While almost everyone agrees Times Square is a huge tourist trap, everyone agrees you have to see it once. At nights the lights are amazing and many of the store are truly unique. So where do you stay if you visit New York City and want to be close to Times Square.
Stay Directly on Times Square
Staying directly on Times Square is certainly a good way to experience it fully. You can go whenever you want, just stroll out from the lobby and you're in the middle of it all. This is an especially attractive option if your room has a view on times square. You can soak in all the lights from your room without having to go through the crowd on the sidewalks. In fact even if your in the middle of it all, you can find this getting old pretty fast. There is always a lot of people on Times Square and they are in no hurry to leave so they look around and admire it. This is alright when you are doing the same but if you stay there you will at one point just want to get out to go the rest of New York. So having to always go by this crowd around your hotel is a negative aspect the another one is prices. Unless you enjoy paying too much in proportion to the quality of what you get, you'll always have to get off Times Square before eating.
Hotels that offer this experience
- Marriott Marquis Times Square
- W New York Times Square
- Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan
- Renaissance New York Hotel Times Square
- Look at those hotels on a map by clicking here
Stay Just Around the Corner of Times Square
Staying on a side street and be able to get to Times Square walking 2 or 3 minutes is a sound alternative. You probably won't get a room with a view of Times Square, but you'll get the feeling of being on Times Square whenever you feel like it. On most of the streets you'll probably get also quite a few pedestrians, so you'll fully bath in the crowd experience of the Theater district. One of the benefit of not being directly on Times Square is that you'll be able to leave a bit faster. Going everywhere else in NY can be quicker just by walking to the 8th avenue or the 6th avenue depending on where you stay. Last but not least you will still pay a premium in most of the restaurants close by.
Hotels that offer this experience
- Westin New York Times Square
- Hotel 41 at Times Square
- Millennium Broadway Hotel
- Best Western President Hotel
- The Mayfair New York Hotel
- Many other hotels to discover on a map
Stay Near Times Square
Getting a hotel that is about a 15 minutes walk off Times Square is a way to get to walk to it as often as you wish during your stay. Walking to Times Square is probably the most convenient way to get there. It is also a safe distance from the huge crowds, you'll still be in a very central and touristic place, so there will be plenty of people. It can be North, South or East of Times Square and you will still be very centrally located with an easy access to all of the city. If you choose to stay West of Times Square, then you don't have to go as far.