Everything & Anything New York City

richardw

I wish I had enough hair to worry about straightener voltages.

springdreams

Ganga wrote: »

Thanks for the tip,phatbear has also recomended this do you have to have a specific interest to book a Greeter or will they just show you around say the subway or bars if that is your interest?

They won't show you the way around the subway or the local bars.

They are people who volunteer their time to show visitors New York from the perspective of a local. So they are more likely to show you sites and places, rather than act as your guide through the subway system, or show you where the cheapest bars are. This may, however, come up in conversation anyway. Some may, however, have an interest in say particular types of ale or in brewing, so would be happy to take you on a tour of the local micro breweries.

More info here: NY greeter: http://bigapplegreeter.org/meet-a-greeter/

springdreams

Ganga wrote: »

Thanks Duckyduck,richardw and SW17 for the info/replies.As a NW virgin we are doing a lot of research, i know there are cheaper hotels but as we are both over 60 we do enjoy a bit of comfort but our priorities are a good clean hotel in a safe area.
A how long is a piece of string question,what sort of spending money will we need for a week in NY.
We will probably have breakfast in a diner,a snack for lunch and go to a bar for drinks/eats at night.
i have not even thought about a " must do list " for sightseeing but will obviously do the usuall suspects,ie ESB,Statue of liberty,central park etc
We are not into fine dining or art museums.
Thanks again for info/help.

My son and I went to New York at the end of October 2016, and I bought these passes, which are much cheaper than the New York Passes and allowed us to see quite a few things

https://www.citysightseeingnewyork.com/nyc-packages-deals/bus-tours-museums-sightseeing-cruises.html

I also pre-booked the transfers to and from the airport / hotel, as on my first trip to NY in 2015 I found that the taxi drivers are not keen to take people back to the airport!! I used this firm to pre-book a shared shuttle:

https://www.supershuttle.com/

We stayed at the Herald Square Hotel in Manhattan. We found it lovely. It is very close to most things, and is right on top of both Penn Station and Herald Station. Be aware that most hotel prices quoted online do not include the local tax, which is another approx 15% on top of the price you see on the website.

And be warned, virtually every person you deal with expects to be tipped, from the shuttle driver, to the person who gives you a foot massage. The going rate is 20% for tips.

Also, the prices shown for goods in shops are exclusive of tax.

And expect to pay another 30% on top of prices shown at restaurants to cover the tax and tip.

springdreams

curlytop12 wrote: »

hi, looked at Virgin holidays to book a 4 night hol next august-
options for hotels are midtown or soho/tribeca - could someone kindly advise please? It'll be me and teen son...
many thanks

I went to NY with my teenage son at the end of October 2016, and we were able to get a room with 2 double beds at the Herald Square Hotel in Manhattan, which is close to both Penn Station and Herald Square station. And 34th Street station is close by too. I couldn't find any hotels in Manhattan that had twins beds, and there are not that many that offer two doubles either. It was not a bad hotel. Rooms were big enough, clean and the staff were helpful and friendly. We asked for and received a refurbished corner room on one of the higher up floors per recommendations on Tripadvisor.

curlytop12

springdreams wrote: »

I went to NY with my teenage son at the end of October 2016, and we were able to get a room with 2 double beds at the Herald Square Hotel in Manhattan, which is close to both Penn Station and Herald Square station. And 34th Street station is close by too. I couldn't find any hotels in Manhattan that had twins beds, and there are not that many that offer two doubles either. It was not a bad hotel. Rooms were big enough, clean and the staff were helpful and friendly. We asked for and received a refurbished corner room on one of the higher up floors per recommendations on Tripadvisor.

Thanks, you've posted some really helpful tips there.
May i ask, did you book it as a package or DIY hotel and flights?
can you recommend how you booked it?
many thanks,
curly.

Ganga

richardw wrote: »

I wish I had enough hair to worry about straightener voltages.

Me neither,short,white and not very fashionable but when you get to my age who cares!:rotfl::rotfl:

TAZ

hi i am looking to go back to NY in the next year with my son and his girlfriend, probably just the 3 of us. I was wondering what is the best room options to go for last time i went with my mother and had a twin queen but i dont think my son and his girlfriend would be that comfortable sharing with his mum lol. would getting a suite be a cheaper option than booking my self a single thanks for reading

pompeyrich

curlytop12 wrote: »

Thanks, you've posted some really helpful tips there.
May i ask, did you book it as a package or DIY hotel and flights?
can you recommend how you booked it?
many thanks,
curly.

As a seasoned DIYer, who enjoys spending many hours seeking out the cheapest deals across Europe and Florida, I found NY to be a real challenge.

Hotel prices in Manhattan, especially in the touristy areas around Times Square are very expensive. We wanted 4 nights in early(ish) December and only started looking in the September. BA flight/hotel package was around £1300 for 2, plenty of flights for around £350-£400 each leaving me looking for a hotel for £6-700, which I thought would be easy enough! I was wrong and we ended up booking the BA deal.

Only advice advice is to price up DIY and flight/hotel options with BA or Virgin and see which works out best. In August I would definitely be looking for aircon in the room.

Ganga

pompeyrich wrote: »

As a seasoned DIYer, who enjoys spending many hours seeking out the cheapest deals across Europe and Florida, I found NY to be a real challenge.

Hotel prices in Manhattan, especially in the touristy areas around Times Square are very expensive. We wanted 4 nights in early(ish) December and only started looking in the September. BA flight/hotel package was around £1300 for 2, plenty of flights for around £350-£400 each leaving me looking for a hotel for £6-700, which I thought would be easy enough! I was wrong and we ended up booking the BA deal.

Only advice advice is to price up DIY and flight/hotel options with BA or Virgin and see which works out best. In August I would definitely be looking for aircon in the room.

We also decided to go with BA Holidays as flying from Newcastle/London/NewYork was a bit of a chew,but walked past ThomasCook window and seen they had an offer on for the same holiday with BA for a lot less money.
I asked the girl in TC how can you sell for less than BA and she said it was thru one of their partner companies who get good discounts.
If i get a min. i will dig out and post the name of the company as it might save others money. ( i am on my way to watch my team Sunderland play Liverpool,might be better staying at home:rotfl:)

loskie

Ganga wrote: »

Thanks for the tip,phatbear has also recomended this do you have to have a specific interest to book a Greeter or will they just show you around say the subway or bars if that is your interest?

No, when you apply before you go you describe your interests and any specific things you want. As strangers to NY we just opted for what the greeter did. He collected us at our hotel, explained the subway, took us to ground zero, explained where to get discount tickets which we did next day on our own, took us across the river to brooklyn, around where he lived (this was not a touristy bit so good) and walked us back over the Brooklyn Bridge.
We bought him a hot chocolate and gave him a small gift from Scotland. There were no charges or tips expected and our wee gifts seemed genuinely unexpected.
You do need to arrange this before you go. I would recommend early on in your stay being most useful.