Oy

I'm taking the kids to visit my sister in New York City this summer. At present I'm doing hotel research, and it isn't pretty. My sister lives in Greenwich Village on Manhattan Island, less than two miles north of the world trade center site. Here are a few of my nearby hotel choices...

The closest:
60 Thompson New York City (1/2 mile south, $370/night)
The Mercer (1/2 mile south-east, $350/night)
Washington Square Hotel (1/2 mile north, by NYU, $160/night)

Other nearby gems:
Soho Grand Hotel (3/4 mile south, $260/night)
Tribeca Grand Hotel (1 mile south, $233/night)
Holiday Inn Manahattan (1 mile south, $140/night)
Marriott New York Financial Center (2 miles south, $170/night)
Hilton Millenium (2 miles south, $208/night)

Some other catchy names inside of a few miles away:
Courtyard New York Manhattan/Times Square South
New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
Courtyard Secaucus Meadowlands


Don't get me wrong, there are other hotels, a few more miles away in the $100/night range. I just dropped-jaw when I first started looking at my choices. Obviously I won't be staying real close to my sister. And I dread what the gas prices will be up that way (considering I recently paid $1.77/gallon here in little old Oklahoma).