Advice needed RE: New york (and to lesser extent, Las Vegas) Hotels

lolamancity

Hi, hope someone can give me a bit of advice

Well, i've booked a 9 night holiday to New York and Vegas leaving for Vegas on 27th Nov and to New York on 1st Dec. I've found Treasure Island in Vegas for 4 nights for around £240.. i've really set my heart on that particular hotel... not booked it yet because i thought i'd sign up to their mailing list to see if perhaps they send me any special offers.

I've also been looking at hotels for NY and i'm shocked.. i knew it was expensive there, but the hotels (which look a bit shabby and have quite appalling reviews on tripadvisor) are coming up at a higher price than our flights AND vegas hotel put together. I really begrudge paying prices like this because, if anything, we sleep and shower there, and that's it (that saying, i do not want to stay in a s**thole with a peice of balsa wood for a bed, shared bathroom with 200 other guests and a room on the nosiest street in America with single glazed windows!!) If anything, i'd prefer paying the higher cost for the Vegas hotel because at least you use it to full advantage.

To be honest, im a total amatuer to travelling...and don't want to be stung before i even get over there. Have i made a huge balls up by having my first nights stay in NY con-incide with the first night of December (i presume prices rocket in Dec) plus, i doubt it helps that it is a Saturday aswell.

My question really is... do i book one now, or have a browse about everyday for the next 11 months (i think i'd drive myself mental!!!:mad: ) OR wait til the absolute last minute and hope for a last minute bargain?? Ive found the one i want to go to <i think!> (Holiday Inn fifth avenue) and i've found it for £870 odd but im tempted to wait til it maybe comes down in price... or will it go up in price!??!

Same question applies to the Vegas one... am i better waiting or booking now!?

Huge thanks in advance!

nelly_2

The hotels are cheaper in Jersey city which is just across the Hudson, check it out on expedia.

I have stayed in one of the strip hotels in vegas and see no point in doing so tbh try the smaller off-strip places their miles cheaper.

UnitedFlyer

Well done for booking New York and Vegas! Two of my favourite places!!

As for hotels, you have booked it quite well, as you look like you're spending Tue/Wed/Thur/Fri in Vegas and the rest in NY.
Apart from Fri which will be more expensive than the rest, Tue-Thur will be quite cheap at that time of year.

However - rates that you see now (especially in Vegas) will change A LOT between now and then.

My advice would be to book about 1 or 2 months at most before you plan to go.
You will get the best rates then!
Keep and eye on travelzoo.com for good rates and google 'fat wallet vegas'.
They post special offers on there for Vegas hotels that are sometimes VERY good!!

As for Treasure Island - it is a good hotel, but there are better ones available.
It all depends on how much you want to spend.
If you give me an idea as to how much, I can recommend some for you.
As a guide ... For $X you can get a standard room at T.I, a very good suite at a hotel further up the strip, or if a good offer comes available, a suite at a VERY nice hotel on the strip!
PM me if you want more info on this.

New York - Holiday Inn 5th Av, is a Holiday Inn Express! It is quite good, in a good location, but as you're in New York, expect very little and to pay quite a bit (within reason).
That's just the way it is there!
However, same thing ... keep an eye on travelzoo ... recently they had Holiday Inn Wall St for ~$125/night - thats an awesome rate!!

As for flights ( not sure if you've booked them yet?) wait a bit on them too.
Most US airlines will allow you to book a flight to Vegas with a "free" stopover in New York on the way back.
United Vacations may be a good starting point for prices.

As a guide, I would estimate that the whole trip should cost around £1800 for two of you.

PM me though if you have any specific questions

peterg1965

I went to NYC in October. Stayed in the Salisbury hotel in Manhattan, just south of Central Park (57th Street). It is not very expensive but offers great value for money. Clean and no frills. I stayed in a One Bed suite, there was six of us (2 Adults and 4 children) and the room was HUGE. $5 per person breakfast is an added bonus. I am sure they have a website, try calling them and seeing what rate you get, I would recommend it. I booked through Expedia, which seemed to offer a decent rate. Good luck, you will not be disappointed by New York and staying in Manhattan is far preferable than other suburbs (Queens, Brooklyn or Jersey).

Tinkerbell21_2

I am going for my first visit to New York in November and had problems finding a nice hotel that is within our budget. We have now booked to stay at the Radio City Apartments. The hotel is in a good location and the price is good. The reviews on tripadvisor and other sites are good too .

http://www.radiocityapartments.com/

eamonn321

Belleclaire Hotel is about $100 a night for fairly basic accommodation. Good location on Upper West Side - easy transport to Downtown from nearby subway station.

lolamancity

Oooh cool, loads of replies already! Thanks guys so far!


Nelly... cant really stay out of the centers of NY or Vegas on my husband orders! Plus, i'm not too mobile, so the nearer i am to where i'll be spending most of my time, the better! is true what you say though... the hotels out of NY and Vegas central areas are miles cheaper... if only it were a bit more practical for us!

UnitedFlyer... wow thanks for all the tips and advice! After reading the reviews on tripadvisor i was really liking TI... but only because all the more extravagent hotels on the strip were a lot more expensive.... I'll keep an eye on travel zoo and the other tips you told me and see if i can get anything better nearer the time. As requested, i wanted to spend around £200 for the 4 nights really... TI was coming up at about £250 but i'd prefer to pay a lot less (more spending money for gambling!!) seeing as i'll be spending LOTS more in NY...any help you can give me will be MUCH appreciated!! Would love to pay something around £700 for NY (the Holiday Inns are coming up at just under £900)...but i really dont want to end up in a dive - i rely heavily on a lot of sleep and turn into a monster if i dont get it... TBH a bad hotel would ruin my holiday!! Thats why i was liking the Holiday Inn... the reviews are the best ive seen for a hotel of that price (official rating 2 Star, tripadvisor rating 4 Star!) - there's a lot of hotels (eg, Pickwick, Pennsylvania) that are around the same price as the Holiday Inn/s with absolutely appallingly bad reviews on the internet. As for flights...ive already done that bit! Got flights from Manc>Vegas (change at Newark)>Newark (works out cheaper going to Vegas first) for £355 each... thought that was quite reasonable! Thanks for all your help!

Peter and tinkerbell... just checked the Salisbury website and the radio city apts website... no availability for when i'll be there... thanks for taking the time to suggest them though!!

Eamonn... Belleclaire is coming up as rather expensive for that time..will keep my eye on the rates though, hopefully they'll come down a bit!! thanks for the suggestion!!

Thanks all!!

jeanna_2

have a look at hotelscomparison and hotel club.

LB1985

I recently stayed at the Hampton Inn Manhattan Chelsea which I was very pleased with. See my Tripadvisor review here. We stayed in December 2006, and paid $1570 for 6 nights, including tax - so just under £800 for a room for two people, including complimentary (but by no means amazing!) breakfast. Found the location to be very convenient, and were easily able to walk to Macy's, Times Square, etc. within about 15 minutes. We also walked slightly further to the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, etc. Just for info - I booked the hotel around August and didn't find a better rate for the same property at all after booking.

txu

I am off to NY in March and spent many weekends looking at various websites and reviews etc. In the end we narrowed it down to 4 that had good reviews on tripadvisor and were affordable. I found looking at the candid traveller photos on trip advisor very helpful as we figured if the hotel looked decent in those as well as the glossy website photos then it should be quite nice.
Our shortlisted hotels were the Wolcott, Washington Square hotel, Cosmopolitan and the Stanford. They all seem to be close to subways. In the end we decided we wanted stay at the cosmopolitan and searched the web for the cheapest price.
The cheapest we found was with https://www.hotelconxions.com $968 including taxes for 6 nights. We were a little dubious of booking with this site as you have to pay up front and cannot cancel with a refund after the day before arrival, so if we get there and hate it we are stuffed, but the place got good reviews so we are going to take our chances. The hotel Stanford was cheaper booking direct with them but we decided against the location.
You could also check out https://www.cheaperthanhotels.com and https://www.hotelpronto.com Steer clear of the hotel Pennsylvania, my friend stayed there last year and it has obviously gone down hill since Glenn Miller wrote a song about it to remember the phone number.

Hope this helps, good luck with the search!

UnitedFlyer

lolamancity wrote:

Oooh cool, loads of replies already! Thanks guys so far!


Nelly... cant really stay out of the centers of NY or Vegas on my husband orders! Plus, i'm not too mobile, so the nearer i am to where i'll be spending most of my time, the better! is true what you say though... the hotels out of NY and Vegas central areas are miles cheaper... if only it were a bit more practical for us!

UnitedFlyer... wow thanks for all the tips and advice! After reading the reviews on tripadvisor i was really liking TI... but only because all the more extravagent hotels on the strip were a lot more expensive.... I'll keep an eye on travel zoo and the other tips you told me and see if i can get anything better nearer the time. As requested, i wanted to spend around £200 for the 4 nights really... TI was coming up at about £250 but i'd prefer to pay a lot less (more spending money for gambling!!) seeing as i'll be spending LOTS more in NY...any help you can give me will be MUCH appreciated!! Would love to pay something around £700 for NY (the Holiday Inns are coming up at just under £900)...but i really dont want to end up in a dive - i rely heavily on a lot of sleep and turn into a monster if i dont get it... TBH a bad hotel would ruin my holiday!! Thats why i was liking the Holiday Inn... the reviews are the best ive seen for a hotel of that price (official rating 2 Star, tripadvisor rating 4 Star!) - there's a lot of hotels (eg, Pickwick, Pennsylvania) that are around the same price as the Holiday Inn/s with absolutely appallingly bad reviews on the internet. As for flights...ive already done that bit! Got flights from Manc>Vegas (change at Newark)>Newark (works out cheaper going to Vegas first) for £355 each... thought that was quite reasonable! Thanks for all your help!

Peter and tinkerbell... just checked the Salisbury website and the radio city apts website... no availability for when i'll be there... thanks for taking the time to suggest them though!!

Eamonn... Belleclaire is coming up as rather expensive for that time..will keep my eye on the rates though, hopefully they'll come down a bit!! thanks for the suggestion!!

Thanks all!!

Well...

If what you request is true here are a few suggestions...

Spending ~£200 for 4 nights in Vegas (inc. a Friday nights is asking a bit!)
T.I will be a good buy, but you have a few choices ...
Spend a lot less ... (i.e £20/night) and stay in Motel 6 if you want to gamble a lot), or stay at The Stratosphere in a nicer room for less.
Motel 6 is very basic, but rooms are quiet!
Strat rooms are quite nice, esp if you get something above a premier tower room.
FWIW ... if this is your first time to Vegas ... in 4 days, you will not have much time to gamble!!
Sure .... have a go at the tables for a while, and the slots, but don't overdo it!! After all, ask yourself ... how did they build Vegas??? It wasn't on bank loans!!
If you want a good tip ... play $1 blackjack/ viedo poker and play 1 bet (i.e 25c).
That way you will get free drinks without spending much (if any).
Some bartenders will ask you to play max bet if you are asking for drinks, but I usually ask another bartender for drinks in that cas and end up getting it for free.

If your going shopping ... try Boulevard Mall ... lots of shops there!
And if you are nearby there, stop by at Moose's Beach House for lunch!!
It is more for the younger crowd, but beer is like $2, and lunch is HUGE!!!

Also, don't forget The Gun Store on Tropicana if you feel like firing a machine gun at a target!! It sure is different!!