Neighborhoods

South Street Seaport & the Financial District

Though you are far away from the bustle of midtown and most of the attractions uptown, there are benefits to staying in the Financial District. Busy during the day, the Financial District empties at night creating an almost serene calm to the neighborhood. Weekends are also quiet and as a result there are some substantial savings to be found when staying at a Financial District hotel on a weekend.

TriBeCa & the Lower East Side

Arguably the most expensive real estate in New York, TriBeCa is a mostly residential neighborhood with numerous good restaurants. The hotel options, though limited, offer a taste of life on the far west side. The Lower East Side’s resurgence in the past decade has been remarkable. What once was just housing projects and tenements is now home to some of the city’s most vibrant clubs and hippest restaurants. Both TriBeCa and the Lower East Side are a little off the beaten track in terms of touring the city, but offer a taste of New York neighborhood living.

SoHo

Despite numerous chain stores moving into SoHo, the area is still the heart and soul of downtown fashion. But at these prices, you’ll find no grunge in SoHo. The neighborhood is strictly high end now. A stay in the SoHo area offers close proximity to Chinatown, designer-name shopping, and some very fine restaurants.

Greenwich Village, East Village & the Meatpacking District

Greenwich Village, despite the influx of big name stores, still has that romantic appeal with its winding, narrow streets, charmingly expensive brownstones, and intimate dining spots. The Meatpacking District has become a hotbed for celebrities and wannabes, with its plethora of fashionable clubs and restaurants, while the East Village, once a hippie outpost, is now the bastion of NYU students and youngsters on trust funds. Still, the streets are exciting and the food options probably the most varied in the city.

Chelsea

Now the center of modern art in Manhattan, Chelsea has also surpassed the West Village as the most prominent gay community in the city. You’ll find some great dining in Chelsea, and it’s just a short walk to the shopping of Herald Square, Union Square, Madison Square Garden, and the Empire State Building.

Inexpensive -- Also consider the intimate Colonial House Inn (tel. 800/689-3779 or 212/243-9669).

Union Square, Flatiron District & Gramercy Park

Located in the center of Manhattan, the gateway to the Flatiron District is Union Square Park with Madison Square Park, home of the original Shake Shack, bordering the neighborhood’s northern extremities. Close to numerous subway lines and within easy walking distance of both Midtown and Greenwich Village downtown make the Flatiron District a convenient location. A bit further east is Gramercy Park, where you can still find very visible remnants of New York’s Gilded Age.

Times Square & Midtown West

Times Square might be the heart of Manhattan, but also the city’s most congested neighborhood (if you can really call it a neighborhood). Corporate Midtown West is centrally located, but as a result, high in demand for both business and leisure travelers. Hotels here are almost always fill up fast thus prices tend to me substantially higher than most other areas.

Expensive -- One of New York’s iconic skyscrapers, the New Yorker Hotel, 481 Eighth Ave., at 34th St. (tel. 212/244-0719; www.newyorkerhotel.com), in the first half of the 20th century was one of Manhattan’s biggest hotels with 2,500 rooms. It now has 912 rooms and its location, across the street from Madison Square Garden, 1 block from Herald Square shopping, and 2 blocks from the Empire State Building make it a good Midtown option.

Checking in on Hotel Row -- There are hundreds of hotels in Manhattan, but most are spread out over a good chunk of real estate. There is, however, 1 block—West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues—where the hotels stand practically side by side.: The Algonquin, City Club, Iroquois Hotel, Sofitel New York, The Mansfield, and The Royalton.

Midtown East & Murray Hill

This is “Mad Men” territory, where the barons of advertising and big business reside. As a result, you’ll find some of the grandest hotels—and also the most expensive. Consider two of New York City’s grandest dames, the 282-room Plaza, at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South (www.fairmont.com/theplaza; tel. 212/759-3000) and the 1904 Beaux Arts classic build by John Jacob Aster, the St. Regis, 2.E 55th Street (www.stregis.com; tel. 212/753-4500).

Moderate -- Also consider the sliver-like, 66-room Gotham Hotel, 16 E. 46th Street (www.thegothamhotelny.com; tel. 212/490-8500) which opened in late 2010 on the location of the famous Gotham Book Mart and pays homage to that literary past by providing books in every room, along with terraces where you might want to step out and read one.

Upper West Side

Probably the most residential neighborhood in the city, the Upper West Side, compared to the other neighborhoods, has the homiest feel to it. Close to Lincoln Center, Central Park, Riverside Park, and the Museum of Natural History, the Upper West Side also offers many subway routes to midtown and downtown.

Moderate -- Also consider the romantic Country Inn the City, 270 W. 77th St., between Broadway and West End Avenue (www.countryinnthecity.com; tel. 212/580-4183), comprised of four self-contained units in a charming 1891 town house.

Upper East Side

Madison Avenue is showing its age, but if you want old time splendor and a location close to Central Park, a stay in this tony stretch will not disappoint.

Harlem

Consider a stay on what is called Harlem’s Gold Coast in the new Starwood brand, Aloft, 2296 Frederick Douglass Blvd. (at 124th St.) (www.starwoodhotles.com/alofthotels; tel. 212/749-4000), 1 block from the bustle of 125th Street.

Brooklyn

The properties mentioned here are in vibrant neighborhoods and within an easy subway commute into Manhattan and also offer substantial discounts as compared to what you would pay across the river. Consider the new Starwood brand Aloft, 216 Duffield St. (www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels; tel. 718/256-3833), in downtown Brooklyn.

Staying Across the East River in Queens

A construction boom in Long Island City (LIC) in Queens, directly across the East River from Midtown Manhattan, has led to a number of new chain hotels within viewing distance of the East Side. Should you consider staying at one of them? You might want to cross the river if:

• You find a better price than at an equivalent Manhattan hotel, or can stay free with frequent-flier miles or a chain’s reward program.
• You are planning on some Queens-based activities, such as Mets games or the U.S. Open; LIC hotels are somewhat closer to those venues, but Manhattan is a short hop away. LIC and the next neighborhood over, Astoria, also have an interesting restaurant and bar scene.
• You feel comfortable on the subway, and having to ride two or three stops out of Manhattan isn’t going to faze you. That said, make sure your hotel really is steps from the train; for example, the Holiday Inn in LIC, and soon to open Sheraton Four Points (with fabulous Manhattan views) are a block from the 39th Avenue stop on the N or Q train, while the trendy Raval Hotel (which has popular parties on its roof) is 6 long blocks from the nearest subway stop.
• If it’s the sort of thing that matters to you, the new hotels will likely have larger rooms than you’d find in Manhattan, and newer fixtures and furniture, along with extras like exercise rooms and hot tubs.