Need help (quickly!) planning upcoming work trip to NYC

[NinetyFour]

I will be attending a work-related event at NYU in late October and am looking for some information:

Hotel Suggestions:

I would like to be within walking distance (or any easy/short bus/subway ride) of NYU (Mercer and W 3rd St, to be precise) and would prefer to stay at a Hilton or a Starwood property.  (This includes Hilton, Westin, W, Aloft, Element, Sheraton, Doubletree, Hampton Inn, and a few more.)  It would also be great if the hotel were in a reasonably nice/safe neighborhood with decent restaurant choices.

Airport Info:

I think I will fly in/out of Newark.  I assume it is pretty easy to get over to NYC from there, but any tips would be helpful.

Restaurant Suggestions:

I am pretty sure I will be on my own for dinner at least one night.  Any recommendations for good quality vegetarian places in that area of the city?

I need to make my flight arrangements today or tomorrow and my hotel reservations quite soon, so I am in a bit of a time crunch.

Thanks in advance!!

[Cwadda]

TripAdvisor never fails me when I go on these kinds of trips!

[NinetyFour]

TripAdvisor never fails me when I go on these kinds of trips!

Thanks--I will try that.

I was also hoping for some input from folks who might be familiar with the NYC airports, the neighborhoods around NYU, etc.

[Dollar Slice]

Sorry you didn't get quicker answers - to people in Manhattan it comes across a bit silly as there are about a hundred hotels that would fit your description. And the neighborhood is about as upscale/touristy/safe/etc. as it gets. :-)

Newark is extremely easy - just hop on one of the trains to Penn Station, I think it's 20-30 minutes and you're right in midtown at a major subway hub.

There are a few hotels nearish NYU in your preferred points reward program but they're not reviewed terribly well. The Hyatt in Union Square may be your best bet - it has good reviews and maybe a 15-minute walk from NYU. Union Square is also a big subway hub so it's easy to get anywhere from there.   I misread Hilton as Hyatt! Ack. There is a W also in Union Square - give that a shot.

The area around NYU is called Greenwich Village. Union Square is a little north of there and you'll also be close to the East Village. All of those areas are overflowing with restaurants and bars, and tons of vegetarian options. NYC is so big that there is a specialty for everything - multiple vegetarian kosher restaurants, vegetarian Chinese restaurants, vegan gluten-free, raw food, expensive upscale hipster vegetarian, good falafel joints on every other block... do some google searches for "vegetarian restaurants in greenwich village" and "vegetarian restaurants in east village" and you'll find a lot of useful info. (I am not veg and don't eat at a lot of restaurants so I can't recommend too many things personally...)

ETA: Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.