New York with children

This is a TravelMom sponsored review.

It wasn’t until I started traveling the country that I first met people who had never been to New York City. To me, that was like saying they had never tried pizza, or learned how to ride a bike. New York isn’t just another city, it is the City.

To be fair, of course, going to New York isn’t necessarily easy, especially if you have kids. It’s expensive, and it’s always busy, but these excuses only go so far. At some point, it’s time to take the family to the Big Apple. But don’t panic, with a little planning, a family trip to the biggest city in the country can be a lot easier on you, and on your wallet.

This starts with where you stay. Nothing is more important to your trip than having a place you can come back to that doesn’t add to the stress, because even a fun vacation is probably stressful if the little ones are along. And many a vacation has been made too stressful by accommodations done on the cheap, or so expensive as to be hard to enjoy.

One of the things that I look for when traveling with my five children is a hotel that has some space. Just a little extra wiggle room can make all the difference. And yes, believe it or not, you can find yourself a decent place to stay with a little room, even in New York. First, it may help to resolve yourself to spending a little money. You’ll be hard pressed to find a room with any space for much less than $200. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend much more than that either.

Take the Hotel Beacon, for example, which is only a short walk from attractions like the Natural History Museum and Central Park. There’s no bar or restaurant, but you will find a kitchenette with actual stove tops, a great way to stretch your traveling dollar. I love eating out with the family, but nothing frustrates me more than overspending when what we really want is a quick meal or simple breakfast.

Even some well known older hotels can be excellent deals. The Kimberly, for example, isn’t as new or flashy as many of the en vogue boutique hotels, but it has stately elegance and – best of all – huge rooms, some even with balconies. It’s not in the hippest part of town, but once the sun goes down, most families aren’t looking for nightlife.

The bottom line of taking the family to New York City is this: it can’t be done on the cheap, but it can be done without bankrupting you. Accept that it will be at least moderately expensive, but have the confidence that with some careful planning, you can indeed find a hotel room (or suite) generous enough for the whole team. And after all, this is New York – at some point, you have to go.