Why You Should Stay at The Manhattan at Times Square
- Sep 9, 2018
- 7 min read
During my first trip to the Big Apple, I had the pleasure of staying two nights at a lovely and incredibly conveniently located hotel; The Manhattan at Times Square. The Manhattan at Times Square is located on 7th Avenue, which is the main street that goes through the heart of Times Square.
The Manhattan at Times Square has been running successfully for nearly six decades and a large part of that is that it holds real-estate nearly the length of an entire block in Manhattan (Times Square area), between 51st Street and 52nd Street. Read on for why you should stay at The Manhattan at Times Square during your upcoming New York City vacation.
Hotels.com - Where I got two nights in Manhattan for under $280 total. That is only $140 per night!
When I first walked through the doors at The Manhattan at Times Square, I was not overly awed by cathedral ceilings, massive statues or fountains and large open lobby space like those hotel lobbies I became accustomed to seeing in the movies and television shows based in Manhattan. Do not get me wrong, The Manhattan at Times Square’s lobby is beautiful, charming and sophisticated in its own art deco perfected way. It is just a little more cozy boutique than the large glamour of the "plaza" hotels that I, again, am used to seeing in the movies. Nevertheless, I really liked this relaxing and comfortable environment. Toward the end of our 3 day New York City vacation, we spent a good hour in the lobby resting our feet before heading to the airport and it was quite peaceful despite being smack-dab in the heart of Times Square.
Magical View of NYC from the Empire State Building at Night
Back to the beginning, however. We arrived to New York City around 8:30 AM and to The Manhattan at Times Square at around 9:30 AM. Our room was not quite ready when we initially tried to check in; however, The Manhattan at Times Square has a locked and monitored Bell Hop room that we took advantage of. Typically, check-in is not until 3:00 PM; however, we were actually able to get into our room around 11:00 AM. Being able to check in four hours earlier was wonderful and started our vacation off nicely.
At the time of our stay, The Manhattan at Times Square was in the process of remodeling and updating their 22 floors and 659 rooms. Unfortunately, we ended up in a room still on the “to be remodeled” list. From the carpet to the wallpaper and the décor, the room was clearly out of style. Despite the aforementioned, it was clean, smelled wonderfully and was well put together. Plus, it had a great view. I was happy with our room and the view definitely made up for not having a remodeled one. Now, all rooms at The Manhattan at Times Square are remodeled and judging from the pictures within the hotels online gallery, they are very chic and trendy.
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The customer service at The Manhattan at Times Square was great. From the entertaining Doormen to the cool and soulful Bell Hop’s (our Bell Hop had a wonderful soulful singing voice and often used it - it was very entertaining) to the friendly Front Desk staff and every other employee we encountered at The Manhattan at Times Square, were all incredibly welcoming and helpful. I know this should be a given; however, there have been times that this has not been the case, so I greatly appreciate and want to give credit where credit is due in regards to excellent customer service.
I touched on it slightly above but this feature of the hotel deserves multiple mentioning's. The location in which The Manhattan at Times Square is located is incredible compared to the low rate we paid per night! You already know that it is located on 7th Avenue; the main street through Times Square. However, what I have not yet told you is that it is just a short five minute walk to the TKTS booth (or the ‘red stairs’).
TKTS is where tourists and residents can go to purchase day of discount Broadway tickets. However, it is likely more famous for the "red stairs" platform that is a great resting place to sit back and take in all the hustle and bustle of the “City that Never Sleeps.” It also allows for a really great photo opportunity of Times Square; especially at night. TKTS is basically the heart of Times Square.
TKTS Discount Broadway Ticket Platform - Times Square
(As you can tell by our tired looks, we had a long day of NYC exploring)
Also, TKTS is very close to the Theater District (obviously, it is a ticket booth), which means that Manhattan at Times Square is just a short walk from many amazing Broadway shows. My boyfriend and I saw the ever classic “Phantom of the Opera” at the Majestic Theater and the time it took us to walk to the show was less than ten minutes.
Another great thing to know about the location of Manhattan at Times Square is that it is very close to the subway system. This is incredibly helpful; it keeps you from spending too much time wandering around looking for the subway because you honestly cannot miss it after walking out the hotel and turning either left or right.
Heading the opposite direction of Times Square, Manhattan at Times Square is only an eight minute walk to Central Park, another major attraction. In fact, there are many other fabulous NYC activities and entertainment within a 20 minute walking radius of Manhattan at Times Square, but again, you always have the option of the subway being incredibly close to the hotel for days when the weather is not ideal for roaming around on foot.
Central Park - I Love Wandering Around This Place
Lastly, in regards to the location of Manhattan at Times Square, it is surrounded by some very fantastic restaurants, as well as many great food carts and food trucks. Oh, how I love a good food truck!! We definitely took advantage of the variety of food trucks near Manhattan at Times Square at 12:00 AM one of the nights. Remember, it is the "City that Never Sleeps."
Manhattan at Times Square has some nice booking deals you may choose to participate in. My boyfriend and I decided to purchase the “Grab and Go” breakfast package. Other offers include a 10% off your entire stay discount; however, you do have to agree to a non-refundable stay caveat. They also have a package where you receive a $50 American Express gift card upon check in. To view other discount deals, click here.
For all my fitness friends out there, Manhattan at Times Square does have a decent hotel gym; I have seen larger ones but I have also definitely seen smaller ones as well. Regardless, it is there; however, I prefer heading to Central Park for some exercise, it is right there.
Finally, for the location of The Manhattan at Times Square, the cost is incredibly reasonable. Not sure if you saw the Hotels.com promotion above or just skipped right over it, but we paid less than $280 for two nights and three days at The Manhattan at Times Square. That is less than $140 per night! That is a steal deal; it almost felt criminal to accept it! Recently, I just purchased one night at a hotel four minutes from The Manhattan at Times Square and it cost me around $450 per night!
Overall, my stay at The Manhattan at Times Square was great! Again, I cannot believe how close we were to so many first timer attractions that were on our NYC "list of things to do." Everything about the hotel itself was enjoyable and satisfying.
The only real advice I have for future customers is that I felt that the walls were pretty thin and you could hear people in the hallway and in other rooms almost clearly. Plus, at the time of my stay, we had to guide our door shut. If we did not, it slammed pretty hard and that was quite noisy. The hotel is almost 60 years old, so it is likely that is the cause of the thin walls; different building materials back then. With the remodel, perhaps this problem was fixed. If not, it was not anything that would keep me from staying at The Manhattan at Times Square in the future.
Times Square from TKTS
5 Minute Walk from Manhattan at Times Square
Bonus: A little Manhattan at Times Square History…
The true Journalist that I should have been when I grew up took to the web to do a little research on Manhattan at Times Square, just as I do with any destination and hotel I plan on traveling to. Interestingly, I discovered that in 2015, the property was purchased by a Qatari tourism and investments group by the name of ARTIC for $535 million. Darn it; if only I would have known it was for sale.
The property was evidently sold by a group of investors who all had their hands in ownership since 2012; Rockpoint Group, Highgate Hotels and Goldman Sachs (ahh, I know this one). The group purchased The Manhattan at Times Squarefrom Starwood Hotels and Resorts (another one I know) for $275 million. It seems Manhattan at Times Square has had many exchange of hands over the past decade and obviously probably before that as well. It seems that many individuals see the investment value in the location of Manhattan at Times Square.
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