Hey y’all: Any tips/advice on hotels that are best for a teen’s first trip to NYC? Taking the kiddo in early October for a long weekend. I have been multiple times on my own, but this will be a different vibe altogether. Thanks ✨
Replies
Jersey City/Hoboken/Secaucus might actually be a good choice, and you either have connection to the PATH or express bus service to PA that's not easier than it should be.
sep 1, 2025, 10:40 pm • 1 0 • view
*a lot easier than it should be not not easier, lol
sep 1, 2025, 10:43 pm • 0 0 • view
Mileage may vary depending on how much you want to take trains/buses, but I found it just as easy to make it into the City as staying in Queens or Brooklyn.
sep 1, 2025, 10:42 pm • 0 0 • view
6 Columbus Circle Hotel. Great location, easy train access, big rooms for NYC. We stayed there for visit NYU with the kid.
sep 1, 2025, 11:59 pm • 1 0 • view
Oh, my on my other recommendation, do not stay at the Holiday Inn Express Long Island City Queens, because it's plunked in the middle of places where Briscoe and Curtis would need to talk to warehouse guys in the first ten minutes of an episode and was ten minutes to transit.
sep 2, 2025, 12:29 am • 0 0 • view
My only advice from my trip this summer is that, as someone who does not really understand how mass transit works (suburban Detroiter, say what!), the MTA app was clutch. I knew exactly what I needed to do every step of the way. It was like a security blanket.
sep 1, 2025, 10:42 pm • 2 0 • view
Oh, wait, sorry, I misread that as the teen was flying solo, you got this Prescott.
sep 1, 2025, 10:43 pm • 1 0 • view
Ohhh yeah - he’s not ready for that yet! Ha.
sep 1, 2025, 10:44 pm • 0 0 • view
I 1000% get that!
sep 1, 2025, 10:44 pm • 1 0 • view
I just have him comfy (with parts of) DC. Baby steps.
sep 1, 2025, 10:45 pm • 1 0 • view
just got back from a weekend at the mandarin oriental but that probably ain't it for this 😅
sep 1, 2025, 11:20 pm • 1 0 • view
Well that would lovely. Mr. NotAz would have OPINIONS
sep 1, 2025, 11:55 pm • 1 0 • view
Doubletree (if you’re okay with being in Times Square)
sep 1, 2025, 11:51 pm • 2 0 • view
Heading there next week if you need me to research anything
sep 2, 2025, 12:02 am • 1 0 • view
you've gotten a ton of good ones, so i'll just add that 3 of my favorite manhattan spots are at 53rd and broadway: the courtyard (low floors)/residence inn (high floors) are in the same building, then down the block is a great garden inn that's comfy and reasonable for the area.
sep 1, 2025, 11:37 pm • 1 0 • view
We took our rising 9th graders and 6th grader (all boys) there in 2023. Stayed in Upper West Side on Broadway, couple of blocks from Natural History Museum. It worked out great, but there are plenty on here with better advices, for sure.
sep 1, 2025, 10:56 pm • 2 0 • view
That’s a good idea. Natural History at the top of our list.
sep 1, 2025, 10:57 pm • 1 0 • view
Check The Met for activities. My older son loves art & there was a free landscape sketch class at The Cloister which was super cool.
sep 1, 2025, 11:00 pm • 1 0 • view
We stayed at the Hampton Inn between Times Square and 30 rock with 2 kids for my daughters birthday. It wad small (to be expected) but great for seeing shows , sight seeing, and walking to Central Park
sep 1, 2025, 10:38 pm • 2 0 • view
Oh and if he’s into Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is excellent (for all, not just the kids).
sep 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 1 0 • view
Good to know. He never really got into HP. Skipped right to Deadpool. He has dark humor, like his mom…?
sep 1, 2025, 10:49 pm • 1 0 • view
We stayed at the Hampton Inn Manhattan-Madison Square Garden Area and it was similarly centrally located for not complete insane pries.
sep 1, 2025, 11:07 pm • 1 0 • view
I fear I would still be constitutionally incapable of spending $240 a night on a Hampton Inn
sep 1, 2025, 11:08 pm • 2 0 • view
I mean, it's Midtown Manhattan. That's rock bottom for a probably-won't-get-stabbed hotel.
sep 2, 2025, 12:18 am • 1 0 • view
How much for a might-get-stabbed hotel?
sep 2, 2025, 12:18 am • 0 0 • view
Haha. Sometimes you do what you have to! I spent at least that when my flight was delayed in Jackson Hole.
sep 2, 2025, 12:24 am • 1 0 • view
NO ONE LOOK AT THE RATES IN ATHENS GEORGIA OVER TEXAS WEEKEND
sep 2, 2025, 12:27 am • 2 0 • view
I'm still fired up about the adorable motel I found in Boone, NC for a dirt cheap price because the new owners who'd just done a really nice renovation didn't appear to know football was a thing and they were supposed to quintuple their prices for that random Tuesday night game against Coastal.
sep 2, 2025, 12:29 am • 1 0 • view
Second this. Stayed here probably 20 years ago and was perfect for all the reasons you listed
sep 1, 2025, 11:00 pm • 1 0 • view
We stay at the Bowery Hotel when we go. Its kind of funky old school with a cool outdoor space. Not sure if it is what a teen would enjoy tho. Guess it depends on the teen's esthetic.
sep 1, 2025, 11:29 pm • 1 0 • view
I'm going to get booed for this, but the Hyatt in Jersey City isn't a terrible option.
sep 1, 2025, 10:35 pm • 1 0 • view
Not at all, there's a Courtyard at Newport PATH along the same lines that works just fine too.
sep 1, 2025, 10:47 pm • 0 0 • view
Hyatt in JC is right across from the Freedom Tower, it's beautiful in fall.
sep 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 1 0 • view
If you’re not interested in the Times Square Madness, I’d recommend the Arthouse Hotel on the UWS. Little boutique hotel, it’s fun. www.arthousehotelnyc.com
sep 2, 2025, 1:20 am • 1 0 • view
I stayed at the Fairfield in on 33rd Street (right next to Penn Station and MSG) when I was 14. Has lounge area with a great view on the top floor. (This is my view from the Hotel room)
sep 2, 2025, 12:31 am • 1 0 • view
Take them to a hostel! www.hostelworld.com/pwa/s?q=New%...
sep 1, 2025, 11:00 pm • 1 0 • view
Lololol
sep 1, 2025, 11:01 pm • 1 0 • view
several of them have private rooms and they also offer tours of the city. Hostels rock!
sep 1, 2025, 11:05 pm • 1 0 • view
My husband told me when we first met that my idea of roughing it is a Westin, and I fear my tastes have only become more expensive in the 20 years since, Anon.
sep 1, 2025, 11:12 pm • 3 0 • view
I see a lot of lower Manhattan recommendations, which I’m sure are good, but we stayed in Midtown with 12 & 17 year old boys & was great. The Warwick on 54th was a reasonable, roomy place & great location. Better for Central Park/Times Square/Rock Center/Broadway, but subway is convenient to lower M
sep 1, 2025, 11:02 pm • 1 0 • view
When I took my first non-school trip to NYC as a teen, we stayed in Union Square and being downtown felt like the absolute coolest thing imaginable to me at that age. It can get a little pricey, but if a hotel somewhere between 14th-ish and Canal is in the cards…it makes an impression!
sep 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 5 0 • view
Macro going up with mom in October for her 16. Couple of shows and city stuff. Hope you have a good time.
sep 1, 2025, 10:56 pm • 2 0 • view
16?!?! Nope.
sep 1, 2025, 10:58 pm • 1 0 • view
HBD to Macro!
sep 1, 2025, 10:58 pm • 1 0 • view
It’s nonsense.
sep 1, 2025, 10:59 pm • 1 0 • view
Tell her that weird woman who kept trying to force her to put on sunscreen on Saturday is sorry
sep 1, 2025, 11:01 pm • 1 0 • view
Oh she’s only 13. This is the oldest.
sep 1, 2025, 11:04 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah sorry. I realized that when I typed it. Sorry about that!!
sep 1, 2025, 11:13 pm • 1 0 • view
The Plaza looked pretty nice in Home Alone 2.
sep 1, 2025, 11:35 pm • 0 0 • view
Last trip there we did the Marriott Marquis right on Times Square and this time by the afternoon of the first day the kids were super over that awful elevator bank and waiting forever to get up or down. The Courtyard Midtown is pretty good. Walkable to everything, particularly Rockefeller
sep 1, 2025, 11:56 pm • 2 0 • view
Don’t get murdered. My cousin’s sister’s best friend was murdered there by a roving band of liberals.
sep 1, 2025, 11:10 pm • 7 0 • view
We’re incredibly dangerous; so much so that 4 national guardsmen with rifles are posted outside of my office now I sell boats
sep 1, 2025, 11:11 pm • 11 0 • view
Wait You sell boats?
sep 1, 2025, 11:11 pm • 4 0 • view
Recently converted coastal elite looking to buy a pontoon
sep 2, 2025, 12:00 am • 3 0 • view
I have just the thing for them. Starts at $180K base. First model came out in April. They’re so pretty.
sep 2, 2025, 12:03 am • 5 0 • view
Does it come in corn yellow or Nebraska red?
sep 2, 2025, 12:04 am • 2 0 • view
It appears to come in “dusk red” which looks to be more bama red but I can’t tell
sep 2, 2025, 12:06 am • 2 0 • view
Call it Sooner crimson and you’ve got Chloe on board. Which we all know is the real key.
sep 2, 2025, 12:07 am • 2 0 • view
Seems like Nik would have more luck selling his boss on a schooner of some kind.
sep 2, 2025, 12:07 am • 2 0 • view
Preowned airboats
sep 2, 2025, 12:02 am • 2 0 • view
“Let’s talk about what it’s gonna take for me to get you in a cabin cruiser today.”
sep 1, 2025, 11:12 pm • 4 0 • view
/slaps bow
sep 1, 2025, 11:59 pm • 4 0 • view
Shit, is it December to Remember time already? Do you have to give the bow back after you take delivery?
sep 2, 2025, 12:01 am • 4 0 • view
Nah, you can keep it, Brie. You’re a friend of boat.
sep 2, 2025, 12:03 am • 3 0 • view
Boyota Thon
sep 2, 2025, 12:07 am • 0 0 • view
Sells dreams. Dreams that are fulfilled by owning a boat.
sep 1, 2025, 11:13 pm • 6 0 • view
Karl, I knew I liked you.
sep 1, 2025, 11:58 pm • 4 0 • view
National guardsmen right now
sep 1, 2025, 11:12 pm • 2 0 • view
Indeed.
sep 1, 2025, 11:12 pm • 1 0 • view
Ok but then they end up in the Naval Reserve or something
sep 1, 2025, 11:12 pm • 3 0 • view
Yvan eht nioj!
sep 1, 2025, 11:14 pm • 3 0 • view
I definitely saw more around today so happy Labor Day I guess
sep 1, 2025, 11:21 pm • 1 0 • view
yaaaayyyyyy 🫠🫠🫠🫠
sep 1, 2025, 11:54 pm • 1 0 • view
I led a band of young liberal musicians to Harlem. It might have been us
sep 2, 2025, 12:24 am • 3 0 • view
Rabble rousers, you. Chanting about pay equity and equal rights. Just terrible.
sep 2, 2025, 12:26 am • 2 0 • view
I bet they even exposed children to the jazz.
sep 2, 2025, 12:26 am • 3 0 • view
sep 2, 2025, 12:27 am • 2 0 • view
and world music
sep 2, 2025, 12:29 am • 0 0 • view
My wife and sister in law took the girls (15 and 13) in May. They stayed at the Embassy Suites in Midtown. Their trip was mostly focused on Broadway, so it worked for that
sep 1, 2025, 11:07 pm • 1 0 • view
i cannot vouch for this place yet but i chose to stay at arlo midtown. i am going to see a show and wanted something walkable to the theater district but it's also close to times square while not inside of it. they have restaurants and a rooftop bar that seems scenic and chill.
sep 2, 2025, 12:04 am • 0 0 • view
I have friends who really love the pod hotels - some rooms have bunk beds! They are all pretty affordable with central locations. You kind of have to be of a teenager mindset to enjoy it.
sep 2, 2025, 2:31 pm • 1 0 • view
I stayed at the Courtyard Chelsea a couple of years back for a Wilco show and it was fairly affordable and well located
sep 2, 2025, 12:29 am • 1 0 • view
My friends like the old-school charm of Hotel Edison.
sep 2, 2025, 12:40 am • 0 0 • view
The Ludlow in SoHo is a little pricey but it’s very cool, walkable to fashion district, China Town, and Little Italy. Plus Katz and Russ & Daughters are right there.
sep 1, 2025, 10:48 pm • 1 0 • view
I’ve stayed there! Love it so much.
sep 1, 2025, 10:49 pm • 1 0 • view
My brother has lived on the south end of Manhattan long enough that it’s sort of become our go-to when we visit.
sep 1, 2025, 10:50 pm • 1 0 • view
I’ve stayed at the Beekman the last 3-4 times. But it’s not really a kid hotel
sep 1, 2025, 10:51 pm • 2 0 • view
My oldest is 8, so I have very poor perspective of what a teenager would be looking for!
sep 1, 2025, 10:53 pm • 1 0 • view
It’ll happen faster than you want it to…
sep 1, 2025, 10:53 pm • 1 0 • view
When we took the nephew to NYC in 2023 we holed up at the Sheraton at Canal and 6th and it seemed to be a pretty good location for getting around. Plus Nancy Whiskey was around the corner when I needed some me time
sep 1, 2025, 10:50 pm • 1 0 • view
Westin, Algonquin, Lexington are my standard go-to’s
sep 1, 2025, 11:34 pm • 1 0 • view
Maybe a hot take but Marriott Marquis is pretty central, next to Broadway (if you want to catch a show), Restaurant Row is like right there, and it's easy to get anywhere you need to Of course down side is you're in Times Square but for a kid's first trip, there are considerably worse things
sep 1, 2025, 10:38 pm • 1 0 • view
I think I’m prob going to bite the bullet and do Times Square, even though it’s the spot I avoid the most when I’m there. I love the idea of The Edition at TS — somewhat quieter and upscale, but I will have a 13 yr old boy in tow, so I might as well lean in…right??
sep 1, 2025, 10:39 pm • 3 0 • view
If you wanna go slightly east towards Grand Central, the Hyatt is really nice and there's a ton to do around there too without being IN Times Square
sep 1, 2025, 10:41 pm • 2 0 • view