We recently stayed three nights at The Hotel in New York’s Times Square and really enjoyed ourselves.

The Hotel is on West 46th Street between 6th Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) and 5th Avenue in Mid-town Manhattan. It’s conveniently located just a short walk from Times Square, and had many amenities near by including a pharmacy, restaurants/bars, and shopping.

The Hotel is roughly a 45 minute taxi ride from Newark Airport on a good day, but leave yourself 2+ hours on days when traffic is at a standstill around NYC. Believe it or not, we were actually stuck at one intersection for almost 25 minutes due to gridlock at 5pm on a Tuesday!

About the Hotel:
- It seemed like a modernized Manhattan apartment building, and we had no complaints with it. It had two passenger elevators, and a staircase if you preferred to walk.
- Our room was clean, and well furnished with a king-sized bed, a flat screen TV, in room programmable-safe, and a large bathroom with a full size tub/shower. One problem with the bathroom however, was the fact that the door had frosted glass on it, which when someone used the washroom during the night, acted like a giant night light which lit-up the rest of the room. Our room had independent Heating/AC controls, and the windows also opened (although the Hotel discouraged guests from opening them for liability). The room was surprisingly quiet, and the window’s blackout curtains helped keep the sunrise out until we were ready to wake up. A downside to the area was the construction noise from outdoors, but your can’t fault the Hotel for its neighbours.
- The Hotel offered a modest continental breakfast each morning, and we were pleasantly surprised with the dining hall and its menu. The room was very clean, and the selection included Coffee/Tea/Juices/Milk along with Boiled Eggs/Cereal/Toast/Bagels/Doughnuts/Fresh fruit/Yoghurt daily. There was definitely enough variety to jump start us before heading out for the day.
- In the evening there’s a quaint little bar on the second floor that doesn’t hide the fact that it’s small. There’s seating for maybe 10 people, but cozy enough that we’d pop in for a night cap each night after a day of sightseeing.
- Wi-Fi is available throughout the Hotel, but our opinion may be biased because it was extremely difficult to for us connect to. We were using Blackberry cell-phones, while our friends had no difficulty connecting to their eReaders or Apple devices.
- There’s no gift shop at the Hotel, so definitely get to know the neighbourhood if you’ll need snacks or travel goods.
- There’s a tour desk on the ground floor and staff were able to offer us suggestions on sightseeing/dining/directions. On our final day, the CSR was able to book a shuttle van for us so to get back to Newark Airport.
- The price for our room was a bit pricey ($315.31 w/taxes per night), but relative to other Hotels in the area I suppose we got a good deal. (We were in New York City after all!)

Any regrets? Not really. We thought our Hotel was in a great location, and easily within walking distance to many places we visited. The Front Desk staff were very pleasant, and we didn’t feel that we couldn’t turn to them if a problem arose – which it didn’t. Overall, we would definitely stay at The Hotel at Times Square whenever visiting New York City. They were very good!

Here’s a few tips we’d learned in our travels:
- Be sure to a take business card of your Hotel and keep it with you. It’s easier to tell a taxi driver the exact address rather than taking a costly scenic tour back to your hotel!
- To get a feel for the neighbourhood before your visit go online to Google Maps/Street View. We were able to see many nearby businesses, and had an idea of what to expect before we got there. It was extremely helpful!
- Visit the nearby dollar store which is a quick walk up the street near W46th Street and 5th Avenue. We went there often for water, snacks and even soap for some last minute laundry.
- Traffic in Manhattan can be brutal! Be sure to give yourself plenty of extra time if you’re travelling to the airport and/or anyplace with a deadline.
- Pack a sleeping mask & ear plugs if you’re a light sleeper. You never know who your neighbours might be one night!
- For a quick bite, try eating at a food-truck for a change! There’s so much variety out there, and it hasn’t been sitting around like on hot-dog carts.
- For another quick bite goto 2 Bros Pizza which is next door to the hotel. You can grab a cheese-slice for only a dollar! (Other slices cost slightly more)