We are thinking of spending New Year ( next year) in New York. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap hotel not too far away from Times Square please. We are looking at the Holiday Inn, Midtown at the moment but that's the only one we have heard of. I know we will have to book it early so sooner rather than later.

Hi Jenny Roberts,
Although my wife and I have not been to NYC for several years,we had a lot of great stays at The Pickwick Arms Hotel,I thinks its at 231 E.51st Street.It was a great little place,very clean and very reasonable in such a good Midtown location.I guess its about a 10-15 min walk to Times Sq.Suggest you Google it to see what gives with the Pickwick now.
Regards
desi3026

Thanks Desi, it is now called the Pod Hotel and looks ok. They only take reservations 50 weeks in advance so I will have to enquire in a couple of weeks.

I am somewhat disappointed, Jenny, with the many members qualified to contribute genuine advice towards your query, as compared to the number of replies which you have actually received. Come on, people, make an effort! Six days is long enough to get around to responding...

Hello again,
Friends of ours recently stayed somewhere in Midtown Manhatten in bed and breakfast and said it was fantastic value.Sound out www.bedandbreakfast.com
I think that was the site he told me,might be worth a try,something different.
Anyway,good luck and Happy New Year
desi3026

I'd like to help but Having no Idea of NY's Lay out wouldn't Know where to start

Must be several "go compare" or 'last minute' accomodation sites?
found this
www.NEWYORKCITYINN.COM budget friendly Midtown hotel Only 2 blocks from Times Square

This B&B Review leads onto many others (Tripadvisor site)

And this just from the top of this search (225K hits)

Surely There are many places who have room and You are going After the Holidays

Intriguing, is it not, that the only responses to Jenny's posts so far have been from UK members. We, de facto are more than likely insufficiently qualified to advise on matters American than those very people who make up the vast majority of AP members.

Rightly or wrongly I have lately begun to entertain the discouraging idea that non-US residents are perceived as honorary associates here, rather than full members of the Answerpool commmunity.

The ignoring of Jenny's very reasonable request for help by all US members does nothing to allay these unwelcome conclusions of mine, and little to encourage me to contribute as I used to do. Doubtless I shall be castigated by some for these comments, but my shoulders are broad, and I know in all conscience that I have done as much as is in my power to inform and enrich this site over the past five and a half years.

quote:

Rightly or wrongly I have lately begun to entertain the discouraging idea that non-US residents are perceived as honorary associates here, rather than full members of the Answerpool commmunity.

I really hope you are wrong, Ritz. I guess we'll have to see if Jenny does get any replies now from Americans. There are several well qualified to answer on this site.

If you are feeling a little undervalued, I will add, for what it's worth, that the British members, here at Answerpool, provide a link, for me to my homeland. One of the reasons I check in everyday is to see what you, Jenny, Fred, Bedstor, Colin, Viv and others have to say.
I won't say anything more..it's Christmas eve, and suddenly I am feeling very homesick

I am so sorry that you are missing the UK, dg. I can assure you that, were you to be here at this very moment you would be clamouring to get back to Ontario! It is pouring down, dark, miserable...and we have just heard the sad news about Oscar a few moments ago... it came on whilst I was temporarily interrupted writing this email...

When you next come to the UK contact us. Bedstor & I have yet to meet, and it could be the ideal opportunity!

Wishing you & all the AP members a very happy Christmas, and the best New Year ever. Ritz (((x)))

[quote by Bedstor]Surely There are many places who have room and You are going After the Holidays[/quote]
That's the point Bedstor. The time to go to New York is New Year. Hotels anywhere near Times Square get fully booked for the New Year. A friend of mine is a travel agent and she could only recommend hotel chains as she has never been to the States. I am actually quite capable of finding a hotel myself but I would prefer a recommendation if possible.

quote:

Originally posted by dance girl:

I won't say anything more..it's Christmas eve, and suddenly I am feeling very homesick

Aah !

Think what you're missing:

Christmas Eve? It is ? Must go out and do the first of the Christmas shopping (because I'm a bloke)Well, Tesco's doesn't shut until midnight so nothing to worry about.

Actually, I lie.This Christmas shopping is easy. I went to town earlier today, starting at 1pm for a drink with daughter, then straight to lunch (don't want to rush), then Bond Street,Sloane Square (daughter, you see, true Sloane!) Harrod's (obvious:to get a boomerang),Piccadilly for Fortnum's for food (because it's there: why else queue, as you may do now,to get one thing?) and then Hatchard's for books (efficient, all-knowing as ever) and finish with a drink in the Ritz bar.This is an annual ritual. The Ritz only sees us once a year, at Christmas ( reason is the time it takes for the security staff to have been changed from the last Christmas )

Question from self? Problem with buying a boomerang, you can never send it back
Daughter: Don't be daft. You can if doesn't work .It won't come back.

Dear me, if that's her on Christmas Eve, Heaven knows what tomorrow will be like.

Somehow I think being in Canada, several thousand miles away, has its attractions

No worries mate,happy new year Ritzmar

Cheers, Desi, same to you!

I've only been to New York once and we stayed outside the city itself. Unlike everywhere else I've been in the US though, we had great problems finding any sort of hotel at all. The Ramada in New Rochellzs just did not appeal and aftet a lot of wandering and questioning we ended up late in the evening at the already full Ryetown Hilton in Westchester. The driveway through their impressive gardens was interminable and I just knew we couldn't afford it, but with my 12 year old daughter in tow I acccosted the desk clerk who offered us the reception room of a suite for $100 a night (for four of us) with foldaway beds. I asked to see the room and we set off on an eight-minute walk before arriving at...the lift to the first floor. In the end we stayed three nights, taking the train into New York's Grand Central Station on Day 2 (a trip of 30 minutes or so from memory. Lovely memories, and a chance too to see some of the outer lying areas, but remember that tyou should pre-book a taxi back from the station in the evening. Then again, you're maybe better advised to follow some of the other advice here Jenny and opt for somewhere closer to Times Square if you want the Big City Non-Sto. Especially in winter!

My own best New Year greetings to all on this particular thread.

I haven’t been to NYC many times and never had to make my own travel arrangements to stay there, so I really don’t have anything to add to this. Why am I posting, then, you ask? Can’t have those durn foreigners taking up all the space in the thread, can we?
I’m kidding. I’m really sorry if you guys feel like “honorary associates.” Sites can get rather “clique-y,” unfortunately. Maybe we honestly don’t have anyone very familiar with NYC who checks into the Travel section. Maybe it’s an honest mistake and not a sleight. Is there a way, I wonder, to search on members’ locations and then contact the New York-ies directly?

Jenny, I hope you did find something and booked it already because I can’t imagine there would be much of quality available at this late date. You might have to stay in New Jersey...

Elexina, it is for next year, not this. I know I need to book early so that's why I posted this request. I have since found a couple of places we are interested in and will make some enquiries this next week or so. Thank you to all who have replied.

This link came up out of nowhere on G-mail
Well worth a look Jenny
www.first-compare.com/shopping/new%20york%20hotel.htm

And the Prices are in UK pounds

Cheers, Elixina and thanks for the input. Also thanks to Colin & Bedstor for useful information.

I do, however find it odd that out of 5,000 - odd members, the vast majority of whom are US natives that we have only one Yank willing to contribute. Jenny, over the next couple of days I shall explore the web and see if I can find an American based site with members willing and able to help us with personal experience of New York's Time Square. Give me 48 hours!

Will do Ritz. It's more 'recommendation' sites I would like rather than prices. Some of the hotels look great but are nowhere near where I want to go.

Jenny, I looked at a NYC hotel site and the entry below had the best overall reviews for those close to Times square. I am posting the reviews from the NYC site, along with the hotel's web site.

Quality Hotel Times Square (157 W. 47th St..): AKA Hampshire Hotel & Suites- great location!
157 W. 47th St. , New York, NY, US, 10036 | Phone: (212) 768-3700 Fax: (212) 768-7573
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3 Reviews
Fantastic location!!! Two seconds from Times Square, two blocks from Rockefeller Center and within five blocks of several Broadway theaters. Cozy, clean, pretty decently decorated (a bit small) rooms have coffeemakers, in-room safes, and cable TV with pay movies. You can have a continental breakfast in a cute little room off the lobby each morning for a small charge, complimentary newspapers, and discounted parking at a nearby garage. I've stayed here twice, it's a good deal I think.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. to book it, search the Web- Can't seem to find a Web site or phone number for it at the moment.
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I would have to say, even though it was the most expensive hotel we stayed in during our around the world trip, it certainly makes up for its location. We paid around $360(AUS) per double per night including taxes, however due its location we walked everywhere even down to Battery Park on the southern most tip of Manhatten Island.

Location as already mentioned Wireless internet access Cable television Showers with good pressure.
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Quality Hotel Times Square is medium range hotel located just a block from Times Square. Price is acceptable and it could be considered as a chep concerning the position. Rooms are small but clean. Depicted is view from our room to 47th Street.
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Ritz, I, along with a few others, assumed that Jenny wanted a personal recommendation. Most Americans haven't been to New York, let alone stayed at a hotel near Times Square, and the three members (that I know) who live close to NYC would have no reason to even know about which hotel is a good one and which isn't. Manhattan is a pretty big place. St. Louis (just across the Mississippi from me) has about 1/20 the population, and the best I could do is to recommend one of the major chain hotels there, simply because I've been in the bar. I suspect that's the same with Koz and Sailracer. As I pointed out in another thread, Jenny has (or after next May, will have) seen more of the US than most Americans.

Jenny, I'm sorry I couldn't be more help, but if you ever are planning to come to Granite City, I can show you where the horseradish capital of the world is. It's not far from the biggest catsup bottle of the world!