Originally Posted by
DJ_Iceman
Slightly off-topic, but I'll bite.
NYC felt a little like Boston and a little like DC (not surprising). But I like the intimacy of Boston MUCH better, plus despite reputations we found both drivers and pedestrians much more likely to follow traffic signals. One thing that shocked us about NYC was the pervasive pot smoking--it felt like Vegas in that regard. I support people's right to smoke weed, but despise the smell so would prefer if it wasn't allowed in public.
London, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai--all places I've had fun and look forward to returning to. Sydney, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Houston, Miami... liked them all. Maybe it's because we stayed right in Times Square and did all of our exploring within walking distance of that touristy area, but something about NYC just didn't draw me to want to go back. Another widely-loved city that I just don't enjoy is San Francisco, and now that I think about it NYC and SF are similar in a lot of ways.
The Times Square Edition throws you in the heart of "tourist" NYC. I think it's probably the "best" (wrt hard product) property for that in the immediate vicinity. It exists for the people who want to go take their photo of Times Square, and see whatever the hot Broadway show is, and all that stuff. Times Square (well, really even most of Midtown) is an urban theme park.
Staying at this property allows you to experience the caricature or tourist-stereotypical idea of what the rest of the world believes New York to be. In reality, the city has so much to offer that isn't even on the radar for most tourists, simply because it's so massive and dense.
A lot of what makes the city great is actually in Lower Manhattan, or the other boroughs, and you'll never get that experience staying in Times Square (unless you seek it out, but then why did you book in Times Square). So, this is why I recommend visitors stay in Times Square *once and only once* (maybe even just one night!) before moving onto some other property (NY Edition, for example).