New York City: Your Top Business Friendly Destination
Seasoned road warriors and frequent travelers have certain expectations when traveling, such as top-notch room service, reliable Wi-Fi connections, easy-to-find data ports, and streamlined check-in/check out policies. For business travelers who are on the move there are additional factors to consider. Does the hotel offer front desk business services to accommodate the needs of conference attendees? Do they have professional event planners, experienced in handling more complex business arrangements, such as booking conference rooms, meet and greet spaces, or handling larger events such as corporate banquets? How close is the hotel to the event you're planning to attend in midtown Manhattan? How about the quality and appropriateness of the in-house restaurant in a particular hotel you're considering? Perhaps you can hold all your business meetings right there and spare your company the cost of renting out additional space?
Whatever your business travel budget might be, NYC.com has hotel rates that meet your travel department's guidelines. Several sections below and additional Visitor Guide pages aim to help you find all the information you need for your next business trip to New York City.
Our Great For Business Hotel Guide gives you information below about: • Hotels Great For Business • Restaurants For Business Entertaining • Services For the Business Traveler • Getting Around — The Business Traveler's New York
NYC.com offers the below list of hotels that are great for business based on traveler reviews as well as overall ratings for these features. Keep your fellow travelers informed: Make sure to register here and rate your experience at these properties:
In Midtown West, convenient to the many office buildings of the Times Square and Sixth Avenue areas, a number of larger properties stand out for their overall excellence in service. At the heart of it all on Broadway near West 47th Street, you'll find the W New York Times Square, a stylish, convenient and impressive property. Close to the W is the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square which in addition to a soaring atrium has great meeting room spaces. It's located on Broadway at West 45th Street, a stone's throw away from Planet Hollywood.
West 44th Street has no lack of excellent hotels, all of which cater to the needs of business travelers. Depending on your style, you'll find all four uniquely different, yet superior in their appeal. For example, the stylish Ian Schrager property the Royalton designed by Philippe Starck offers much in comfort and appeal. Directly across the street is the sumptuous Sofitel that caters to international and domestic travelers alike with its legendary Franco-American hospitality. Or you might choose the historic Algonquin, respected by generations of travelers for its premier location with traditional charm and furnishings. Right across the street is a little known French jewel of a restaurant, Triomphe Restaurant. And on the same block you might try the hospitable City Club Hotel with its famous restaurant DB Bistro Moderne, overseen by renowned chef Daniel Boulud.
Of course, Midtown West is a large area, and the top hotels for business travelers aren't confined to just its central area. Closer to Penn Station and Macy's is the stylish Bryant Park Hotel on West 32nd Street near Broadway, which additionally is in close proximity to a terrific range of ethnic restaurants in the area. Further north at West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue is the well-known Hilton New York, which in addition to comfortable rooms and great facilities has excellent meeting spaces. Finally, even the busy road warrior sometimes needs a touch of luxury, and the top-rated Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park offers superb views of Central Park and world-class service in this historic Art Deco Property.
In Midtown East, you'll also find five-star luxury for the seasoned business traveler, whether at the stunning Peninsula New York centrally located on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, or at the lavish New York Palace on Madison Avenue at East 50th Street. NYC.com visitors highly recommend the authentic Italian cuisine at nearby Il Corso Ristorante on West 55th Street. Both the Peninsula and the Palace hotels draw business travelers from all over the world because of their top-notch service and seasoned abilities to fulfill even the most complex travel needs. A stay in one of these luxurious hotels also puts you in short walking distance from some well-known Midtown attractions such as the Museum of Modern Art or St. Patrick's Cathedral. Also on East 50th, you might consider the San Carlos Hotel for its convenient location, or perhaps the wonderful Omni Berkshire Place on East 52nd Street near Fifth Avenue.
In the Grand Central/United Nations area, several excellent options are available for the business traveler, starting with The Alex on East 45th Street, with its excellent location and renowned Riingo restaurant. Directly on 42nd Street at Park Avenue is the well-known Grand Hyatt New York, which has one of the most conveniently-located addresses in all of Midtown, adjacent to Grand Central Station. For close proximity to the United Nations, business travelers rely on the Millennium UN Plaza New York, which also has great views of the Manhattan skyline and East River.
A number of hotels in Midtown East south of 42nd Street and in closer proximity to the Empire State Building include two terrific W properties, both adjacent on East 39th Street, namely the W New York - The Court and the W Hotel Tuscany New York. Just a bit south on Park Avenue at East 38th Street is the much-respected 70 Park Avenue - a Kimpton Hotel. Finally, two hotels nearby the Empire State Building are the spacious all-suite lodgings at the Affinia Dumont at 150 East 34th Street as well as the Vincci Avalon at 16 E 32nd St.
For the business traveler who wants to be close to Wall Street and the Financial District, three properties stand out in lower Manhattan: The New York Marriott Financial Center is conveniently located by the World Financial Center, whereas the large Millenium Hilton is located directly across from the World Trade Center site and Ground Zero. And for those who want to be in close proximity to Wall Street itself, the Wall Street Inn is a good option.
Restaurants For Business Entertaining
For visitors traveling to New York City on business, most of the hotels mentioned in our guide are home to in-house restaurants that are often as well-known or as famous as the hotel itself. When considering a hotel from our guide you can also find a list and an interactive map of ten restaurants in the nearby vicinity by simply clicking the link "What's Nearby" from the pull-down menu above each hotel listing.
Given the pace and volume of turnover in both hotel restaurants and local restaurants in the vicinity of your hotel, it is always advisable to make reservations in advance in order to ensure you get a table at the time of your choosing, thus saving the additional time you will spend at the restaurant's bar waiting for your party's name to be called. This rule also applies for the in-house restaurant of the hotel where you are staying. Consult with the hotel conciérge in advance and things will flow much more smoothly for you and the party you will be dining with.
New York City hotels are home to some of the finest restaurants in the world, so it is also important to decide in advance whether the purpose of your meal is to impress, to entertain, or to just plain eat. Business travelers often need to remind themselves about how their dining considerations fit into the overall scheme of the company's travel budget, and to choose less costly dining options that do not weigh too heavily on the company's purse strings.
The quickest route to a meal for business travelers in New York City is of course the elevator downstairs through the hotel lobby and into the in house restaurant. Since a complete list of hotel restaurants is too numerous to note here, please remember that NYC.com features a comprehensive Guide to New York Restaurants where you can find information about what seems like an infinite supply of them. Nevertheless, we would like to mention a number of hotel restaurants in New York City which stand out and might be important to know about in planning your trip to the Big Apple:
At the top of the list of course is L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon a stunning French restaurant with Japanese tones designed by the well-known Michelin three-star ranked chef at Four Seasons New York. The DB Bistro Moderne a classy French American bistro at City Club Hotel blends French cuisine with the flavors of the American market which business travelers who are fans of both cultures will find appealing. For those who want to experience incomparable cuisine and million dollar views the Manhattan Sky Bar with its gold-striped chairs and Venetian lights looming atop the Grand Hyatt New York gives business travelers a stunning view to remember, while the Hyatt's second dining establishment, the Commodore Grill offers American Continental cuisine and an elegant setting to talk business.
Moving closer to the vicinity of Central Park, the Peninsula New York offers several in-house dining options. Executive Chef Thomas Piede's Contemporary American cuisine is served at Fives. The Peninsula's Gotham Lounge is ideal for small business or personal meetings, or you can head to the rooftop terrace lounge, to the fabulous Salon de Ning for a fusion of Chinese and international flair in the open air looking out over 5th Avenue and the glittering skyline of New York.
Rooftop bars are a pleasurable location to entertain clients in New York City, especially during the warm summer months of June, July and August. For example, the Peninsula's aforementioned Salon de Ning is a superb place to both entertain and impress as well as to seal a deal.
Nearby on East 50th Street and Madison Avenue, business travelers might also be interested in staying at the New York Palace hotel and dining at its restaurant and bar Gilt, located just inside the courtyard gates of The Palace's historic Villard Mansion, where award-winning Chef Lee's New American cuisine features a three-course dinner that is the perfect option for a night out on the town, a business meeting or a date.
If you like to start your business day off right with a light and tasty continental breakfast, you might want to consider the W Hotel Tuscany New York, where you can indulge in breakfast delight at the Audrey Lounge & Café. Its contemporary décor is infused with the classic essence of Audrey Hepburn (recall "Breakfast at Tiffany's"); at night, enjoy the light food fare and a cocktail in its evening persona, the Wet Bar.
For those business travelers who want to book a hotel in the Financial District and enjoy some great food at their hotel's restaurant, NYC.com highly recommends a stay at the New York Marriott Downtown, where you can savor Roy Yamaguchi's delicious seafood and Hawaiian style cuisine at Roy's New York. Finally, the Millenium Hotel in Lower Manhattan, with its 120-seat American brasserie, Church & Dey. The hotel overlooks the construction site at Ground Zero, and if your room is high enough, you'll be rewarded with panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, Brooklyn, and the East River.
Finally, for restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel you are considering, just click the What's Nearby tab and have a look at the map of the surrounding area. Click on the Street View tab to see what else is in the area; you can take a virtual walk around the block to find all the restaurants, stores, and so on. Whether eating inside your hotel, or outside of it at restaurants on the streets and avenues of New York City, delicious food is everywhere to be found. Just browse around. You'll see.
Services For the Business Traveler
We're sure you know that concierge services and an in-house Business Center have become standard features of today's luxury hotel. That certainly holds true here in New York City as well. But we also wants to mention four important items business travelers to New York City might want to know more about:
Manhattan store locations: 116 West 14th Street, 212-255-4687 261 Madison Avenue, 212-697-2615 330 7th Avenue, 646-473-0336 1280 Lexington Ave, 212-426-6190 200 Water Street, 212-785-9521 217 Broadway, 212-346-9624 57 West 57th Street, 212-308-0335 16 East 34th Street, 212-683-8009
For the avid swimmer who likes to get in a few laps well in advance of the first meeting, do check out our Guide to New York Hotels with Pools. While most hotels have fitness centers of varying size, a few laps are terrific for relieving the stress of business travel.
Speaking of fitness, many New York hotels maintain their own fitness centers (note: some do charge additional fees for usage), business travelers should know that if they do want to frequent a fitness club during their stay, inquiries regarding day rates can be made at Chelsea Piers, Equinox, and Health & Racquet Club (HRC) health clubs and gymnasiums.
Other tips for staying fit while doing business in New York City can be found by consulting our Hiker/Walker Guide, Sports Enthusiast pages, or NYC.com's Golfer pages for those looking to tee off. Even more specialty guides can be found in the pulldown menus at the bottom of the page, all of which come from our Visitor Guide What's Your Style? menu.
Getting Around — The Business Traveler's New York
Moving around the City of New York—specifically, the island of Manhattan—is quite different than getting around anywhere else in the United States. We offer nine important travel tips to help the business traveler
Numerous airlines serve LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports, so for a list of major US airlines serving the New York metropolitan area and links to their official web sites please consult our Airlines info page.
Details regarding getting to and from La Guardia, JFK, and Newark, by taxi, private coach (bus), helicopter or limousine can be found in our Airports page. Except during rush hour, taxi service seems to be the most efficient way to go.
New York City offers such an amazing web of mass transit services that can get you anywhere you want to go, so renting a car, unless traveling outside the city limits on business, is highly inefficient. Do have a look at our Driving and Car Rental guide. For additional information on parking check out New York City Parking tips as well as our New York on a Budget Guide to driving and parking.
Although taxi service to, from and within New York City has become highly regulated in recent years, the mysterious and errant ways of overcharging tourists is largely a relic of the past. But to learn the ins and outs of riding in taxis, please visit our NYC.com Taxis guide for all you need to know.
Frequent visitors to New York City (and the locals of course) know that one of the true joys of being here is strolling around the streets and avenues of downtown Manhattan. The blocks are shorter than you might expect, and people watching is a big part of the fun. Business travelers not familiar with New York City's asphalt terrain might be surprised to learn that it is often faster and less stressful to simply walk to the location of their next appointment or meeting. Don't be afraid to enjoy walking in our fair city.
Business travelers considering limousine service in New York City should make a note of another hot tip from us: our Limousine Service has the best deals on classy transport through the city, including additional tips about limousine service.
Presently the New York City subway costs $2 a ride, but there are additional day, weekly, and monthly passes as well. Although first-time business travelers to New York might find the subway a bit intimidating, the New York subway system is quite straightforward if you simply pay attention to the signs as you travel around town. Regarding the weather and climate: during the months of June, July or August, be forewarned many subway stations feel as hot as an oven, and if you are wearing business attire you might well arrive at your scheduled interview or meeting soaked in sweat.
There are numerous trains traveling into and out of the city, and they are often faster, cheaper and more convenient than any other method of transportation. You might choose to book a long-distance Amtrak train in advance, but the regional trains do not require advance booking. Ticket machines, kiosks and counters provide ample opportunity for purchase with credit cards. You must pay an additional surcharge if you buy your ticket on a train.
Want to travel to or from one of New York's local airports like a CEO? Do note that US Helicopter can get you between Newark or JFK and Manhattan in approximately 8 minutes.