The Beacon Hotel, in New York’s Upper West side, is the kind of laid back place where you can spend much more than the usual hectic NYC weekend. It’s a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Times Square, and the personalized service, spacey rooms and the soft decor provides a sharp contrast to the jarring trendiness and cramped confines of the big brand name hotels in the Big Apple. If a hotel means a place where you want to relax and feel at home, bring along the family for an annual vacation, and lose all the tiredness brought on by being pushed around in the subways and sidewalks, no place like the Beacon.

Located at 2130 Broadway at 75th Street  New York, NY 10023; (212) 787-1100,  the Beacon Hotel overlooks Broadway and the murky waters of the Hudson to the west and Central Park to the east and the twinking lights of midtown Manhattan to the south, with the Theater District close by, and major attractions like the Lincoln Center and the American Museum of Natural History within walking distance.  It’s a very different view from the rooms, one seldom seen when you stay at a hotel in New York. What you usually do is put up at one high-rise, and when you stare out of the window, you see another high-rise, and maybe some other sicko who’s staring out of his high-rise into yours.

The Beacon has over 200 rooms and suites and there’s one thing common to all of them. They’re all big and spacey, with soft colors pleasing on the eyes and an almost Southern sense of hospitality, decency and comfort, which is quite a surprise for NYC. A pleasant surprise.  Rooms at the Beacon hotel start at $220, and on to $650 and above for suites. All rooms come with a marble bathroom, a fully equipped kitchenette with microwave, stove, tea kettle and coffee maker, twin beds or one king bed, in-room safe, cable television, pay per view, wireless internet access, iron/ironing board and hair dryer.

Other services and amneties at the Beacon include a 24 hour restaurant, health club, concierge, coin operated laundry and same day valet dry cleaning, and a business center with meeting facilities for upto 75 people, and a fax and copy center.

All said and done, if you are in New York for a family vacation, intend to stay for a week or more, and you don’t consider missing a subway connection and having to wait for the next one to be some kind of blot on your resume, the Beacon is the perfect family friendly hotel in New York City.