Everything & Anything New York City

Areta

hi all - great thread this on the best place in the world! love reading it.

am lucky enough to be going back to NYC at the end of feb and cannot wait, staying in the W Times Sq hotel, was hoping some of you could help with some queries

to save changing at heathrow we are flying direct to newark from manchester with Continental - first time with them, does anyone have any knowledge on this airline, good movies? legroom, can you choose your seats in advance etc?

we really want to visit Coney Island, but is it worth it as it may be out of season and possibly all closed? wouldn't like to waste a day going there for nothing

would like to take in a broadway show, do not mind paying a little extra for good seats, but is it worth purchasing now before we go or wait and get them from a TXTS stall, is their much difference in price?

also if anyone can recommend an authentic American diner for food, a top steak restaurant and a decent restaurant in little italy it would be much appreciated

thanks !!!

duchy

Vikki_74 wrote: »

Any input from the experts on here would be much appreciated

P.S. I have looked into the option of staying out of Manhattan, in New Jersey etc, but as it would be our first trip I'd prefer to stay properly in the city if we can - also think I'd find it a pain not being able to nip back to the hotel easily of an afternoon and so on.

Dunno if I'm an expert but I've done the NYC thing a few times

Manhattan prices are high-September is still tourist season and a busy time for business visits so not many bargains to be had. Would you consider priceline ? I've done well with it -You pick the area of NY and the star rating and bid what you want to pay. If a hotel will accept your bid-it's a done deal (you put your card in when you bid) and you are told which hotel it is. Bidding at 4 star there are no bad hotels -ie I got the Hilton on W42nd Street for a quarter of the rack rate and the Crowne Plaza (which is a 3 star for $100 less than booking it as a named hotel.

I stayed out in NJ last month-it was 20 minutes on the regular and run to timetable bus that stopped right outside the hotel and went to the Port Authority-for $8 return it was a bargain and I've spent longer sitting in a cab returning to my hotel in Manhattan than that. We had a fabulous apartment -2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen -with everything -real fire in our living room -they even had barbeques available (not much use in December) and a great pool and jacuzzi -oh and breakfast was free. We paid less for three nights than our friends paid for a tiny room with one double bed near times square for one night.

Having now done both -I'd definitely stay out in Jersey again (we were in East Rutherford) if the budget was stretched as I'd rather have more money to spend on the holiday itself-when it comes down to it-a hotelroom is just that and there are much nicer things to spend your money on in NYC. I did have my doubts before I did it but the bus service was so good and so quick -and ran til 1am that I'd definitely do it again -In fact we're already talking about booking the same place for next December.

It was actually a plus after the crowds in the city to return to the quiet of the hotel -and very easy to return for a middle of the day break or swim.

duchy

Wow how long are you planning to take driving down -a thousand miles is one heck of a trip with kids <are we there yet????> -have you got particular stops in mind ?

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Hi all!

I have just booked my flights to New York - the plan is to land at JFK, hire a car and drive down the coast to Florida, spend a week (or whatever) in MIL's villa there and then a flight back to NYC to spend 2 or 3 nights in the city before we fly back to Manchester.

We are there for 16 nights in total

We have done NY before a couple of years ago and had a whale of a time, but this time we have an 11 year old and a 2 year old with us so it will be a completely different experience.

Anyone done NY with kids? Can anyone recommend any family friendly hotels?


Off to read some of the thread!!

SO EXCITED :j:j:j

phatbear

Areta wrote: »

we really want to visit Coney Island, but is it worth it as it may be out of season and possibly all closed? wouldn't like to waste a day going there for nothing

would like to take in a broadway show, do not mind paying a little extra for good seats, but is it worth purchasing now before we go or wait and get them from a TXTS stall, is their much difference in price?

also if anyone can recommend an authentic American diner for food, a top steak restaurant and a decent restaurant in little italy it would be much appreciated

thanks !!!

Coney island at the end if feb? Think blackpool out of season, coney island is'nt that good in season so I would'nt bother out.

Ive used broadwaybox.com for discount theatre tickets, i think q'ing at places like tkts is a waste of valuable time and there are no gurantees they will have the tickets you want when you get there.

Mrs pb is a steak fiend and she reckons the best steak shes ever had was at blue smoke, she also recommends juniors, virgils, my personal fave, and dallas bbq. A real american diner is somewhere the locals eat and for me i dont feel like ive arrived in ny until ive had pancakes and bacon at stage door deli by the wtc site, its not flash and service is so so but its authentic and cheap and the foods good

Vikki_74

duchy wrote: »

Would you consider priceline ? I've done well with it -You pick the area of NY and the star rating and bid what you want to pay. If a hotel will accept your bid-it's a done deal (you put your card in when you bid) and you are told which hotel it is. Bidding at 4 star there are no bad hotels -ie I got the Hilton on W42nd Street for a quarter of the rack rate and the Crowne Plaza (which is a 3 star for $100 less than booking it as a named hotel.

Would definately consider Priceline if it works well for New York - used it for a couple of stops on our California trip last year so I'm familiar with the process. We're not too fussed about which area we stay in so could be a good option.

I used Hotwire a bit last year too - how does that usually fare for New York hotels, any good deals to be had? I've already had a quick look on there for various dates around that time but nothing great is coming up, may be more on there closer to the time though.

duchy wrote: »

I stayed out in NJ last month-it was 20 minutes on the regular and run to timetable bus that stopped right outside the hotel and went to the Port Authority-for $8 return it was a bargain and I've spent longer sitting in a cab returning to my hotel in Manhattan than that. We had a fabulous apartment -2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full kitchen -with everything -real fire in our living room -they even had barbeques available (not much use in December) and a great pool and jacuzzi -oh and breakfast was free. We paid less for three nights than our friends paid for a tiny room with one double bed near times square for one night.

Having now done both -I'd definitely stay out in Jersey again (we were in East Rutherford) if the budget was stretched as I'd rather have more money to spend on the holiday itself-when it comes down to it-a hotelroom is just that and there are much nicer things to spend your money on in NYC. I did have my doubts before I did it but the bus service was so good and so quick -and ran til 1am that I'd definitely do it again -In fact we're already talking about booking the same place for next December.

It was actually a plus after the crowds in the city to return to the quiet of the hotel -and very easy to return for a middle of the day break or swim.

This does sound tempting I must say! Normally I'm all about saving money on hotel rooms and wouldn't care too much where we stayed (in LA for example, we stopped in Pasadena rather than anywhere in downtown LA/Hollywood/Beverly Hills etc itself as it was loads cheaper and only a 15-20 minute drive to most of the places we wanted to visit), but I'm just a bit concerned that being more out of the way in NYC might mean missing some of the atmosphere of the city itself.

It sounds like one way or another we should be able to afford something though which is the main thing! I can continue with my planning and getting excited thing now :j

Vikki_74

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Hi all!

I have just booked my flights to New York - the plan is to land at JFK, hire a car and drive down the coast to Florida, spend a week (or whatever) in MIL's villa there and then a flight back to NYC to spend 2 or 3 nights in the city before we fly back to Manchester.

We are there for 16 nights in total

We have done NY before a couple of years ago and had a whale of a time, but this time we have an 11 year old and a 2 year old with us so it will be a completely different experience.

Anyone done NY with kids? Can anyone recommend any family friendly hotels?

Off to read some of the thread!!

SO EXCITED :j:j:j

I can't help out with the New York aspect as I'm yet to go myself, but was wondering whether there's any particular reason why you wanted to drive down to Florida? Is there something you wanted to see or places you wanted to stop on the way? If not, JetBlue have some pretty good fares (around $100 pp each way - not sure if children are cheaper) for internal flights to various airports in Florida from New York. There's also an Amtrak route http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=AM_Route_C&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1237608339450 but the trip is 20+ hours - would let you see some of the scenery on the way down but not sure I fancy this with two children in tow!

johnnyroper

My_Fathers_Daughter wrote: »

Thanks Johnny -I am not looking for a hotel with activities/a playroom or anything, I just want somewhere where well behaved children are welcomed IYSWIM. We stayed at the Westin Times Square last time and it just didn't seem like a 'practical' hotel to take kids.

I had forgotten about Central Park Zoo - although we have got the giant pandas at the National Zoo in Washington DC!!

The baby will be happy to be anywhere we are! It is the 11 year old that will need entertaining!

the hotel i stayed at was very friendly and welcomed well behaved children.
as i say did not spend much time there really as there is so much to do in NYC but i would have no hesitation going back there hotel was the mave.
i have stopped at sheraton hotel and towers a couple of years back and to be hones that did not have the children are welcome feeling as a lot of business types were staying there who did not look like they would appreciate children being there.

M4RKM

CraftySaver2689 wrote: »

Ok so i have attempted to read through this thread, but i'm still in need of help, me and my OH are going to go to New York think on 31/08 for 1 week, he wanted to stay at Waldolf Astoria but on checking reviews it doesnt look to be very good so my question is: where should we stay? want to stay in the centre

OH also wants to go and watch a New York Yankees game so got to think about that

Waldorf is one of the stalwarts of NYC. If you can afford a room in the Walforf Towers, then you're in luxury, however, the standard hotel, can be rather dated and drab, by todays standards of decor.

If you can time your stay to leave before 3rd September, then you'll find that prices for hotels will be more competitive.

You say you want to stay in the "Centre" however, everywhere is easily accessible via the subway, and as tourist attractions are scattered throughout Manhattan, it really doesn't matter where you stay, as long as you are near a Subway station. There are great luxury boutique hotels throughout Manhattan, so it all really boils down to your budget.

Also, in my opinion, it is a little too early to book for the end of August, the bargain rates for March are only just creeping out, so give it a few months before you book anything now.

As for the Yankees, you could watch them against Toronto on the Friday onwards when they're back in town, but if you want to avoid the expensive hotel prices thanks to the Labor Day holiday, it might be worthwhile trying to slide your visit slightly earlier in August.

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&m=9&y=2011

M4RKM

I've noticed people are recommending staying in New Jersey over New York City. While you can save considerable money staying in NJ, I'm surprised people are not recommending the couple of hotels that are located in Long Island City in Queens. These are cheaper alternatives to Manhattan, and also still on the New York City Subway system, so then your $29 week subway pass will work, and you won't be paying extra money on travelling into Manhattan.

Onto some other musings of mine

hire a car and drive down the coast to Florida, spend a week (or whatever) in MIL's villa there and then a flight back to NYC to spend 2 or 3 nights in the city before we fly back to Manchester.

Have you priced up a one way car rental to get to Florida? it is upwards of 1000 miles, and it won't be cheap to rent a car, especially at the airport.

Also, a single flight could be the same cost, or more expensive as a return flight.

to save changing at heathrow we are flying direct to newark from manchester with Continental - first time with them, does anyone have any knowledge on this airline, good movies? legroom, can you choose your seats in advance etc?

Areta - if you've already booked your flight, you should have had an option to choose your seats with Continental. If you didn't book through continental, then you may still have your CO booking reference, (6 letters long) and you should be able to log in on their site to check your flight status, and reserve a seat. As with all flights, if you know the airline and the plane you're flying on, you can check https://www.seatguru.com to be able to find out about what you're asking. All in all, I've flown many different airlines transatlantically, and they're all much of a muchness, with the same 31" - 33" pitch of legroom. Now "Good" movies is a personal choice, what you think is great I could think is utter tosh! Take Avatar for example, not seen it, doesn't interest me in the slightest and it was one of the biggest films of all time (same for Titanic!)

Just to give you an idea (I've been using 26/09 to 01/10 as our rough dates for comparison), having looked at some of the hotels mentioned here, the New Yorker is coming out at $374.25 a night, the Cosmopoliitan is $279.00 for a king room (no way we will both sleep squeezed into a cheaper double), the Pod Hotel is $309.00 and nyma is $299.24. And these are all prices before taxes etc are added!

Vicky - are you sure about that quote for the Cosmopolitan. I've not known them to have any King beds in the rooms, and all the ones i've stayed in have only had a standard double bed. There are rooms with 2 double beds, however, they could have changed the config. Other hotels to price up might be things like the Gem Hotel (there are 3 throughout Manhattan), or you could go with more boutique offerings, especially if there some deals on. The POD hotel at $309 a night? no chance. I stayed in NYC that kinda time in September 2010, and got a room (albeit at the Hotel Le Jolie in Brooklyn, one stop out of Manhattan) for about $190 a night. looking on quikbook, Distrikt hotel is $275 a night, The Hotel on Rivington (a gorgeous boutique hotel in the LES) is $311 a night.

These are standard rack rates, but it's always recommended to find something you like, book it as long as it is cancellable, and keep an eye out for bargains!


That'll do for now... Can you tell I'm bored at work?


M

*pinkie*

HoldenCaulfield wrote: »

Hello.


I'm wondering whether any of you can give me some advice of which month is best to go price wise, when it is best to book it and who it is best to book it through as I'm no good at these things.

Thanks.

I think August is normally a bit cheaper than the other months, but think that is due to New york being hot and humid at that time of year.