I know many of you must be familiar with NYC. I have only been through JFK, returning to Houston from Italy, twenty-some-odd years ago. I barely remember the view of the skyline as we landed and took off; I'm probably thinking I remember it from movies and pictures I've seen since. So it'll be the first time my wife and I have visited the city. My cousin lives there so we scored a place to stay for a few days but her parents (my aunt and uncle) will be visiting later that week and I, of course, understand they have priority. I need to book a room for four days in late May / early June. We'd like to stay in Manhattan, if simply to be near the majority of touristy stuff we're likely to see and visit, and have a room in which to crash and later go out again (and not have to take the train back to Manhattan from Queens or Brooklyn or wherever). Naturally prices aren't awesome in NYC and they are what they are. Does anyone know of a good place to stay (and please don't recommend the Quadruple Priced Hilton Westin De-Luxe Cha-Ching Mo Money Mo Money). I'll pay what I have to pay, being NYC, but if the room is not too very small, or the traffic noise isn't so very loud, and there's a TV in case the Rockets are still in the playoffs, and so on.
The site hotels.com would probably be your best bet for doing research if you are being frugal, or at the very least want to get the most for your money.
Mid-town is the best. If you want a classic old-timey hotel experience (there aren't many of those left), the Roosevelt near Grand Central Station is a lot of fun. You'd be surprised at the prices too, depending on when you're visiting in May/June, summer vacation hasn't started up yet and prices may be fairly low. The Affinia Dumont on 34th is also good, more modern, suites with kitchenettes.There are other Affinia locations but tend to be a bit higher in $$. My wife stays at the PODs when she goes down alone, not really my style but she likes them. Generally a bit cheaper. http://thepodhotel.com/ And there are the general-issue hotels in mid-town like Holiday Inn, various Marriots, etc. They're all going to be good, it's hard to be a bad hotel in NYC and survive. Enjoy the trip.
I remember before I went to New Orleans asking for help on this site and we chose someone's recommendation (I need to go back and find that thread and give a thanks to the individual). We love the place they recommended so thought I'd try out the NY thing here, too. I appreciate the message you sent me in Conversations and replied.
I like to stay near Grand Central, so the Westin New York Grand Central has good rates, from time to time. Your potential dates look pretty good.
