Looking for advice on New York hotels Do we need to be midtown or is transport easy to get around Never been there before and this is for personal trip

Looking for advice on New York hotels

Do we need to be midtown or is transport easy to get around

Never been there before and this is for personal trip

Depends how often you want to be midtown. The NYC subway is reasonably fast and efficient, if not always pleasant.

Personally though I'd still stay somewhere I actually wanted to be, rather than staying somewhere else and catching trains every day, unless doing so was absolutely murderous on my budget.

Midtown is great if you're heading to a lot of Broadway shows, Times Square, the United Nations, Grand Central etc., but the hotels can be pricey depending on when you book.

The Financial District is about 20-30 minutes away from Midtown by subway (down near One World Trade Centre) where hotels can be much more affordable on weekends while 'business sleeps', as such.

If you'll be exploring multiple neighbourhoods in detail, you could always stay in one for a few days and then move to another to save time commuting back and forth if need be.

The Courtyard Marriot Fairfield Inn & Suites ( 116 W 28th St, New York, NY 10001, United States) is great. Right smack in the middle of things but down a quiet alley, so it is not noisy.

You get views of the Empire State Building from some rooms and there is a Pret A Manger, Panera, Five Guys burget joint, and a T-mobile (if you want to get a sim card) close by....and there is a McDonald's and Dunkin donuts at the other end of the alley way.

28th street subway station is by the T-mobile store (Line 1, 2, & 3).

Brooklyn (the section that is just across the bridge) is well worth a look. The Qantas crews stay at one of the hotels there. Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, is a quality cheap eats experience in itself, as is wandering the emtire upscale Brooklyn neighbourhood that overloks Manhattan. The bridge itself is an easy and safe walk by day that gets you into the Chinatown section of Manhattan. And of course there's the subway.

Also, I'd go on airbnb.com to consider cost-effective alternatives to hotels, particularly if you opt for Brooklyn over Manhattan. You're likely to get a far better authentic experience doing it this way. Just imagine if you were a New Yorker visiting Sydney, would you rather stay in an apartment in Neutral Bay, or a hotel in George St?