Stay in Manhattan or not?

My wife and I are taking our 11 and 9 year old kids to NYC this summer and I would like to request recommendations on where to stay in terms of location vs budget. I would imagine that staying in Manhattan is better as all the attractions are closer and we would need to spend less time commuting. However, from what I have seen, staying off Manhattan (Brooklyn or Queens) can be less expensive but the time commuting is probably longer, correct?

In other words, would you say it is worth the extra $$$ to try and stay closer to the attractions or should we go with a less expensive option and take the extra time commuting?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Stay in Manhattan or not?

Hi

I think with so many deals on travel zoo and such and espeially with kid%26#39;s it%26#39;s definatley worth staying in Manhattan. Please give us your dates and we can help, you find something or give our opinion if you like.

The Affinia group of hotels are very popular

Radio city apts if you can get in there is good.

Best western seaport inn is good

Stay in Manhattan or not?

Here is the link

http://hotels.travelzoo.com/new-york-hotels/

My husband and I took our daughter to NYC when she was 11 years old two years ago. We stayed at a bed and breakfast on the Upper West Side. The UWS is a great neighborhood. Since hotel prices are much cheaper than two years ago, I would definitely stay in a Manhattan hotel. My husband and I are returning this summer and are staying at the Affinia Manhattan which is close to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. We actually got a great price through their own website. There is a great price for the Affinia Manhattan through the www.travelzoo.com right now.

Thanks for your replies!

I checked the travelzoo site but unfortunately the Affinia deal is not available on our travel dates. I did see the Holiday Inn Manhattan 6th Avenue as a possible option, any word on that one?

We will be there between August 8th and 13th.

Thanks again for any other suggestions.

There is no better deal than the Embassy Suites for $159/night plus tax which includes full cooked breakfast. These are all suites with separate bedroom and living room. It does require prepayment when you book and is not cancelable, but if you%26#39;re sure you%26#39;re coming, that%26#39;s not a big issue.

If you want to pay less, yes the Holiday Inn is a decent option. Even cheaper is the Salisbury hotel on quikbook.com

for $126/night plus tax for a double double. It%26#39;s an older hotel with dated furniture but the location is excellent near Central Park.

Bottom line, the recession and the fact that rates are lower in summer anyway makes staying in Manhattan much more affordable than it has been and much more convenient.

I%26#39;m planning my third trip to New York and after looking at various websites (though I%26#39;ll probably use Expedia as they do the best packages from the UK) I%26#39;m seriously considering Long Island City and the part of Queens nearest Manhatten. Not sure whether I%26#39;ll go budget or middle range, but if I were to opt for budget I%26#39;d seriously consider Days Inn Long Island City, Howard Johnson Express Inn (Queens) or, slightly more, The Pan American Hotel (Queens). While the areas do not have the charm of some of Manhattan, the subway or bus gets you into the heart of things in twenty minutes. Even if I stayed in Manhattan it would take me that long to go from one part to another.

The fact is that despite my painstaking research I haven%26#39;t found anything in Manhattan that comes close in price (or size of rooms) to the ones I%26#39;ve mentioned above. The gulf really is quite big, around $300-400 for the six nights I intend to stay. Even the ones on Manhattan with shared bathrooms (such as Hotel 17) are much more expensive.

I%26#39;d probably be more determined to stay in Manhattan whatever the price if I hadn%26#39;t stayed there twice before, but I%26#39;m inclined to try something a little different and save some money at the same time!

Based on your location, I assume you will be flying to NYC. Have you tried pricing flight and hotel combos? I used priceline for our trip, and our hotel part averaged out at $115 per night. We got the Affinia Dumont which has full kitchens in each room, a big plus when traveling with kids. There were three or so other Manhattan options at this same price point over the course of the couple months that I was checking pricing.

I have only stayed in Manhattan while traveling to NYC. But I once took a group of 11 and 12 year old Girl Scouts to Chicago and we stayed by the airport. It took us anywhere from 45 min to an hour and a half to gt to where we needed to be each morning. It was just too much for the girls. We ended up having to cut things out of our trip because of the commute time. When I went back the following year with my own kids, we stayed right in the middle of the action. We were able to return to the hotel in the afternoons if the kids needed a rest. It made a world of difference.

I%26#39;ve just checked the Affinia Manhattan for the times I have in mind (30 Sept-6th Oct). The total package price from London (hotel and flight) is 拢1127 after the special discount. The ones in Long Island City referred to above are between 拢700 and 拢720. The flights are the same so the difference has to be in the hotel price. That%26#39;s a difference of more than 拢400, or over $600. Admittedly the Affinia is probably a better hotel, but that%26#39;s still a big difference for a budget traveller. BTW, I used the Expedia to make the comparison, as that%26#39;s the best deal according to comparison websites.

There is definitely an arguement to be made for staying in Manhattan. However Brooklyn and Queens ARE less expensive. Be aware that the sites a tourist wants to see are NOT in the same place. You can stay at a Queens hotel and be closer to some Manhattan sites than you would had you stayed in a hotel on the Upper West Side.

Thanks again for your replies. From your comments, I guess it is best to stay in Manhattan as long as it is in a location more or less close to the action.

I checked out the Embassy suites on Expedia but I get a much higher rate for my travel dates. As the Affinia is not offering deals on those dates either, it seems like the Holiday Inn 6th Ave might be a good option as it seems to be well located. The other attractive rate I saw on travelzoo was for the Bentley Hotel. Any word on that?

Thanks!

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