[Closed - see new thread] New York Q&A

hammy_the_hammer

snugglepuss rochester airport is a 100+ mile drive from syracuse ....syracuse has its own airport.

rooster

Three of us going to New York in January for three nights and was wondering if anybody could advise on a quality hotel, which is also central for most of places most likely to visit. Also does it make sense to take dollars rather than travellers cheques.

thanks

snugglepuss_2

I stand corrected then. I have only ever flown into Rochester to visit that part of NY State.

M4RKM

rooster wrote: »

Three of us going to New York in January for three nights and was wondering if anybody could advise on a quality hotel, which is also central for most of places most likely to visit. Also does it make sense to take dollars rather than travellers cheques.

thanks

I'm currently writing a guide about areas and suitable hotels that i've found, but before I post that, i'll mention (again) that anything in Manhattan is rather "central". It is a true tourist myth that you HAVE to stay near Times Square. To be honest, apart from the flashing lights, there are no decent shops in Times Square, and food is rather over priced. Some people like the upper sides of Central Park, and you can easily get a subway / taxi and hit midtown in less than 10 minutes. Or you could be Lower Manhattan / TriBeCa, and again 10 - 15 mins be around Times Square.

So what i'm overall saying is that you should set a budget, a quality quality hotel could cost above $400 a night, and a standard hotel is around the $200 mark, prices rarely go down, and think about what you're going to use your hotel for. If it is your first NYC trip, i think it'll end up being no more than 10 hours in a day, thats 8 hours sleeping, 2 hours getting changed, and dropping bags off etc etc. The rest of the time in the day, you'll be out exploring and having great fun! (wrapped up warm though because it can be bitterly cold in Jan)

hammy_the_hammer

also bear in mind when reading hotel reviews that the person may have been upgraded without knowing it .

olic

I am stopping over in JFK airport on my way to Guatemala City in a few days time and I was wondering what the feasibility of buying a digital camera in the airport would be?

I could buy one before I leave, but I'm sure if I buy one in dollars, it's going to be cheaper. Anyone been to this airport and noticed an electronics shop?

Cheers!

Monkhouse

Visited NY back in Feb for the first time and LOVED it. We'll be returning as soon as we can.

Having read the thread so far, my comments would be:

- We stayed at the Doubletree Metropolitan at E 51st and Lexington. We found this to be a great location, with a subway right outside. Hotel admittedly needed a bit of a facelift in places, but it was very reasonable price. The bed was luxurious, and the rooms all quite contemporary. It's just up from the Waldorf Astoria.

- Manhattan is really quite compact. The only time we didn't walk anywhere was getting a cab back to Midtown from Battery Park after the Statue visit. Otherwise, if you plot a good route, all the 'top' tourist bits are within walking distance of each other, no problems.

- Last Feb, it was VERY cold - but it was that 'nice' crisp cold. We'd missed the snow by a day or two, so Central Park was white as a sheet, yet we had clear blue skies. Perfect. It was around 21F (-6C) the whole time. Only problems were negotiating the 3ft mounds of snow piled up on the side of every road, and that JFK was operating on one runway when we landed, so we'd had to circle for an hour!

- Definitely try Rockefeller AND Empire State. Rockefeller has much newer facilities (the lift journey is cool!) and as Glenn says above, a more interesting view. Empire State is much more 'grand' and traditional, but still has to be seen. They were refitting the 86th floor when we went, so it was a bit of a building site - but hopefully they're done now. Be wary of windchill tho - Empire State is fully open at the top (Rockefeller has perspex), so -6C soon felt like -40.

- Allow plenty of time if you're getting the ferry to Liberty and Ellis islands. The queues were very long when we went at 11am. The security before the ferry is tighter than any airport I've ever been in, and takes a little time. Very amusing busker doing the queue though!

- DON'T be tempted by a restaurant by Times Square called Mars 2112. It's billed as a kind of 'intergalactic spectacular' experience, but it's basically a space-themed Hard Rock sort of place for kids. It took an hour for us to get our table (there's a ridiculous motion-video 'ride' you have to do first, and it broke down with us in it), the bar was CLOSED at 8.15pm, the food took about 4 minutes to arrive and tasted like it (cold cardboard), the staff evidently HATED wearing their silly alien costumes - the whole thing was bl**dy awful. We thought it would be a laugh, but never again!

- Everybody was as friendly as you like. I was under the impression there was a New York 'attitude', but we never saw it. We also felt very safe, but we did stick to all the major tourist places.

- Tip the barman a few bucks when you first order drinks at a bar. After that, leave him a buck or so each time. We found this ensures speedy attentative service!

- Check out the M&M's store on Times Square.... it's worth a look even if you don't like sweets!

- Buy a chili dog from a street vendor. They're worth it!




... If I think of anything else, I'll post!!

loveabargin

scuzie wrote: »

I went to New York a while ago now and the best recommendation I have if you are there for a few days is to book a big apple greeter. You fill in a form with what you want to see/do etc and they allocate you a guide for a few hours. You get a travel card for the day plus a bus map that was worth it's weight in gold . If you just want to know how to use the busses or the subway it is well worth the time to use this service. It is free (once only) and you cannot tip but you can now make a donation (That wasn't an option when I went). We had a fantastic guide who took us to Harlem, she knew the best museums and little hide-aways that you just wouldn't have the find on a short trip. She also took us to see/hear some jazz music that wasn't advertised (and in her own time).

enjoy

http://www.bigapplegreeter.org/index.html

Thanks for this post I knew about this but couldn't remember what they was called
and just sent my request for one . I can't wait!!!!

M4RKM

Monkhouse wrote: »

- DON'T be tempted by a restaurant by Times Square called Mars 2112.

Seriously.. DON'T BE TEMPTED BY ANY RESTAURANTS AT TIMES SQUARE
proper restaurants are dotted around manhattan, just not in Times Square.
as i've said in previous posts, times square is just a square, with flashing lights in it.

loveabargin

My family of 4 are going in december and flying into JFK will taxi's take 4 person plus luggage or should I book a shuttlebus and if so any recommedations? We will be arriving around 6pm on a friday so I hope the traffic wont be too bad.

We will be staying at the casablanca hotel on 147 west 43rd street now if the taxi option is ok, which way should I ask the driver to go so we get a great view coming into manhatton

Thanks to all poster's and I am taking notes