Cassandra your advice is VERY welcome, thank you! We're hoping to make the final bookings tonight, and we will take all your advice into account. Most of the places we've looked at claim to have a shuttle service (either free or at what seems to be a nominal charge) which runs on the half hour into 'Mid Town Manhattan'. But yes, I agree, it makes sense to pay a bit more to be in town if we don't have to spend more money on transport. We won't have a car (I just don't think I could drive on the right side of the road!) so we will be relying on public transport.

I'll keep you posted, thank you again for all the help, it's really very much appreciated.