Where to stay in New York?

May 14, 2005 1:50 PM

I am going to NYC with a group of friends for a long weekend this summer. We have narrowed our hotel choices down to two, one near Union Square and one near Central Park. In which area would you recommend staying? I should say we are a bunch of housewives going to celebrate a 40th birthday.
posted by davenportmom to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (19 answers total)

Um, Central Park is gigantic and borders every kind of neighborhood in the city. Where exactly is the second hotel?
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:04 PM on May 14, 2005

Actually, where exactly are both hotels? A lot of places in New York tend to be 'around' interesting neighborhoods, rather than in them.
posted by nyterrant at 2:15 PM on May 14, 2005

More questions for you: is your trip planned out (in which case, you may want to be strategically located near the places you'll be visiting)? (Conversely, you may wish to be located away from your daily destinations, so as to see more areas of the city.) Or are you hoping to wander around and discover little gems? Do you want to be in a bustling or quiet area? Do you want to be around young people, people your age, or does it not matter?
posted by xo at 2:17 PM on May 14, 2005

yeah, but union sq is only two blocks by four blocks or so, whereas central park is literally over 60 blocks long.
posted by mdn at 2:58 PM on May 14, 2005

If you plan on going to a lot of museums and the hotel is on the upper east side, you might be happier there. If you want to spend a lot of time shopping and eating downtown, select the hotel near union square. It's also a subway hub and gives you easy access to the L which runs cross town, so if you plan to travel via subway mostly, you might be happier down there. After all, an express train (4 or 5) from 14th has you at museum mile in five minutes. Sorry for not being less general.
posted by miniape at 3:13 PM on May 14, 2005

Response by poster: Okay the two hotels are at Park and 26th and the other is at 56th and Park. We are leaning toward the 26th street hotel, but every time I have been to NYC I have stayed near Times Square. I don't want to stay around there again. Too touristy and crowded. My fear is, I am in charge of planning this trip and the hotel seems great and Union Square is too cool and lots of stuff we have planned to do is in the LES and Meat-packing, etc., but am I taking us to too 'blah' of an area? Does that make sense? Some of these girls have never been to NYC and I have been just enough times to know to avoid Times Square. I want you to tell me this location is ok, but if it's not, I need to know! Thanks for the help, by the way!
posted by davenportmom at 5:16 PM on May 14, 2005

26th and park is about ten blocks north of Union Square.
posted by mosch at 9:52 PM on May 14, 2005

56th and Park is nicer, I live on 54th!
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 10:39 PM on May 14, 2005

For a tourist, I really recommend taking cabs, and forgetting the subway.
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 10:42 PM on May 14, 2005

The 26th and park one is about the most blah area in manhattan. I work a couple blocks away. At night, it's pretty deserted. But, you're really close to the 6 train and that'll get you downtown fast. And a cab to LES is going to be around 5 bucks, so that's no big deal either. You're also a 10 minute walk from the empire state there, which is cool.

The 56th and Park one will put you right in the middle of the upper class shopping district, so if you're looking to impress someone with that cosmo lifestyle you see in sex and the city, that's the way to go. That's also a pretty short walk to a lot of nice buildings.

Personally, I think if you're planning to hang out downtown, you should probably stay at the 26th one. Besides, that's the old tin pan alley neighborhood. There's a plaque somewhere on 28th st....
posted by lumpenprole at 11:39 PM on May 14, 2005

I'd go with Park and 26th. That's Madison Square, by the way. Lots of good restaurants around there, and it's easy to get downtown and to Chelsea. You have the 6 train and the N/R right there, too.
posted by CunningLinguist at 9:03 AM on May 15, 2005

Ignore Mr. Bucket. Take the subway unless you're in a giant hurry or it's very late. The subway is echt New York in a way that a cab is not.

And I'd stay at 26th. Explain to your friends that Times Square is lame.
posted by dame at 9:29 AM on May 15, 2005

Neither of those hotels is in a particularly interesting area, so I'd say it doesn't really matter which you stay in. The 56th street one is not particularly near times sq. It's rich old lady shopping land. 26th street is slightly less rich and old, but still not really an entertainment / cultural center of any sort. Neither is specifically convenient to museums or interesting areas, but neither is particularly out of the way, either. The 56th street one is only a few blocks from the bottom of central park, while the 26th st one is near to madison square park, and also closer to gramercy park than it is to union sq. (I dunno why they'd advertise as being by union sq., 'cause that's misleading. It's more like the flatiron district.)

I dunno, flip a coin.
posted by mdn at 12:56 PM on May 15, 2005

Response by poster: okay, New Yorkers, if you were coming to town with a bunch of 40ish housewives, where would you stay?
We will see one play, eat a lot, (I am a foodie, so I have found unless I want to pay $300 for dinner in Time Warner, most of the good stuff is around Flatiron, Union Square-would you agree?) We will go to a flea market, do the Big Onion Food Walking tour, drinks one night at the Metropolitan Museum, eat at Katz Deli, shop at Century 21.
Any suggestions, comments, and again hotel location suggestions.
posted by davenportmom at 3:04 PM on May 15, 2005

Tribeca Grand is one of the coolest hotels anywhere..
posted by seinfeld at 8:24 PM on May 15, 2005

I assume budget is a consideration, but I like W hotels when the sky is the limit.
posted by xo at 8:40 PM on May 15, 2005

Is this too late? It sounds like you'll be all over the city, so it doesn't matter all that much where you stay. Between plays (west midtown), the Met (upper east side), Katz's (lower east side) and Century 21 (financial district) you're hitting the majority of Manhattan, and you're going to use both taxis and subways to do it.

A better gauge might be what you want to be most convenient. Do you want to wander out of your hotel in the morning and walk to an activity? Or is it better to be able to meander home on foot after dinner and drinks? That will help you pinpoint your location better.
posted by werty at 6:21 AM on May 16, 2005

Distance to your planned activities isn't an issue: either hotel is close to a number of subways and you can always take cabs. The determining factor for me would be the proximity to interesting *unplanned* activities. 26th and Park is in walking distance to the Village, Union Sq, the meatpacking district and Chelsea. 56th and Park is not. Plus, Midtown is stale at night. More people out and about in the evening = more spontaneous fun. 26th and Park.
posted by plasticpool at 8:36 AM on May 16, 2005

most of the good stuff is around Flatiron

If you want great food and aren't looking for swellegant fine dining, you can't go wrong strolling the strip of eateries along 9th avenue in the mid-40s and 50s. There is a dizzying array: on one block alone, Greek, Afghan, Indonesian, Chinese, Thai and Indian. Plus, strolling along, with all the other diners strolling along, is fun. If you want specific recs, email me.
posted by CunningLinguist at 5:27 AM on May 17, 2005