Everything & Anything New York City

M4RKM

Traincrashing wrote: »

Hey everyone, it's been such a long time since I've been on here! I'm looking for some help with a trip to New York.

I'm going on the 28th Nov - 5th December and am looking for a hotel. Everything I'm finding seems to be really expensive. I went last year for 4 days over thanksgiving and paid a decent price for a hotel, around 400 I think. All I'm finding now is around 1200+ for even a cheap hotel in a good location. By location I would like to be in walking distance to Times Square and fifth avenue.

Do hotels do offers closer to the time, like Las Vegas does, or am I better booking sooner rather than later as far as NYC is concerned?

I stupidly paid 479 for my flight to find it dropped £100 the next day after I'd been watching it for so long (in incognito so they wouldn't see that I was), so I don't want it to happen with my hotel! Any recommendations or tips would be greatly appreciated.

You want a cheap hotel when occupancy levels will probably be around 99%. The first week in December is notoriously the most expensive time to visit, apart from New Years Eve.

I don't know what currency you're looking at, or whether you're quoting nightly rates, or what, so it is difficulty to guess. If you want a budget price, you have to have no restrictions on location.

Country Inn & Suites in Long Island City is a great hotel, near the subway, and is $1,014.51 so that works out to be £667 for the week. The rate is cancellable, however, there will not be deals closer to the time, as the rooms won't be available. Prices will continue to go up.

Also, once you've booked, you never check the price again. £479 is still a good price for a direct flight to NYC at that time of year.

M

M4RKM

visidigi wrote: »

You also might want to give a serious consideration to an apartment let through an OFFICIAL SITE - money savings might be possible...

No such thing. Apartment Rentals are illegal in NYC for stays under 30 days.

Apartment Hotels are legal, but they'll appear on hotel sites anyway, and will be more expensive than a normal hotel at the time of year the poster is asking for.

M

phatbear

M4RKM wrote: »

You want a cheap hotel when occupancy levels will probably be around 99%. The first week in December is notoriously the most expensive time to visit

Unless you pre-book well in advance of course.

Im heading out on the 27th for my 40th b'day which is on thanks giving day and i managed to get a decent hotel for less than £450 for 4 nights

littlesnuggy

Excited first-timer here! OH & I have just booked our flights and will be in NYC Mon 11th - Fri 15th November to celebrate our 10 year anniversary together. We're flying into & out of Washington DC to stay with family at the weekends either end and will get the Amtrak to NYC.

I'm completely bamboozled by the number of hotels to choose from and am torn between booking now, looking on Groupon, Hotwire & Priceline or leaving it last minute.

The posts above conflict regarding whether it's better to book early or late - any further opinions / experiences?

I want to stay somewhere that feels a bit special and plush, but we don't need or want to go totally OTT. We realise that it's likely to be at least £200 per night but there are just sooooo many to choose from and I have no idea which to go for. I looked at the Gansevoort having seen it mentioned earlier in this thread and thought it looked brilliant but it's currently very expensive for our dates - do they ever have rate sales/special offers?

Location-wise, I don't really mind where we are as wherever we choose we'll always be close to one attraction and further from another. We're planning to see the Lion King (when's best to book?), a concert at Carnegie Hall and go for a couple of posh meals, as well as seeing the sights in the daytimes.

Any advice or pointers will be gratefully received.
Many thanks.

phatbear

littlesnuggy wrote: »

The posts above conflict regarding whether it's better to book early or late - any further opinions / experiences?

you could argue either way personally i book my flights early, which are often a package so the hotel gets booked then, or in my upcoming trip i booked my flights and hotel a week apart (mar for a end nov trip).

the hotel I have booked for my trip was £450'ish when booked and its now well over a thousand quid, so this proves, to me, that booking early is the way forward. That being said I always book a hotel with free cancellation, as the hotel i will be staying in intially dropped by £50 and then another £50, and topcashback percentage went up, so i cancelled and re-booked twice.

littlesnuggy

phatbear wrote: »

i booked my flights and hotel a week apart (mar for a end nov trip).

the hotel I have booked for my trip was £450'ish when booked and its now well over a thousand quid.

Oh right, so with 3 months to go I'm way too late already to get an 'early' deal rate! Which hotel are you staying at, out of interest? The ones I'm looking at are all £1000ish, would've been amazing to get them sub-£500.

Traincrashing

Thanks everyone. I think the reason I expected cheaper is because we went last year from thurs-sun for thanksgiving with flights at 329 each and the hotel was about 400 between us, so I expected the same. It was in the w on Lexington which was a really nice hotel. I'm going with a friend who is already in the states until next week so once she is home we will book the hotel. I have a list of hotels but I'd like to know if anyone has experience in hotels with shared bathrooms? Not sure how I feel about that. Also, metro apartments after what you said Mark, is this illegal? It's came up a few times on different booking places.

bb69

Hi all

Thought i'd mention Mamara Manhattan will be opening a hotel on Park Avenue! Midtown Woo hoo! I have stayed at their other apartment hotel on 90 something and 2nd and the apartments were lovely.

I am sure they will be Park Avenue prices, but good to have another option for apartment style hotels in a great location http://www.marmara-manhattan.com/park-ave/index.html

The website says soon.. although there aren't dates yet.

phatbear

littlesnuggy wrote: »

Which hotel are you staying at, out of interest? The ones I'm looking at are all £1000ish, would've been amazing to get them sub-£500.

im staying at the hotel st james, which is now sold out, i only ever keep an eye on the prices of hotels if i have a free cancellation hotel so if the price does drop i cancel and re-book. when i last looked it was just about tipping the scales at about £1000 for 4 nights

TooClumsy

greenface wrote: »

For good steaks i would say Shulas steakhouse and my friend says St Andrews Steakhouse . Neither have tried the other so who knows .

Thanks greenface, they were on my list already. From reading other threads in this forum, I have added Blue Smoke as well to my list of great Steak recs!