Everything & Anything New York City

phatbear

lappish22 wrote: »

Hi

I am just planning a 4 night break to New York (april 2011) and have a few questions.....

1. Is four nights suitable or would 3 nights suffice? We have 2 teenagers in tow (13 and 14)
2. Really want to fly Virgin - but is the service any better than Delta or Continental Airlines?
3. Anyone stayed at Westin New York Times Square? This is my favourite choice so far.....
4. Regarding airport transfers....shall we pre-book or get one when arriving? Also, may book a limo for arrival (special occasion) so who would be the best company to book this with?
5. I am looking to book direct with Virgin Holidays as a package.....i know I may pay more but seems the easiest option!

Thanks for any help you are able to give before I take the plunge and confirm flights!!!!

1. 4 or 3, more is always best, however saying that I dont think I could handle more than 7 in NY. 3 nights will be a struggle but it depends when your flights are, we always arrive at lunch time in NY, so we have the rest of the day, and then fly back to the UK overnight, so in effect you've got another day in NY.

2. Only ever flown virgin and service has always been spot on.

3. Nope, and why is it your fave choice?

4. Easiest, ie door to door is gonna be getting a cab outside the airport, no need to prebook and you will pay $65. Never used them but carmelcars are well thought of for limos:

http://www.carmellimo.com/

5. Dont see how booking with virgin holidays would be anymore or less easy than booking a package with anyone, after all you wont be staying in a virgin hotel, personally I always use expedia who to date have never been beaten on price for our trips and add quidco and nectar points to their price and it makes it more of a bargain. When i've looked at virgin holidays to florida they were stupidly expensive compared to expedia and they were exactly the same holiday.

lappish22

Thanks phatbear - i am off to check out Expedia!

Mich81

kb36 wrote: »

Thanks for that - won't be drinking loads with 2 kids in tow but the occasional beer/coffee/soft drink etc for us all would be nice.

It's just the kind of info needed as I have no idea of prices etc and am still researching the trip. We can afford to up the budget as daughter won a comp for the holiday and the £500.00 was given to us as part of the prize for food budget:-)

Need to work out what other attractions we want to see and a rough budget for these. Obviously with 2 kids in tow it might be less fast paced than if it were just us but want to see as much as possible as it is such a fab opportunity to experience NYC

wow well done on winning :j

I've not been to NYC yet (going in 4 weeks!) but for basic food choices I went onto google maps to look at my hotel, then chose the search nearby option for delis/cafes/restaurants to get an idea of what is around my hotel, and to check out their menus to get an idea of costs.

Take a look at the ABC website and apply for TV show audience tickets, we've got tickets to see Good Morning America while we're there!

Savvy_Sue

Tip about pre-booking a limo, for an airport transfer they may not want to take your luggage!

nyc123

Hi everyone

My boyfriend and I are going to new york for the first time and have found a lovey looking B and B on Staten Island (called victorian B+B). We love the look of it and the price seems good but we are a bit worried about travelling on the ferry everyday. The B+B is ten min bus ride from the ferry in the New Brighton area.

Has anyone ever stayed on Staten Island? Was it a pain going back and forth..or was it a nice experience?

Is there a bus that goes to manhattan?

We are young and may be out late some nights and wondered whether anyone knows whether taxi's are likely to be outside the ferry terminal late at night?

We thought it might be nice to see New york from a different/quiet residential type perspective aswell as experiencing the busy exciting city.

Any feedback would be much appriciated, thank you:)

dmg24

lappish22 wrote: »

Hi

I am just planning a 4 night break to New York (april 2011) and have a few questions.....

1. Is four nights suitable or would 3 nights suffice? We have 2 teenagers in tow (13 and 14)
2. Really want to fly Virgin - but is the service any better than Delta or Continental Airlines?
3. Anyone stayed at Westin New York Times Square? This is my favourite choice so far.....
4. Regarding airport transfers....shall we pre-book or get one when arriving? Also, may book a limo for arrival (special occasion) so who would be the best company to book this with?
5. I am looking to book direct with Virgin Holidays as a package.....i know I may pay more but seems the easiest option!

Thanks for any help you are able to give before I take the plunge and confirm flights!!!!

Assuming the difference in cost is not huge, I would go for four nights. Three nights is fine, but you might want longer for a first trip.

Why do you want to fly with Virgin? I would choose Delta everytime. However, airline experiences are very personal, everyone will have different opinions.

Westin Times Square is right on Times Square. That would be too much for me, you can't step out of the front door without hitting a crowd.

I agree with phatbear on the other points!

*pinkie*

nyc123 wrote: »

Hi everyone

My boyfriend and I are going to new york for the first time and have found a lovey looking B and B on Staten Island (called victorian B+B). We love the look of it and the price seems good but we are a bit worried about travelling on the ferry everyday. The B+B is ten min bus ride from the ferry in the New Brighton area.

Has anyone ever stayed on Staten Island? Was it a pain going back and forth..or was it a nice experience?

Is there a bus that goes to manhattan?

We are young and may be out late some nights and wondered whether anyone knows whether taxi's are likely to be outside the ferry terminal late at night?

We thought it might be nice to see New york from a different/quiet residential type perspective aswell as experiencing the busy exciting city.

Any feedback would be much appriciated, thank you:)

There s no direct way to get to manhattan on the bus..you d have to go thro brooklyn or new jersey which would prob take ages. The ferry is half hour each way - quicker at rush hour points.

Do you have a limited budget - is that why you are chosing a B & B? You re already taking at least an hour and a half out of your day commuting backwards and forwards from Staten Island and thats only if you re in the South Ferry Area. You d be looking at even more if you are visiting uptown manhattan. Time in New York seems to go so fast, so i d think you should stay closer to Manhattan, e.g in Brooklyn if you have limited funds. Believe me when you get there you want to spend as much time as possible soaking up the atmosphere in the city and it just seems a shame that you d spend a chunk of that on the Ferry.

Also if you re out shopping and get loaded with bags, you can't just nip back to the hotel to drop them off.

I ve seen people mention on here that they have stayed in brooklyn and it only takes 2 subway stops to get into the city, i d urge you to consider brooklyn before booking anything on Staten Island.

UPDATE - Just had a look at the rates for the B & B you ve mentioned. I stayed at the Amsterdam Inn on 76th street in Manhattan for more or less the same price when was stranded because of the volcano. Its clean and basic - not got the features of the B & B you ve looked at. There are rooms with private and shared facilities. You also got a free bagel/pastry and drink from a deli down the street thrown in.

northwest1965

3nights to me doesnt seem long enough, you do not arrive with Virgin until lunchtime or afternoon. I'd go for at least 4 if you can. We have booked for 7nights, if you take a peek at trip advisor - NYC, there are so many that go for 5 - 10 nights and just keep going back:D

lisadolphin

Hi all.

I was supposed to go to NYC last year but had to cancel because I wasn't too well.

I just have a query about the length of flight between LHR and JFK. Do you find your flights are usually longer or shorter than stated on your booking?

Thanks.

emilyjade

Our flights were lhr - jfk just under 7 hours, the return flight was 5 and half hours. I think its generally an hour shorter on the return anyway but we did come back on a different plane.