barnburner

I am trying to book a stay in New York around Dec 17th-22nd. This will be our first time there and would like to see it at Christmas time and will be doing whatever tourists do at that time of year. Will be just the wifey and I and neither of us know anything about New York. I am SPG Gold BTW.
Is this hotel a reasonable alternative to the pricey ones in Manhattan? I can book it for points for about what a night or two of some of the other hotels "in town" are. 7000/night and get the 5th free. I read some decent reviews, but would like a few more before I decide. I am more concerned with location rather than property. How easy is is going to be to get to what we will want to get to? I read it's a 3 block walk and 12 min subway ride. That's great, but is through the ghetto, and would we have to ride the subway home by a certain hour? We are not exactly city folks, and need the how to for dummies please ...
I know there will be some drawbacks or they would charge what the others charge, but is this a decent, SAFE alternative?

Thanks in advance!

barnburner

Aloft Brooklyn? I also see I can book this for the same rate, and it is also about a 15min subway ride to Manhattan. Any comments on this one?

danwhy

There are great master threads on both these properties. Just look at the sticky FAQ on the main page.

If this is your first time in NYC and you are not used to big cities I would recommend you pony up for a midtown location. NYC is very easy to get around in and has great transportation. There are no issues using the subway from Harlem, LIC or Brooklyn but this might be easier for you on a second visit to the city.

FlyerChrisK

The New York City subway runs around the clock.

If you walk to the F stop nearby, you're 1 stop away from Manhattan (the intermediate stop is Roosevelt Island, which, while technically part of Manhattan, is probably not what you're interested in visiting). What makes you feel that you are riding a train "through the ghetto?" The nearby N/Q stop (the 3 short blocks that you mention) also has a single stop before reaching Manhattan.

audio-nut

I would not visit the 21st Queensbridge F station at night. It is next to the biggest housing project in the north America. All three other area stations are much safer.

barnburner

I was asking about walking through a ghetto, not riding a train through one. Basically the info the last poster mentioned.
I did not know about those stickies and have read them, thanks.

LIH Prem

Based on your description in the first post (first time in NYC, doing tourist things, holiday season) ...

I think you would be better off at any of the Manhattan properties for 12k per night, also with 5th night free. See if you can book the Westin NY Grand Central property.

The other NYC properties are Cat 6 (or higher for the Chatwal), I guess, and in high season, making them unaffordable for redemptions. All the properties have master threads, so you can do your own research. The Westin NY Grand Central was formerly the Helmsley Hotel, and has been renovated, so the reviews at the end of the thread are the pertinent ones (which are still mixed, but not bad). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html

JMHO.

-David