Times Square or Financial District Hotel?

[SRQbeachgirl]

We will be spending 3 nights post cruise in New York to see some sights (never been to NY) and I'm having trouble deciding which area to stay in. We want to spend one day visiting the Statue of Liberty and WTC, one day visiting the Times Square/Empire State Building/Rockefeller Center area, and one day in Central Park area. Financial District hotel next to WTC and a subway stop would be over $100 less per night than the Times Square option, but I don't know if we would just eat up the savings in transportation costs and travel time getting to the other sights. I also want to make sure there are plenty of dining options near the hotel.

 

Any advice from the CC experts would be appreciated! 

[138east]

4 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We will be spending 3 nights post cruise in New York to see some sights (never been to NY) and I'm having trouble deciding which area to stay in. We want to spend one day visiting the Statue of Liberty and WTC, one day visiting the Times Square/Empire State Building/Rockefeller Center area, and one day in Central Park area. Financial District hotel next to WTC and a subway stop would be over $100 less per night than the Times Square option, but I don't know if we would just eat up the savings in transportation costs and travel time getting to the other sights. I also want to make sure there are plenty of dining options near the hotel.

 

Any advice from the CC experts would be appreciated! 

What are your exact dates? 2 people?  Hotel budget? Which hotels are you considering?   Which airport are you flying out of or are you driving?

 

We essentially did the Times Square, Empire State, and Rockefeller Center area thing with grandchildren and it was a long day. Train into Grand Central, walk up to the Rockefeller Center area, walk down to the ES, walk up to Times Square, and walk back across to Grand Central.

 

It’s a hard call in NYC.  Wherever you stay, you will be taking the subway someplace else and likely be doing lots of walking to cover the areas you want to see.  A $300 savings will cover a lot of subway and short cab/Uber rides.  Many hotels in the Times Square area are now charging an extra “resort fee”, which is not reflected in the quoted base room price, but appears along with the taxes when you get a final booking price.

[Got2Cruise]

Mid town East might be place to search also. Prices might be less than Times Square and nicer properties. 

 

The subway from Financial District will bring you anywhere you want to go. 

[Noxequifans]

Agree Midtown East would be a good choice.....a bit calmer than Times Square area.

[SRQbeachgirl]

7 hours ago, 138east said:

What are your exact dates? 2 people?  Hotel budget? Which hotels are you considering?   Which airport are you flying out of or are you driving?

 

We essentially did the Times Square, Empire State, and Rockefeller Center area thing with grandchildren and it was a long day. Train into Grand Central, walk up to the Rockefeller Center area, walk down to the ES, walk up to Times Square, and walk back across to Grand Central.

 

It’s a hard call in NYC.  Wherever you stay, you will be taking the subway someplace else and likely be doing lots of walking to cover the areas you want to see.  A $300 savings will cover a lot of subway and short cab/Uber rides.  Many hotels in the Times Square area are now charging an extra “resort fee”, which is not reflected in the quoted base room price, but appears along with the taxes when you get a final booking price.

 

June 3, 4, & 5. We're coming in by train, so we will be taking the Northeast Regional out of Penn Station on the 6th. 3 adults (me, DH, and DS-21). I currently have a reservation for the Hampton Inn - Times Square Central for $437/nt (includes all taxes and fees).   

 

I hadn't looked at Midtown East, so that's something I'll look into as well.

 

My biggest priority is a location where we will have several good dinner options (actual nice sit-down restaurants) that won't require a long walk back to the hotel in the evening.

[mking8288]

Those rates sounded a bit high for the Hamptons as a chain but it's probably the going prices for Times Square area ... I would definitely look at / compare against Midtown East or even the Murray Hills area, between E. 42nd Street & 34th Street corridor - watch out for those add-on & variable "resort fees"

 

Perhaps, define "nice sit-down" dining options - that can be quite "steep" here in NYC.  Since you will likely be out sightseeing & using mass transit (subway - more complicated than DC's "Metro" lines out to the suburbs ... ) to get around.  Downtown/WTC hotel savings can easily pay for meals & extra travel - if not within walking distance, from midtown to downtown, not more than 20 to 30 minutes to travel north/south on the island of Manhattan - across town, river to river - walking is better & often faster vs. taking a city bus.  

 

You can always enjoy dinner in midtown or even south in the Village/East Village area, or in Little Italy/Chinatown area first, then make your way back to the WTC/FD hotel - it's a scenic, walkable & safe coming down Broadway, especially in early June with NYC's nice weather/temperature.  The small downtown living community has been growing steadily for the last 25 years - there are fine places to eat, search for them on Google Map ... you are probably going to be surprised at what's available. 

[markeb]

Midtown East mostly fits what you're looking for. It's a "little" less convenient, but there is a very nice selection of neighborhood restaurants on 2nd Avenue in the 50's. Marriott East Side or Doubletree, both on Lexington.

 

There's also a nice selection of hotels along 36th/37th just north of Penn Station where you can potentially walk to Penn Station when you're leaving town. The area is getting advertised as "Times Square South" for some of the hotels. Probably not as many dining options (sit down), but there are some. Not sure what you're looking for in that regard.

 

The Hampton looks to be in a slightly weird location. It's not in Times Square, but it's close enough they're charging you Times Square prices. You don't need to be in Times Square to visit Times Square. Haven't spent much time in the Financial District lately, but everything I've heard suggests a much more active scene after hours than used to exist, with places to eat and things to do. So nothing wrong with staying in that area with good subway access.

[SRQbeachgirl]

59 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Perhaps, define "nice sit-down" dining options - that can be quite "steep" here in NYC.  Since you will likely be out sightseeing & using mass transit (subway - more complicated than DC's "Metro" lines out to the suburbs ... ) to get around.  Downtown/WTC hotel savings can easily pay for meals & extra travel - if not within walking distance, from midtown to downtown, not more than 20 to 30 minutes to travel north/south on the island of Manhattan - across town, river to river - walking is better & often faster vs. taking a city bus.  

 

You can always enjoy dinner in midtown or even south in the Village/East Village area, or in Little Italy/Chinatown area first, then make your way back to the WTC/FD hotel - it's a scenic, walkable & safe coming down Broadway, especially in early June with NYC's nice weather/temperature.  The small downtown living community has been growing steadily for the last 25 years - there are fine places to eat, search for them on Google Map ... you are probably going to be surprised at what's available. 

 

We routinely spend about $40/pp for a decent dinner in our area, so that's what I was thinking in terms of costs. 

 

Your comment about the subway being more complicated than the Metro is very relevant, since we are used to zipping around D.C. pretty easily. What should we be studying up on to get acclimated to NY's system?

 

Google Map is awesome. I have been "wandering" around on the street level view to try to get a good visual of the areas.

 

58 minutes ago, markeb said:

Midtown East mostly fits what you're looking for. It's a "little" less convenient, but there is a very nice selection of neighborhood restaurants on 2nd Avenue in the 50's. Marriott East Side or Doubletree, both on Lexington.

 

There's also a nice selection of hotels along 36th/37th just north of Penn Station where you can potentially walk to Penn Station when you're leaving town. The area is getting advertised as "Times Square South" for some of the hotels. Probably not as many dining options (sit down), but there are some. Not sure what you're looking for in that regard.

 

Thanks for those suggestions - I'll check them out.

[138east]

8 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

We routinely spend about $40/pp for a decent dinner in our area, so that's what I was thinking in terms of costs. 

 

Your comment about the subway being more complicated than the Metro is very relevant, since we are used to zipping around D.C. pretty easily. What should we be studying up on to get acclimated to NY's system?

 

Google Map is awesome. I have been "wandering" around on the street level view to try to get a good visual of the areas.

 

 

Thanks for those suggestions - I'll check them out.

I’m taking the train to Manhattan tomorrow from Boston and and staying at the Element on West 39th St at 8th Ave.  Walkable from Penn Station and also close to Times Square.  I’ll post back about my experience.  Subway is 3 streets (not avenues) away.  http://web.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf
 

IMO the issue in midtown east can be how close your hotel really is to the nearest subway, which is likely to be the 4, 5, 6 Line.

 

 

[markeb]

20 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

 

Your comment about the subway being more complicated than the Metro is very relevant, since we are used to zipping around D.C. pretty easily. What should we be studying up on to get acclimated to NY's system?

 

 

Even though the lines appear color coded, there is no "Yellow Line". Each of those lines goes to different places, and makes different stops. The 1 and 2 are both "red", but they're different as well.

 

Some entrances into the subway are only uptown, or only downtown; you have to look and be aware. It's generally posted, and Google Maps will usually tell you which corner to enter for where you're going. Bigger stations have crossovers just like in DC, but you're not going to see anything like L'Enfant Plaza, for instance. Just a different system. It's not hard, but it's different.

 

4 minutes ago, 138east said:

IMO the issue in midtown east can be how close your hotel really is to the nearest subway, which is likely to be the 4, 5, 6 Line.

 

Yeah, that's the one drawback. The E train does go to the WTC from I think 53rd and Lexington, so that works, but the 4, 5, & 6 lines may not be what you're looking for. It is a generally easy walking area to get to attractions near Rockefeller Center and Central Park.

[AF-1]

good luck with your search.  

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

I hadn't looked at Midtown East, so that's something I'll look into as well.

I wholeheartedly agree with the folks telling you about Midtown East. I'm a little biased, I lived in that neighborhood for a few years, but it gives you all the benefit of being central in a very walkable part of Manhattan, without all the noise, crowds, and annoyances of Times Square. It also has a lot more going on at night than you would find downtown in the Financial District. 

 

2 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

I currently have a reservation for the Hampton Inn - Times Square Central for $437/nt (includes all taxes and fees).  

That is a LOT of money for a Hampton Inn in Times Square. Just looking quickly at those dates there are a ton of nicer hotels in better locations available for less and in some cases much less. You could stay at The Carlyle over those dates for $350 from what it says is available! 

 

2 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

My biggest priority is a location where we will have several good dinner options (actual nice sit-down restaurants) that won't require a long walk back to the hotel in the evening.

This is going to be Midtown or Upper East Side but not right in Times Square. Downtown, near the Battery, has gotten much better in recent years in terms of restaurants and things to do at night (it used to be a ghost town after pm and on the weekends) but it still doesn't rival the vibrancy of whats on offer a little further north. 

[Turtles06]

Just now, SRQbeachgirl said:

Your comment about the subway being more complicated than the Metro is very relevant, since we are used to zipping around D.C. pretty easily. What should we be studying up on to get acclimated to NY's system?

If you are comfortable using the Metro in DC, you won’t have a problem using the subway in Manhattan. Lots of info available on the internet to help you out.

 

http://web.mta.info/nyct/subway/

[LSGDRG]

Thanks for posting this question.  I am also trying to decide where to stay pre cruise.  I am considering the Millenium Hilton NY Downtown.  I personally like the idea of being downtown.       

[George C]

I lived there half my life and now visit yearly always stay in midtown area somewhere close to Times Square and Rockefeller center just so much in walking distance, restaurants, broadway shows etc. although will spend some time in wall st area , will visit Freedom tower and museum again this year also some really nice restaurants will most likely do Delmonicos again . 

[Got2Cruise]

Midtown East can be very close to major subway lines not only the 1,2,3. P

[AF-1]

2 hours ago, LSGDRG said:

Thanks for posting this question.  I am also trying to decide where to stay pre cruise.  I am considering the Millenium Hilton NY Downtown.  I personally like the idea of being downtown.       

I have this hotel booked for our pre-cruise

[mking8288]

@SRQbeachgirl - Up to 4 persons can share the use of a single Metro Card, a one-time fee of $1 for a new, refillable Card itself - each ride is $2.75 each.  Stored value up to $80.  Use of the Metro Card allow for a free subway to bus transfer, or bus to transfer, for connections - within a 2 hour window.  Each subway station's entrance has large maps, showing various connections & nearby attractions/landmarks, etc. & even underground station's concourse & platforms are now free Wi-Fi enabled to "Google" up.  Some entrances are marked if not 24/7 and/or Metro Card entry only, use of elevators & escalators are generally available at key stations as long as they aren't out of service, for maintenance or whatever.  There are free MTA apps that you can download & use, on the go.  

 

Hotels on midtown East are close to the #4, 5 (both express) and local #6 subway lines with key transfer stations to the the Westside/Times Square lines.  Close to E. 34th Street is Koreantown & restaurants, further south are Asian Indian food, around/north of E. 42nd. Street, around the UN are more diverse choices for dining, and north of 59th Street, on 2nd. or First Ave, that run north-south, are numerous restaurants, just about everything you can imagine - popular & frequented by locals (and, more along Third Ave & East End Ave, close to the East River ...) 

 

A nice sit-down dinner in NYC, depending on location & cuisine, availability of specials, etc. can easily set you back $50 to $60 p/p and higher, without alcohol & extras - difference of eating downtown DC on the K Street/Georgetown area vs. Adams Morgan area ... Of course, it's a matter - sometimes - of what you choose, walking down Connecticut Avenue near the Zoo or upper Wisconsin Ave.  As a general rule, those in/near Times Square will be on the pricer end of the dining scale.  Downtown in Little Italy, especially on weekdays - you will find price-fixed set lunch & dinner specials for reasonable prices.  

Edited January 26, 2020 by mking8288

[AF-1]

mking8288;   thanks for the info

[George C]

We walk to most places but I would definitely want a Uber app and Lyft for getting around. 

[geegee1]

On 1/24/2020 at 10:44 PM, SRQbeachgirl said:

We will be spending 3 nights post cruise in New York to see some sights (never been to NY) and I'm having trouble deciding which area to stay in. We want to spend one day visiting the Statue of Liberty and WTC, one day visiting the Times Square/Empire State Building/Rockefeller Center area, and one day in Central Park area. Financial District hotel next to WTC and a subway stop would be over $100 less per night than the Times Square option, but I don't know if we would just eat up the savings in transportation costs and travel time getting to the other sights. I also want to make sure there are plenty of dining options near the hotel.

 

Any advice from the CC experts would be appreciated! 

 

The Financial District is pretty quiet a little bit after work hours.  If you feel more comfortable being where there are more people around, then I would go with Times Square.

 

Taking a subway to wherever you want to go is easy enough.  If you have any questions, ask someone. We don't bite..usually.

[Got2Cruise]

Times Square attracts all sorts of people. Just because there are plenty of people around doesn’t make them helpful people. Lol 

 

Plenty of places in Financial District to eat at night. Stone Street has several options. Fraunces Tavern, Delmonico two very famous and always busy restaurants. Financial District now has several buildings that have been turned over to be residences after Sandy. It’s no longer a ghost town at night. 

[George C]

18 minutes ago, Got2Cruise said:

Times Square attracts all sorts of people. Just because there are plenty of people around doesn’t make them helpful people. Lol 

 

Plenty of places in Financial District to eat at night. Stone Street has several options. Fraunces Tavern, Delmonico two very famous and always busy restaurants. Financial District now has several buildings that have been turned over to be residences after Sandy. It’s no longer a ghost town at night. 

I agree , I worked there a long , long time ago and it was dead at night , recently lots of restaurants and bars were added .

[AF-1]

I will be staying at Millinium Hilton in Oct.  Quiet is fine with me.  Most of the sights we want to see are down that way; plus our cruise leaves out of Brooklyn,  so will take uber to financial ferry dock to take ferry to the ship.  

[LSGDRG]

11 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I will be staying at Millinium Hilton in Oct.  Quiet is fine with me.  Most of the sights we want to see are down that way; plus our cruise leaves out of Brooklyn,  so will take uber to financial ferry dock to take ferry to the ship.  

If you remember, can you post your experiences of this hotel & the Financial District after your return?  I also like the proximity of this hotel to various sights that I want to see.  I am also sailing out of Brooklyn.