jerry a. laska

The thread on the hotel has a number of room descriptions and reports
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...-new-york.html
including:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18964778-post119.html

ShikaSenbei

Stayed at the Conrad New York in a luxury king suite...

http://nerdbirdsd.blogspot.com/2014/...-new-york.html

I'm a little new to this whole blogging thing (and I usually write about airplane rides) so be forewarned.

ZBigFam

I am taking my daughter to nyc as a graduation present and am looking at either the Doubletree time Square or the Conrad as potential places to stay. Any advice as to which one offers more touristy things to do? Will be taking my daughter to a Broadway show one night but am considering changing hotels after the first night so we can see the rest of the city. Any advice? Cheers!

flytoeat

Clearly, Times Square is a more "touristy" area. But with that come throngs of tourists. I much prefer the quieter Conrad location downtown, even when I end up spending time uptown or midtown. Maybe split your time between the two?

smmrfld

Unless you need to be downtown, go for the DT.

Kacee

If you don't mind huge crowds of tourists and lots of chain stores and restaurants, you will probably prefer Times Square.

Many of us who visit NYC frequently avoid the Times Square area at all costs, but it is very popular and it sounds like it may suit your interests better.

It's something of a hassle getting from the Conrad to midtown (where T.S. is located). Either an expensive cab ride or a 10 minute walk to the subway followed by a 20+ minute subway ride.

mikew99

Both hotels are in Manhattan, so it's not an either-or choice. You don't need to change hotels to "see the rest of the city" unless you really want to. You can make one hotel your base -- preferably, the one nearest the majority of sights that interest you -- and easily take the subway (or taxi) to anywhere else in Manhattan.

If you stay at the Conrad (in Lower Manhattan), you'll take the subway to the sights in Midtown. If you stay at the DoubleTree (in Midtown), you'll take the subway to the sights in Lower Manhattan. For reference, most of the theaters that host "Broadway" shows are located in Midtown.

iluv2fly

The Conrad is a very beautiful hotel after it was transformed from the Embassy Suites brand. You can fit about a half-dozen people in the shower.

I stay there on business as my office is across the street and convenient to get to. (Used to stay at the Andaz Wall Street, but that really has gone downhill IMHO.) There are some very good restaurants behind the hotel and Goldman Sachs. Do not miss Shake Shack for a good burger and custard. The Italian and Asian restaurants are also very good. There is also a movie theatre there.

That being said, it is pretty quiet in that area (Battery park City) on the weekends. Not much touristy things to do. You will be spending about $25 for a cab to Midtown/42nd Street.

If it were me taking my daughter for a graduation present, I'd stay in Midtown. If it's her (or your) first visit there, definitely do that.

Miesque

I agree with the sentiment expressed so far, the Conrad is the nicer hotel experience and by Manhattan standards you get peace and quiet and because of that it is slightly off the beaten path. However, there are quite a few dining options in that complex and there is a Whole Foods about three blocks away. Maybe its because I have done the walk so much and I typically walk a fair amount each day anyway so it doesn't feel like a long walk to me (and lets face it if you don't like walking a lot, Manhattan is not the place to visit). It does always surprise me on the weekends how big a difference a few blocks makes in terms of amount of people. About a block from the E Train you all of a sudden run into a mass of tourists (sometimes its like a wall of people) all looking up at the new Freedom Tower and meandering around WTC. If you are looking for maximized "Touristy" then the DT Suites Times Square is in as touristy a location as you can get.

PaulRO

Lower Manhattan is more for the inquisitive. I recommend it, for helping a graduate to appreciate that learning is a natural process for the enquiring and absorbing mind…

Walking around it, one can get a sense of how Manhattan developed. It is here that the Dutch started the urban development of Nieuw Amsterdam. The wall of Wall Street. The Breedweg which is Broadway. Study the street patterns, the slopes towards the east coast which were once farmed, the alleyways that hosted a clamour of market stalls and craftsmens workshops, in 1630…

The area is so much more than a load of dark gulleys between financial buildings, with the occasional delights of a gourmet Lebanese deli (Manousheh?) or a wee gallery in a side street. It is the birthplace of modern NYC. The more you scratch its surface, the more you learn.

Take a metro over to Brooklyn (do Brooklyn!) and walk in silent admiration back across Brooklyn Bridge. This slow route is the real way to grasp the monument that grew on the southern point of an island, the nearest point at which to land after a long voyage.

Walk over the street from the Conrad and study the Irish Hunger memorial and its stories. An explanation of the ebbs and flows of immigration.

Walk a couple of blocks, if that, and take a ferry that goes up and across the Hudson, that way you’ll see midtown from the water, and a feel for the majesty of the entire Manhattan island.

Walk down through Battery Park, take the Staten Island ferry, always good for people and island and water-flows watching.

The destination guide on the Conrad site is an eloquent listing of local “sights”, bookstores . . . .

I could (and did) stay down there for four, five, days, leaving only to go to some clothing or eating haunts in Haarlem (Dutch spelling!).

I too have had my awed love affairs with Midtown, living in the Murray Hill E Suites and strolling to work at the UN – to escape it at weekends, I went down to Lower Manhattan and got caught. I stayed at the Millennium, switching to the Embassy Suites which is now the Conrad, when the M was closed for renovation after 9/11.

- Paul

Need

Unless you have been to NYC many times before, you will want to stay near Time Square area. It is just closer to the "touristy things". It is always nice to be able to walk to a Broadway show and walk back. Taxi ride can be an adventure sometime. I swear 1 out of 5 times the cab driver was trying to get into an accident!

Notenut

Yes the Conrad is a beautiful hotel, but for the setting the OP describes the 2Tree T.S. would be the better choice, it's just closer to so many of the iconic touristy NYC sights and extremely close to the subway. To me the Conrad just has this 'out of the way' feel to it, getting to any subway station from there is a little bit of a hike which includes crossing West St, about an eight-to-ten lane thoroughfare. Personally I also like the Hilton Manhattan East, 2 blocks from Grand Central.

ZBigFam

Thanks everyone, I thought TS would be the place to stay but wanted to confirm. Is Doubletree the best the Hilton Brand has in that area or would your recommend another hotel?

eunduklee

since you will be taking your daughter and doing sigh seeing i would def recommend double tree in times square. easily accessible to most of the nyc tourist attraction spots via public transportation or nyc cab. in terms of rooms i would def pick conrad over the double tree

wharvey

Is this your daughter's first time to NYC? If so, definitely stay in Times Square. I love that hotel. Stayed there on NY Eve a few years ago.

Also, love the suite setup.