A First-Timer's Guide - Choosing a Hotel (2)

It’s probably a good time to talk a bit about geography and location, because you’ll want to be assured your're staying in a safe area near all the great landmarks and attractions of the City.

New York City, as you most likely know, is made up of 5 boroughs – Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. When people talk about visiting New York City, they’re usually talking about the borough of Manhattan. This is the part of New York that includes most of the major attractions and landmarks, not that the other boroughs don’t have their share.

Most of the popular hotels are located in Manhattan. In fact, they are located in a small, rather compact section of Manhattan commonly referred to as Midtown.

If we look at an enlargement of that area, we’ll see that midtown Manhattan is where Times Square, the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Center, Radio City, Central Park, Carnegie Hall and the Theater District are. Macy’s, the Empire State Building, Bloomingdale’s, 5th Ave shopping, Restaurant Row, Madison Square Garden, Penn Station – all located in midtown Manhattan.

Here's a little geography and geometry lesson – all the avenues in midtown Manhattan go north and south. All the streets go east and west. All, that is, except Broadway which goes diagonally through midtown. Where Broadway crosses an avenue it creates a triangle, which New Yorkers in their infinite wisdom call a square. Broadway and 7th Avenue – Times Square. Broadway and 6th Avenue – Herald Square. Broadway and 8th Avenue – Columbus Circle. Oh well, so much for geometry!

Fifth Avenue separates East and West in Midtown Manhattan. Midtown East is noticeably quieter and more upscale - the hotels in this area attract more business travelers and seasoned New York City visitors. Hotels on the East Side include
Doubletree Metropolitan
Intercontinental Barclay
New York Helmsley
New York Palace
W New York
Waldorf=Astoria (pictured)



Midtown West is home to Times Square, the Theatre District, Restaurant Row and Carnegie Hall. The area is more favored by tourists because there are lots of restaurants, Broadway theaters, souvenir shops - and most sightseeing tours depart from Midtown West. The most popular hotels are

Crowne Plaza Times Square
Doubletree Guest Suites NYC
Hotel Edison
Flatotel
Hampton Inn Manhattan Times Square North
Hilton Garden Inn Times Square
Hilton New York
Hilton Times Square
Jumeirah Essex House
Marriott Marquis
New York Renaissance Hotel
Novotel New York
Park Central Hotel
Sheraton Manhattan at Times Square
Sheraton New York
Sofitel Hotel
W Times Square
Warwick New York
Wellington Hotel
Westin New York at Times Square

For a great interactive map of Manhattan hotels, along with nearby attractions, restaurants and theaters, click here or paste http://nyctrip.com/pages/citymap.aspx into your browser.