New York City....HELP what area to stay?

my partner and i are coming to new york in late july and are jut looking at booking hotels but have been totally overwhelmed with all the different areas within city. I was wondering if someone could tell me which is the most popular, central, best for shopping, restaurants area in NYC?

Thanks guys

New York City....HELP what area to stay?

There is no single area that is best for shopping or restaurants. Stores and restaurants are all over Manhattan, with different areas tending to have different styles. Since things are spread all over, the definition of ';central'; also varies. As long as you are near a subway station, though, you are near transportation to anything you want to see or do. As for most popular, I many first time visitors think they want to be near Times Square, because they think it is most central and best for shopping and restaurants. As noted above, they are wrong, and when it comes to shopping and restaurants, quite thoroughly wrong -- as it is a tourist area avoided by the locals, it has almost no good shops or restaurants.

The best thing for you to do is to tell us what sort of neighborhood YOU like -- quiet? noisy and frenetic? family friendly? Trendy and super-chic? Funky and youthful? Old-world elegant? Also tell us your budget, and you will then get much more useful and specific suggestions.

New York City....HELP what area to stay?

I agree that as long as you%26#39;re near a subway and preferably on the island of Manhattan, you%26#39;re fine. I ';shop'; hotels on quikbook.com , kayak.com and also check travelzoo.com and travel-ticker.com for sales.

Make a list of the hotels that are within your price range, look up reviews and then start eliminating them based on reviews and which locations sound best to you. ';Midtown'; is most central but covers a large area. Midtown west is where Times Square is. Midtown east is less crowded and hectic but still central. The upper west side is a popular residential area easy to get to/from midtown.

There is no central district in New York that has exclusive title to the sights, shopping, restaurants, museums etc that the City has to offer.

The neighborhood that you stay in should depend on who you are. Do you like the crowds, lights and excitement? Times Square or Midtown would be fine. Do you like smaller and quainter nabes? Try Greenwich Village or Soho. Lke something with a more neighborhood feel? Get a Bed and Breakfast in Park Slope.

As we are all connected by Subway, get a MetroCard and you can get everywhere. Anywhere that you end up staying will have lots of what you are seeking. Fair Dinkum.

MEL

For a first-time traveler, I recommend Times Sq - the quintessential touristy neighborhood. If that is too expensive, here%26#39;s the rundown:

Times Sq

Midtown West

Midtown East

Murray Hill

Gramercy

Greenwich village

East village

UES

UWS

The rest are the same.

As others have said, the most important thing is to be by a subway.