. Not sure how many nights your prices were for so don%26#39;t know if this is in the right price range. We did love it though and do plan to stay there again one day as the two room suite has a sofa/daybed rather than the traditional sofa bed and we now have a third daughter.

Good luck with your planning; I know choosing a hotel is the most time consuming and stressful part. NyWhiz helped me tremendously and I am sure can do the same for you!

Tessie

Tessie - yes, The Blakely looks like a lovely hotel. Unfotunately, the 1 bedroom is about $400 higher than the Doubletree. I am eternally grateful to you and NYWIZ for your advice and expetise.

Rox