When visiting a large city, would you rather stay downtown with more expensive hotel, more expensive daily parking fee but you'd be close to the action, or stay in the suburbs, with cheaper hotel and free parking, but with the inconvenience of commuting to the downtown area?

I will be visiting a large city soon, in order to stay a few nights and see a show. I’ll be bringing my elementary-school aged daughter.

We have the option of staying in the downtown area, huge hotel, approximately $150 a night, and then have to pay for parking. The upside is the convenience to everything – we can walk to many things, maybe take a taxi to farther things, and return to the hotel mid-day if we want to take a break or put our things down.

The other option is staying in a suburb about a half hour away. Cheaper hotel, probably around $100, with free parking, but the inconvenience of having to drive into the city. If we stay in the suburb, we could and probably would spend some time there, which might mean missing some nightlife in the city.

Traveling advice requested: If you were visiting a city and had the option of staying in the downtown or staying outside the city in a suburb, which would you choose?