Everything & Anything New York City

thatsfabulous

mrsg26 wrote: »

Just looking for some advice. I am in the process of booking a diy trip to New York for my mum and stepdad. they are doing a 10 night cruise with royal caribbean on the 30th august from New Jersey, so they wanted to tag on a few nights in New York first since they've never been. I have priced flights from Glasgow to JFK with BA and for 2 total cost is £1013. Have got 3 nights pre cruise in the New Yorker for £398 and 1 night in the Pod hotel after the cruise for £92. Can anyone advise if they think these prices are reasonable and also if both hotels are ok..ie are they in close proximity to the main attractions. Also they would be flying into JFK and out of Newark, are both easy to get to and from. I'm assuming that cabs are readily available? My mum is extremely nervous about this trip as she prefers using a travel agent however Ive told her its easier to book it all DIY. If anyone has any advice it would be appreciated. thanks.

I've stayed at both of the hotels, I'd say the price you payed was average. From the top of my head I think we payed around £650 for 5 nights at the pod and a little more for New Yorker.

Both are very clean and in good safe locations, I prefered the location of the pod to the new yorker lots of nice places to eat near to the pod, quieter, smaller hotel however both are close to subway.

Stayed 2008. The pod has VERY small rooms and small beds ( not like american sized beds that you may be used to) Im usually not bothered about small rooms but for 6 days it was just too small for us however as your staying only one night this shouldn't be an issue. how many rooms have you booked? two? we had shower and toilet in room but remembered looking at the shared ones and they were very clean. If you have one in your room I remember you could see into the shower from the room as clear glass FYI. Area the pod is in is quite but during our stay there was a little noise people shouting etc on our floor during the night I think the hotel attracts younger people/ people traveling due to cost.

Stayed 2009. The New Yorker, we payed for upgraded room. The room we had were very large, very modern with big beds. Not much choice for food near hotel though other than chains like mc donalds.

Have you already booked? If not for your 1 night maybe look into the Pennsylvania not the best hotel but its really close to the new yorker and It's always been one of the cheaper hotels when Ive looked in the past.

bara03

Hi Guys and Girls,

Just wondering does anyone know if it's cheaper to book on-line for TOTR or to buy tickets when you are there and then?

Also can anyone recommend a restaurant to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday? I know there are loads of them around but would love someone's opinion?

Many Thanks

Andy

greenface

bara03 wrote: »

Hi Guys and Girls,

Just wondering does anyone know if it's cheaper to book on-line for TOTR or to buy tickets when you are there and then?

Also can anyone recommend a restaurant to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday? I know there are loads of them around but would love someone's opinion?

Many Thanks

Andy

Where and when are you going ? I like to get ToTR tickets when i am there If you book in advance and its raining or dank you wont see much . I have been up a dusk and watched the city light up and been up in the morning too.Its normally cheaper on-line (most things are) but not that much cheaper . As for food ?????????????????? what do you like ???? where are you staying ??????? impossible to even think of a answer to this . Why not have a look at trip advisor new york http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/RestaurantSearch?geo=60763&q=New+York+City%2C+New+York%2C+USA&cat=&pid= Its a start

bara03

Sorry, I should have said before (I am a donut) we are going in March (21st) and staying at the Hotel Beacon.

Okay sounds like a plan paying to go up the ToTR when we are there rather than paying up front, so will do that instead, thanks for the tip.

As for food, we like anything (apart from oysters) so have an open mind.

I will check your trip advisor link out.

cooking-mama

mrsg26 wrote: »

Just looking for some advice. I am in the process of booking a diy trip to New York for my mum and stepdad. they are doing a 10 night cruise with royal caribbean on the 30th august from New Jersey, so they wanted to tag on a few nights in New York first since they've never been. I have priced flights from Glasgow to JFK with BA and for 2 total cost is £1013. Have got 3 nights pre cruise in the New Yorker for £398 and 1 night in the Pod hotel after the cruise for £92. Can anyone advise if they think these prices are reasonable and also if both hotels are ok..ie are they in close proximity to the main attractions. Also they would be flying into JFK and out of Newark, are both easy to get to and from. I'm assuming that cabs are readily available? My mum is extremely nervous about this trip as she prefers using a travel agent however Ive told her its easier to book it all DIY. If anyone has any advice it would be appreciated. thanks.

The New Yorker is a lovely hotel, we stayed there in 2010..massive big room with 2 sets of windows looking out towards Penn station and Madison square garden,theres a diner attached(Tick tock diner),we used it too often to be honest,but it was very convenient and served big portions...regarding flights have you checked out Aer Lingus?..im assuming BA. Glasgow to JFK is with a connecting flight in London?..this is how we traveled last time,it was OK..this time we've book with Aer Lingus via Dublin and saved over £100 each on flights.
http://www.aerlingus.com/home/index.jsp

guineapig

bara03 wrote: »

Sorry, I should have said before (I am a donut) we are going in March (21st) and staying at the Hotel Beacon.

Okay sounds like a plan paying to go up the ToTR when we are there rather than paying up front, so will do that instead, thanks for the tip.

As for food, we like anything (apart from oysters) so have an open mind.

I will check your trip advisor link out.

When staying at the Beacon ( and in fact most NY hotels) if you are a NON smoker ASK FOR A NON SMOKING ROOM! They will shove you anywhere( they don't ask which you would prefer). I suggest at the beacon you request a no smoking room as high as possible to reduce the chance of you being over the top of the theatre area which can be a bit noisy ( as it was for us).

We went to "Josie's" which is a nice place to eat, just come out of the hotel staying on the same side turn left at end of block it is literally on the next corner, just two minutes ( great for when you are tired!) They do nice food of all kinds and good cocktails! We liked it so much we went twice!
Next door is the Viande (we are veggie) so didnd't go also there is a cafe on the top floor of Fairways ( supermarket) directly opposite that people seem to like. We bought some great food in there to cook in our room. ( All the rooms have a cooker, fridge etc as far as I know, so you can save lot's of time and $,s if you choose to!)

There are quite a lot of places to eat close to the Beacon, I don't think you will have trouble finding something you like. Enjoy!

gregg1

bara03 wrote: »

Hi Guys and Girls,

Just wondering does anyone know if it's cheaper to book on-line for TOTR or to buy tickets when you are there and then?

Also can anyone recommend a restaurant to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday? I know there are loads of them around but would love someone's opinion?

Many Thanks

Andy

I can recommend The View which is the revolving restaurant on the 49th floor of the Marriott Hotel in Times Square. Fantastic views (as the name would suggest) and food was superb when we went. Fairly pricey but you can get a set menu for, I think, about $80.

The Boathouse is pretty special as it is Central Park on the lake but I know you do need to book some time in advance if you want a lakeside table for the evening. Food was good but The View was better. I booked both before we went.

The River Cafe at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn is a superbly situated restaurant, very expensive, need to book in advance. We thought the food at The View was actually a little better BUT stunning location - you can watch the manhattan skyline coming to life at night over the river. Or Pastis is a favourite of ours for lunch - again we booked before we left. Pastis is not fine dining like the others mentioned but still good food.

tinkerbell_xxx

Hello!
I'm going to NY in March (5 days, 4 nights) and am completely stuck when it comes to how much money to take! Obviously, I know it depends on what I'm going to be doing/buying etc, but what would people suggest I took as a bare minimum for food/drink etc? That might give me some idea of where to start!

thatsfabulous

tinkerbell_xxx wrote: »

Hello!
I'm going to NY in March (5 days, 4 nights) and am completely stuck when it comes to how much money to take! Obviously, I know it depends on what I'm going to be doing/buying etc, but what would people suggest I took as a bare minimum for food/drink etc? That might give me some idea of where to start!

It's a hard one to give an estimate as it would also depend what type of restaurants you like cheap and chearful or more fine dining?
For us, breakfast we tend to go somewhere like Pax/ corner bakery most morning which is about $8-$12 each for bagel and a coffee however sit down diners more like $15-20 each for a full breakfast.
Then diner would also depend whether you want starter,main and desert if so obviously it will cost more. A main meal only i'd say $15-$20 each.
Remember there is also tip and tax on top.
It would be a good idea to find and plan the restaurants before hand, you can look on there websites at menu's and get an average price of a meal.

Hope this helps you.

greenface

trips on a budget..... hard to say how much to take even a day out in this country you may see a "bargain" that you wouldnt normally pay for on a day out . but its turned you day out from a petrol/meal/postcard/drink £less than £60 to a petrol/meal/postcard/bit of furniture/drink £200. Have a budget & a back up. Esp in NYC (if your dragged kicking and screaming into tiffanys/Prada/Fendi etc make sure you have back up or are quick at running . Budget $ 50 per day each for basics and $100 per day as a group as extras. Show tickets are about $80+each for a decent show also . enjoy NYC