Taking a trip to the Big Apple gives you bragging rights back home. Friends and family want to hear that you stayed on an iconic street and visited famous places. Forty-Second Street is one of New York City's most storied thoroughfares, so boasting that you stayed directly on it carries more cachet than saying, "Our hotel was on 43rd Street." Midtown Manhattan is chock full of expensive hotels. But as of this writing, only seven exist with addresses on 42nd Street, including high-end chains and boutique properties.
The Hilton Manhattan East is the closest hotel on 42nd Street to the United Nations. The U.N. building and plaza loom over the East River only a block away from this 300-room hotel housed in a historic building in the Tudor City neighborhood. Built in 1931 as the Tudor Hotel, Hilton has renovated the building into a chic and contemporary boutique property. Longtime visitors to Midtown Manhattan may remember the building as the Crowne Plaza at the United Nations. The Tudor Neighborhood Bar and Grill is adjacent to the lobby.
If staying as close to Grand Central Terminal as possible appeals to you, you can't get any closer than the Grand Hyatt New York. This luxury property is directly adjacent to the iconic transportation hub and known for its spacious rooms and large, sleek and artsy lobby. The hotel's New York Central Bar and Kitchen is a culinary destination for tourists and locals alike. A block and a half east on 42nd, the Westin New York Grand Central is within easy walking distance to Grand Central, as well as the U.N. This large, modern property boasts a 3,000-square-foot, well-equipped fitness center and even provides guided group jogs twice a day, or a map of the route for a self-guided run.
West of Grand Central, 42nd Street crosses through one of New York's most well-known attractions -- Times Square. Hilton has two properties on 42nd Street on either side of Times Square -- the Hilton Garden Inn New York to the east, and the Hilton Times Square to the west. If you really want to brag about location, the Garden Inn property, which opened in the summer of 2014, is just steps away from Broadway and the Times Square subway station. The Hilton Times Square is a more upscale property compared to the Garden Inn brand of the chain, and at 44 stories tall offers some impressive skyline views on its upper floors.
Heading west past Times Square, you reach the Hell's Kitchen area on the West Side of Manhattan. You won't encounter any Jets or Sharks from "West Side Story" these days, but you will find two hotels on 42nd -- The Out Hotel and the Travel Inn. The former is a funky, eclectic place targeting the young and hip demographic, while the latter provides more traditional lodging aimed at general tourists and convention goers; the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is three blocks south of 42nd Street on the West Side. If you're on a budget, the Travel Inn is the most affordable hotel on 42nd; just remember that affordable in Manhattan might seem steep in your neck of the woods.
