My parents and I had a great stay at the Box House Hotel. It is effectively a set of serviced apartments, with a real hotel feel. The area doesn't look like much on the google maps but when you get there you see it's really nice, and there is a shuttle service to take you to the metro stations. They even have one of the old chequered taxis!

The room was beautiful and very very functional - had everything we needed! The sofa turns into a bed which was probably the most comfortable sofa bed I have ever slept on. There was also two TVs which was cool. The kitchenette was great too, especially for eating leftover meals from the extremely large american portions you get in the restaurants.

I have to leave the absolute best review for the staff, who were so hospitable. They are the ones that made the stay really fantastic, and made me and my parents feel really welcome in a city that they were completely new to. The staff were also extremely helpful when it came to planning our days out. When we arrived, one of the drivers, Jessie, took us to Pauli Gee's pizza place, and he collected us too. It was nice to know that we could be picked up after a long day out (or a heavy meal!). Robert, Alyssa and Chin, were also helpful at the front desk - and their colleagues whose names I didn't quite catch (sorry)! We also had a few other great drivers who were all super helpful - Felix, Mr Singh and Christian. On our first day we had planned to go on the metro to Battery Park, and it was Felix who suggested the East River Ferry instead, and took us to the most beautiful port park in Long Island City where we got on the ferry. That really set the tone for a great holiday because the trip down to the south of Manhattan was really peaceful and we got to see the city from a whole new perspective. It's the insider tips from the staff and the drivers that really made the holiday great, they were all willing to go above and beyond to make our trip great.

I have only one minor negative comment, and that is the noise levels along the main entrance corridor, which is where we were staying. My parents were fine because there was a partial wall separating their bed from the rest of the room, but I was on the sofa which was closer to the door. There can occasionally be a few drunken people late at night who walk past and do not realise how noisy they are. This woke me up pretty much every night. I would recommend requesting a room away from that main corridor, and then you're set for a 100% great holiday.