Everything & Anything New York City

welshiebeth

Philippa36 wrote: »

Apparently not jeanwales - we've kept all the receipts and will hopefully get a few quid back from the insurance and the airlines.

Thanks welshiebeth, you can get a sterling silver necklace from about $100 which at the current exchange rate is £75, the charm bracelets start from $225. I wouldn't worry about going in just to look, its definitely a tourist attraction! The 1st floor is a stunning collection of expensive jewelry, then you go up in the lift for engagement and wedding rings, then the sterling silver collection, then the housewares - if I remember correctly!

Cool, thanks- looks like we will be tiffany bound then! :j

Savvy_Sue

claire80 wrote: »

i dont want to be toooo far away as i dont want to waste all my sightseeing time on travellng.

You also want to be near enough that you can just crash briefly before going out for the evening, if needed. And for my money (and m4rkm's too) you can do a lot worse than the Cosmopolitan, which we booked through Hotel Conxions. It's in Tribeca, great area, excellent transport links.

We were there at the height of summer, and if I hadn't been able to go back and collapse before our evening meal, I'm not sure how I'd have coped ...

One of our best evenings was taking the Staten Island Ferry, very late at night, to see the lights. And we were close enough to walk back to the hotel afterwards.

roses

I went at the beginning of April. The Time Out Cheap Eats guide is absolutely spot on. I tried 3 restauants from here and they were all fantastic. Far, far superior compared to the 2 places where we spent $100 for 2:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110755121658584831289.00046ea1ed5bfd45b5f5a&ll=40.731909,-73.98262&spn=0.045528,0.082397&z=13&source=embed

If you like Chinese food then Prosperity Dumpling and Tasty Hand Pulled Noodle are fantastic. I have never had Chinese food so tasty. They are both a bit grotty looking but don't be put off, you can stuff yourself for less than $10.

I also stayed at the Verve in Queens. Yes it's cheap but it's a dump. Pay a little more and go to Manhattan. It's worth the extra $50. We spent the last 3 nights at World Trade Centre. The location there is fine, it's only 10 minutes to "the centre".

Aquarius1980

claire80 wrote: »

Hi , Ive read and read and read the threads on here about hotels , but i have a question , My husband would rather have a better hotel thats a bit further out and cab /train / subway it each day then stop in say times square in something not as good for our money , does anyone have any suggestions of anything suitable - i dont want to be toooo far away as i dont want to waste all my sightseeing time on travellng . We are going in october for 4 nghts and have a budget around £600/£700 for accomodation.

I visited in March with 2 friends, and we stayed at the Beacon Hotel in the Upper West side (74th & Broadway). Lovely hotel refurbished a couple of years ago (I think), 2 blocks from 72nd street subway station, 2 blocks from Central Park, and the rooms all have small kitchen areas with fridge/microwave/hob + untensils. There is an amazing market right across the street called Fareways that sells absolutely any kind of food you could imagine (not Asda price, but cheaper than eating out 3 times a day!). We easily saved ourselves a couple of hundred dollars each by not eating out all the time, and used the money to treat ourselves to pressies from Tiffany's

I've looked on Virgin and they're currently asking £708 total for 8th-12th October, but I'm sure you'd find it cheaper with a little hunting.

There's also a diner next door which serves all day, MASSIVE portions at fairly reasonable prices. On our last night (after taking a very foggy trip to the ESB) we popped in for a light snack - I have a cracking photo of my friend looking fit to burst after barely making a dent in her Caesar salad!

welshiebeth wrote: »

Can I be dead cheeky and ask what the price range was like in Tiffany's? Would SO love to go in there, but would feel a bit weird if I couldnt afford anything and had to walk out empty handed like the typical valleys girl I am (i am conjuring up images of Gavin & Stacey's 'Nessa' strutting into Tiffany's now lol!)

Love reading these trip reports

I'd just re-iterate what Philippa said - Tiffany's are more than happy for you to have a nosey (even 3 girls wandering about the engagement ring section ooohing and aahing over all the lovely rings was fine). I bought a silver necklace with a letter pendant for about £135, and they even swapped the 16" chain to an 18" one at no extra charge. My friends both bought a ring - one was narrow with Tiffany's address engraved for about £120 ish, and the other a wider version for about £160. They also sell keyrings etc on the top floor, and I think these were about £40 (but don't quote me on that!).

Hope you both have a fab time :laugh:

katiestar1

Wow there is so much information on here!! I am planning a holiday to NYC in September as I have wanted to go for years!

I think I will be staying around the park slightly out of the 'hussle and bussle' bit of the city.

Some really great ideas for planning my trip in here so I better get organising!

Any recommendations for great hotels you have stayed in this year?

Philippa36

Staying around Central Park won't get you away from the hustle and bustle! Its a very busy and expensive area.
Wherever you stay, if you're close to a subway station you can get round the city very quickly and easily.

greenface

"Hustle and Bustle" give me hustle and Bustle all day Im on my holidays its not The Maldives or Mauritius Would you go to London and stay in Lewisham or Hounslow ? does Barnes or Dulwich float your boat. we want Soho or convent garden Mayfair and Kenny . The Parks the history all close by

Lady_S

Philippa36 wrote: »

Staying around Central Park won't get you away from the hustle and bustle! Its a very busy and expensive area.
Wherever you stay, if you're close to a subway station you can get round the city very quickly and easily.

I don't know. In my personal opinion there is a massive difference between stopping in the centre of times square ( as we did last time, in my opinion it is too busy and too crowded, although very convenient) and stopping say on the Upper West Side.

It is personal opinion, and depends on your personal choices.

Philippa36

We stayed on West 71st a couple of years back, it was a quieter more residential area but it was quite expensive and that is a factor when choosing which area to stay in. There were plenty of decent local bars though and it was fun to stay outside of the main tourist areas.
I wouldn't recommend Times Square, I think there are far nicer areas to stay in which much more going on for tourists than the bright lights and noise. But regardless of all that, you are in the middle of a very noisy, busy city and there aren't many places where you will escape the hustle and bustle - isn't that part of the charm?

natsplatnat

Hi!

I am off to America in 11 days time and part of my trip is 3 nights in NYC!

I am hoping someone may be able to tell me how much cash I am allowed to take with me? Its not a huge amount (don't get excited) but I may have on me the equivalent to £1000.

As I don't really want to upset the Americans, does anyone know if this is within the limits?