We stayed at The Sheraton which is just a short walk from Times Square and right in the heart of the action.
Loads of bars and restaurants nearby - walking distance to Central Park etc.
It was fine for our needs and I am quite fussy - the location was perfect.
We even had a high floor room and you could see Times Square ....
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Ideally anywhere between central Park and tribeca is good as long as you are close to a subway stop. I now prefer the more neighbourhood feel of say Chelsea or Greenwich Village. But for our early visits we stuck around midtown as that was where you tend to be most of the time. We liked the Andaz on 5th. Close to Times Square, but not too close.
Have a great time.
Why is Airbnb illegal in NYC we have just booked for a week in May also and need to sort accommodation.
To stop people buying property for the purpose of short term rentals and stopping permanent residents buying these.
We booked the "Best Western Premier Herald Square" on 36th Street in the end, we wanted one with breakfast included as we don't want to have to think about that each morning. It's near Macy's (for the wife) and half a mile from the city center and Times Square.
We need to think about metro passes next...
The 7 day passes are a real bargain, can be used on the subway, buses and Roosevelt Island tram. They are about $30.
One thing not to miss is the High Line, an old elevated railroad track down the West Side which has been converted into a long thin park above the streets.It's about 1.5 miles long and a great walk.Very popular with NY'ers, and has a terrific relaxed friendly atmosphere.It's still not well-known over here, but I can highly recommend it.
In a way it's a pity you've gone for b'n'b.Breakfasts in New York are a great institution and usually extremely good value outside the hotels.There are little breakfast bars all over the place, some of which only open for that one meal.
I hope I'm not sounding too "you didn't want to do that", but I thought it worth pointing out for general info.Please don't let me put you off; as you say b'n'b takes away any potential hassle.
Agree the Highline was one of my highlights.
The High Line is cool.
First time we stayed on the East of mid town and it was a walk to the subway - wouldn't do that again as we spent a lot of tired time walking with our kid who was about 10 at the time.
Last time we stayed at The Time hotel just off Broadway.We got a room sitting room so we could watch TV after our 12yr old went to bed.The hotel was pretty good but not at all cheap.
While we were there they were refurbing the 2 elevators which was a royal PITA as it took ages to get an elevator down - we ended up going up to the top just to get in!I imagine they're done by now.
Both times I booked through a site called TravelBag who do organised tours - they can slot you in as an independent traveller on their group rates.
If I were going again I would take a look beyond Manhattan on the main subway routes to see if you can save the cash.Take a bit of time to work out how the routes work - not all trains stop at all stations for instance.
he 7 day subway card is a great idea - we did PAYG and ended up spending more for fewer trips than we should have done.
This is very important and caught out loads of tourists on the transit in from the airport - you pay on arrival not departure for the airport link.
MTA/New York City Transit - MetroCard Vending Machines
Look at the City Pass to save money if you're doing several big attractions.I'd really recommend the Circle Line boat tour
I have to say that I find NYC dull. It could be as I've spent so much time there on business trips, that I live in London so used to the big city thing etc but anyway...
For a first trip, stay in Manhattan as has already been advised. Its expensive but its where 90% of the typical tourist things to do are and whilst you're going for a fair length of time for city break you don't want to spend the majority of it waiting for the subway etc.
If you go back, then possibly look further afield (depending on whats drawing you back). There are more gritty areas that certainly have their own attraction and more sensible pricing.