Mother and Older Teen in NYC late August @ NY Palace Hotel

To celebrate before my son leaves for university, we are doing a mom and son trip to NYC in the last week of August. I%26#39;d like to spend up to $400 per night on hotels for a safe, quiet and clean experience. He seems to want to stay at the New York Palace Hotel based on Trip Advisor reviews. Is that a good choice? Is it central enough? Will be be placed in an OK room for that price? Is it too stuffy?

Mother and Older Teen in NYC late August @ NY Palace Hotel

I have to give credit to the marketing genius who decided to allow the TV show Gossip Girl to use the Palace. What was a staid, upper crust, stuffy place has become a popular hotel with teens and young adults because of the show. It%26#39;s extremely central and you should be able to get a room for much less than $400 if you shop around online. I%26#39;d check

expedia.com

quikbook.com

tablethotels.com

whatahotel.com

The public spaces of the hotel are very ornate as this was historic apartments. They built a glass tower over it for the guest rooms. Whether you%26#39;ll think it%26#39;s stuffy I don%26#39;t know but it is a lovely fancy hotel.

August in general and especially the last week has usually been a quiet time in NYC in the past and there are normally great hotel deals. There are loads of other hotels that one would assume would be preferred by a teen son--either in or closer to Times Square or a trendier place or a trendier location. But if that%26#39;s where he wants to stay and you don%26#39;t mind the price, it%26#39;s very nice.

Mother and Older Teen in NYC late August @ NY Palace Hotel

what would you say are the trendier hotels for teens?

I have never used any on-line sites to book hotels although the prices do seem tempting. How do you know that you won%26#39;t be put in the old unrenovated rooms in the less than desirable locations of a hotel?

we booked with expedia and have found that the hotel are happy to consider with any request we have asked of them, such as high floor, view etc.

Do you book first on-line and then call them with your request?

we booked with expedia in January and then have just e mailed them they have responded within about 12 hours - I guess we will see when we go whether they have indeed noted our requests!

While I have no personal knowledge of the whatahotel site, the other websites I mentioned are all well known and reliable. Some people try to get the hotel to match the price they see elsewhere by phoning them and sometimes that works--sometimes they get a better rate still and sometimes they refuse to match the price. To my knowledge at a hotel like the Palace, there aren%26#39;t unrenovated rooms.

Most teens like Times Square or would consider Soho, the meatpacking district, the lower east side, Tribeca, trendier more interesting locations. That said, many of the trendier hotels are designed more for couples and may not have rooms with 2 beds. If you want to check options:

%26gt;W Union Square is a trendy hotel in a young area on the edge of Chelsea and the village

%26gt;the Gansevoort is in the meatpacking district and has a rooftop dipping pool

%26gt;the Standard is a brand new hotel in a cool area. (not sure about rooms with 2 beds).

%26gt;Bryant Park is in midtown closer to Times Square and considered trendy

%26gt;Thompson lower east side, the Bowery hotel and Hotel on Rivington are all on the lower east side (LES) with lots of young shops and restaurants.

hipguide.com

lists what they consider trendy hotels.

thanks for the comprehensive and informative reply! i%26#39;ll look them up

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