Lower Manhattan and Downtown
If you're in town for a holiday and all the midtown hotels are booked, this area is your next best bet. It's also good if you are visiting New York University, Greenwich Village, SoHo, or doing business in the Wall Street area. You might even be able to get a good weekend deal because these hotels cater to the business crowd.
The legendary Chelsea Hotel (222 West 23rd Street), where both illustrious and unknown artists and writers have worked, partied, and lived since 1905, is just not a place for families. Its current motto is “A Rest Stop for Rare Individuals,” and it has lost none of the edgy quality that has made it a symbol of creative rebellion for a century.
Best Western Seaport Inn Downtown
33 Peck Slip (at Front Street)
Fulton Street-Broadway-Nassau station (A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4, or 5 train)
1-800-HOTEL-NY (468-3569)
212-766-6600
You'll find the Seaport Inn tucked away in lower Manhattan, one block north of the South Street Seaport and one block south of the Brooklyn Bridge. A comfortable hotel with modern amenities and Old World charm, the Best Western features easy access to all lower Manhattan sites, obviously including the seaport. Rooms are large with quaint furnishings and modern amenities to please a family, including high-speed Internet access, Nintendo, in-room movies, two-line phones, a video library, and much more. Some rooms have whirlpools or terraces. It serves a free continental breakfast and cookies in the afternoon. The hotel has a twenty-four-hour exercise facility, concierge, and business center.
If you're looking for a lower Manhattan location and are planning to visit Chinatown, Little Italy, the Financial Center, and the World Trade Center Memorial, this is a cost-effective, clean hotel with all the basics. In the winter months, the area around the seaport can get awfully quiet, and the brisk winds from the river make walking around the shops, ships, and eateries less fun. In the warm weather, however, it's a wonderful area. Also, the hotel is not widely known, so you should get more personalized attention.
There is no on-site restaurant, but there are plenty of places to eat nearby. Kids twelve and under stay free in a parent's room.
Holiday Inn Soho
138 Lafayette Street (between Canal and Grand streets)
Canal Street station (J, M, N, Q, R, W, Z, or 6 train)
1-800-465-4329
212-966-8898
This 215-room hotel is housed in a historic Chinatown building and is one of the very few hotels in the area. The Asian décor of the lobby, smart and modern room design, and periodic special offers make it a favorite among family budget travelers and Europeans. The restaurant nods toward Little Italy, with fare by San Remo. Four people of any age can stay in a room for the same rate.
