Everything & Anything New York City

scoobyju1

pcyuljr wrote: »

Not quite sure if this fits in here.

I want to share the advice, but not start a new overread thread (and thus revoked offer!!).

But I'm staying at the Distrikt Hotel in NYC, which looks awesome.

By going on the Facebook page, clicking 'Like' and making a comment, a lot of people are getting freebies, whether it be an upgrade (like me!) or free metrocard.

I've not been yet (December visit) so can't comment on what type of upgrade, but it seems like it's worth doing in advance of a stay.

Might work at other hotels also!

Hi, first post

I can confirm that this works. I too am staying at the Distrikt (not until next year) & I noticed that people were getting upgrades etc so I commented on their page aswell & got a very friendly reply that they were putting me in a room with a view of the ESB.

I went to Vegas recently & found that emailing the customer service rep got us all an upgrade to a room with a view aswell. Ironically, we were staying at the Tropicana & the view was of New York New York

unmissable

BigPat
You mentioned that you would consider Secaucaus a few posts back.

I have recently returned from a family holiday with girl and boy aged 11 and 13 in Secaucus. We stayed at Embassy Suites.

However,much of New Jersey looks very 'industrial' from the outside until you get to the 'Harmon Meadow's complex (where Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn and Hyatt have hotels). Once there it is a little oasis, with manacured grass / kerbs, family restaurants and easily accesible shops (inc Walmart).

We had a 2x double suite which was 2 doubles in a bedroom (one for me and Mrs U and one for DD) whilst DS was on sofa bed in living room. Fantastic breakfast and managers 'drink' in the evening. There was less of a 'kitchen' than we thought ( a microwave an coffee machine) so don't expect to be able to self cater.

To get to Manhatten we took the bus ($7.90 return) to Port Authority which is effectively Times-Square. My wife said she enjoyed being 'with' the commuters on the bus seeing the skyline get closer. Total journey was 25 mins, even in rush hour, which is not much different to many Brooklyn locations (but without the view). All the buses get slow but steady access through the Lincoln tunnel.

We paid less that £100 total per night through Expedia. Please don't knock this area of New Jersey. That said, when travelling in 'Jersey City', I did not feel as though I was in such a nice area.

We also used Secaucus as a base to visit the beach (1 1/2 hours) Six Flags theme park (1 1/4 hrs) and Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall.

I also used the New York Pass for 72 hrs worth of sight seeing in Manhatten, which some in this forum advise against. For us, it was great. 3 Hard days of sight seeing, but in the end we did much, much, more than we would have if paying bit by bit.

Hope this helps.

Unm

M4RKM

cymrubaby wrote: »

Having read a previous post about hotels requiring a credit card upon check in, I was wondering whether getting a prepay credit card might be worth doing?

I'm not going to NY until April 2012 but right now there's a pretty good offer for a MyTravelCash US dollar MasterCard (I don't want an actual credit card, only a prepay one) which offers free shop and internet purchase (no fees) and also free ATM withdrawal. Oh and they also offer 1.00% cashback on all purchases.

Is this a more cost-effective way of spending abroad? Do hotels really require a credit card upon check in?

No.

If you load your card with money, it will get pre authorised on check in, it's dead money. Youll then have to withdraw it off the card back in the UK when the pre auth is released, and you'll lose money.

Get a real credit card with a low limit. It's cheaper!!

Vems

Hi, we were in NY last October - had a brilliant time. Must recommend the boat trip all around the island, it is called "Circle ????" sorry can't remember full name we really enjoyed that and the commentary was great. Also really enjoyed the hop-on hop-off bus trips, you see so much and once again the commentary is entertaining and very informative too. We didn't buy the New York Pass we were worried that if we got too tired or behind schedule we would miss out on things we had already paid for - we just paid as we went as we hopped on and off the bus tours. Have a great time.

cymrubaby

M4RKM wrote: »

No.

If you load your card with money, it will get pre authorised on check in, it's dead money. Youll then have to withdraw it off the card back in the UK when the pre auth is released, and you'll lose money.

Get a real credit card with a low limit. It's cheaper!!

Hi there, thanks for that bit of advice. I'm reluctant to get a credit card so my mother has kindly offered to make me an additional card holder on one of her own credit cards so that I can take it with me. Thank heavens for that! Not sure I would trust myself with a credit card of my own in NYC!

miss_edith

cymrubaby wrote: »

we love food, I love all things cupcake, my hubby loves 50's America, we like Jazz music, bookshops etc. We're not necessarily going for a shop 'til you drop holiday but we will be popping by all the well-known places to buy gifts and things.

If you love cupcakes you'll love Crumbs! Their cupcakes are huge and come in all sorts of mad flavours. There's a branch on Wall Street, you need to look it up first as its hidden around a corner.:D

jackieblack

Have just booked flights in/out of Newark for end of July next year.
Have been to other parts of the USA but this will be our first time in New York. Planning on about 3 days in the city then collecting rental car and heading out for the other 10/11 days.
Am very excited!:j

Will start reading this thread at page 1 when I have more time, hoping to pick up lots of great tips (and probably asking lots of questions too!:D)

Savvy_Sue

jackieblack wrote: »

Have just booked flights in/out of Newark for end of July next year.
Have been to other parts of the USA but this will be our first time in New York. Planning on about 3 days in the city then collecting rental car and heading out for the other 10/11 days.
Am very excited!:j

Will start reading this thread at page 1 when I have more time, hoping to pick up lots of great tips (and probably asking lots of questions too!:D)

Best tip I ever got on the car rental front, do NOT attempt to pick up a hire car in NYC! We caught the train to (I think) North White Plains, where the Hertz depot is closer to the station exit than the taxi rank in many UK stations.

Then we dropped it off back at the airport (JFK), which wasn't TOO bad in terms of driving through NYC! And at least we were used to the fascist car and driving on the wrong side of the road by then.

jackieblack

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Best tip I ever got on the car rental front, do NOT attempt to pick up a hire car in NYC! We caught the train to (I think) North White Plains, where the Hertz depot is closer to the station exit than the taxi rank in many UK stations.

Then we dropped it off back at the airport (JFK), which wasn't TOO bad in terms of driving through NYC! And at least we were used to the fascist car and driving on the wrong side of the road by then.

Thanks, yes, I know what you mean and it wouldn't be my first choice but the deal we've booked (Airmiles) means we've got to pick up and drop off the car from the same depot. We need to go back to Newark Airport, so that's where we have to collect the car too.

Will pick up the car and then drive away from NYC so hoping that'll be less horrific than driving into/through NYC. We've driven thousands of miles in the USA, across several states, driving on the left doesn't bother us anymore and we survived driving across LA (just!) - hoping it can't be much worse than that. :eek:

jackieblack

unmissable wrote: »

BigPat
You mentioned that you would consider Secaucaus a few posts back.

I have recently returned from a family holiday with girl and boy aged 11 and 13 in Secaucus. We stayed at Embassy Suites.

However,much of New Jersey looks very 'industrial' from the outside until you get to the 'Harmon Meadow's complex (where Embassy Suites and Holiday Inn and Hyatt have hotels). Once there it is a little oasis, with manacured grass / kerbs, family restaurants and easily accesible shops (inc Walmart).

We had a 2x double suite which was 2 doubles in a bedroom (one for me and Mrs U and one for DD) whilst DS was on sofa bed in living room. Fantastic breakfast and managers 'drink' in the evening. There was less of a 'kitchen' than we thought ( a microwave an coffee machine) so don't expect to be able to self cater.

To get to Manhatten we took the bus ($7.90 return) to Port Authority which is effectively Times-Square. My wife said she enjoyed being 'with' the commuters on the bus seeing the skyline get closer. Total journey was 25 mins, even in rush hour, which is not much different to many Brooklyn locations (but without the view). All the buses get slow but steady access through the Lincoln tunnel.

We paid less that £100 total per night through Expedia. Please don't knock this area of New Jersey. That said, when travelling in 'Jersey City', I did not feel as though I was in such a nice area.

We also used Secaucus as a base to visit the beach (1 1/2 hours) Six Flags theme park (1 1/4 hrs) and Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall.

I also used the New York Pass for 72 hrs worth of sight seeing in Manhatten, which some in this forum advise against. For us, it was great. 3 Hard days of sight seeing, but in the end we did much, much, more than we would have if paying bit by bit.

Hope this helps.

Unm

I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions about Secaucus.

I noticed that you've said the transport into Manhattan is good, does the bus into the city run from close to the hotels? Did you feel safe on the buses?
Do you know whether there is good/any transport to Newark Airport from the area?