[THREAD CLOSED - SEE PART 2] Anything & Everything New York

noni

Have trawled sites looking for cheap direct flights from Glasgow to New York.
Have ended up with flights at approx £357 pp for travel between 18/1/08 returning 22/1/08 from Continental. Roosevelt Hotel at £82 per room per night including breakfast - reviews look good. Can anyone tell me if they've stayed here. What is the best way - cheapest and hassle free - to get to this hotel from airport. Thanks in advance!

M4RKM

Bongobill wrote: »

I think these increases are due to the popularity of NY at this time due to the excellent exchange rate, hotel prices seem to be increasing as well. Do you still think we will see flight prices return to the Sub £250 mark in January? I can't decide whether to take the plunge now or wait a month but maybe end up paying more.

early march? why? to celebrate my birthday (i'll be in nyc 5th - 11th)

as for if flights should go do.. i see no reason for them not to, and in the past few years i've been going (i think i've done at least 6 birthday holidays) i've always had a sub £250 flight...

jan - feb - mar are never really busy months... as it is bluddy freezing cold sometimes. however hotel prices are normally based on demand, but i never like to book a hotel until i get my flight sorted!

jen_jen_2

noni wrote: »

Have trawled sites looking for cheap direct flights from Glasgow to New York.
Have ended up with flights at approx £357 pp for travel between 18/1/08 returning 22/1/08 from Continental. Roosevelt Hotel at £82 per room per night including breakfast - reviews look good. Can anyone tell me if they've stayed here. What is the best way - cheapest and hassle free - to get to this hotel from airport. Thanks in advance!

if the hotel is in manhattan, check out the nearest subway station. from jfk get on the air train, it will take you to the underground, then its $2 (about 40 mins) to manhattan. the air train is $5 and you pay as you get off and go into the underground. you can get a map online of the stations just google it

M4RKM

jen_jen wrote: »

if the hotel is in manhattan, check out the nearest subway station. from jfk get on the air train, it will take you to the underground, then its $2 (about 40 mins) to manhattan. the air train is $5 and you pay as you get off and go into the underground. you can get a map online of the stations just google it

bear in mind, you really ain't allowed that much luggage on the subway... alright if you're handluggage only, but if you're a family with luggage...

Bongobill

as for if flights should go do.. i see no reason for them not to, and in the past few years i've been going (i think i've done at least 6 birthday holidays) i've always had a sub £250 flight...

jan - feb - mar are never really busy months... as it is bluddy freezing cold sometimes. however hotel prices are normally based on demand, but i never like to book a hotel until i get my flight sorted!

Markymoo

I think you are right, there are bargains still out there, after posting, I thought I would have a look on Expedia, and typically, there it was waiting for me at £237.50 LGW - EWR with Virgin (Continental Codeshare) - it's the first sub £250 direct flight I have seen in a while, but have been using KAYAk.com thinking they usually come out cheaper than Exp. I snapped it up at that price!

I booked a cheap and cheerful hotel back in September because my dates are fixed and it is refundable. May do the Priceline thing nearer the time.

3 months to go - can't wait, first time in NY, here’s hoping the greenback stays as weak as a kitten for a bit longer yet!

M4RKM

WooHoo!!!! well done bongobill!!!

£237 for a direct flight is GREAT!!!!

here's hoping there are some bargains left for me!!!

jonesMUFCforever

jen_jen wrote: »

if the hotel is in manhattan, check out the nearest subway station. from jfk get on the air train, it will take you to the underground, then its $2 (about 40 mins) to manhattan. the air train is $5 and you pay as you get off and go into the underground. you can get a map online of the stations just google it

Believe me the yellow taxi ride from JFK will be a highlight of your trip!
Well worth the $45. How anybody can drive anywhere in that traffic and weave in and out of lanes like a lunatic and arrive at our hotel in one piece - well you have to experience it once in your life!:rotfl:

phatbear

If you are going to use a cab, and I would highly recommend it if it is your first time because driving on to manhattan and seeing that skyline is amazing, however one major tip that is too write down where you want to go and give it to the cabbie, in 5 days and approx a dozen cab rides we never once had a cabbie who's english was up to scratch and on several occasions the chap over shot our destination, however fair play to them as soon as you make them aware they stop the clock.

Anyway from JFK to any hotel on manhattan is $45 + tolls and tips so $60, if this is your 1st trip I would suggest not diving head long into the subway system as it can be a tad confusing and there would be nothing worse after a long flight than having trouble finding your hotel.

all the best

the bear

lolamancity

Just got back from NYC yesterday. We were very lucky to see a lot of snow, so it was very christmassy and very 'picture postcard', we also had a few days of blazing sunshine (that didn't affect the -10 wind chill lol)

Stayed at the Chelsea Lodge which was a little disapointing as it was very tiny, quite cold, and the glazing was none existant, which is an absolute nightmare for noise when there's a school facing the hotel, about 5 yards away. However, we paid £350 for 5 nights, so the prie made it bareable. I'd recommend the hotel for those who might not be bothered about luxury and just want a very cheap easy base. Saying all that, the hotel is very cute, old style american deco, very very clean, and is an excellent location. I thoroughly recommend the Chelsea area, it is a short walk to what you'll need (the sights and the shopping, Macey's inparticular) and it's a really beautiful, quiet, and seemingly safe, part of Manhatten.

Just wanted to leave a couple of tips for people, as i know how invaluable the info is. We had a shuttle bus to and from the airport (Newark) which i booked prior to our holiday over the internet. We used Airlink http://www.airlinknyc.com/ who were brilliant, and got us to and from the airport very quickly, for an extremely reasonable price. Don't forget to tip the driver a dollar or two...none of the people we shared with did, but it's sort of expected in the US, that you tip for pretty much everything!

Don't forget to get your 'tourist discount' in Macey's. Go to the vistors centre on the balcony on the main floor to obtain this, it gives 11% off at the tills, which is great particularly when you think you're getting a brilliant bargain, and end up a little disapointed at the tills when they add 8%(ish) tax on everything (food, goods etc etc, everything really) the discount card is like getting stuff tax free plus a little extra. I also recommend Cucina and Co for food/drink in the basement at Macey's.

Sephora is a great shop for high-end makeup, and Abercrombie and Fitch is the best shop i went to in the US.

We went to see a Basketball game (NY Knicks) at Madison Square Gardens, that was pretty cool. We had booked cheap seats, and they were right at the back, but the view was brilliant, im so glad we didnt pay more for 'better' seats. You also get to see a few big celebs on the big screen during the game!

We also got the FREE Staten Island ferry as opposed to the Ellis Island expensive and busy one. It gave us ace views, and a great view of the Statue of Liberty, it was quick and easy, no queues, no cost.

Take a walk away from the busy shops down to Greenwich Village and Soho...the shops down there are a lot quieter and really high-end (Louis Vitton, DKNY etc) and its a really picturesque area, and also on Madison Avenue there are a lot of good shops.

One thing i went for was Ugg Boots - these can't be found ANYWHERE! I searched for days, and by luck came across a shop that sold them, but had sold out. The helpful guy told me there was an actual Ugg shop which i didn't know, he said even they had sold out, but he told me how to get there anyway. The Ugg shop is on Mercer Street, and when i got there (about 7.30pm) i was told they have a limited delivery of new stock once every 5 days(ish), and once it was gone, it was gone. Well, we got there on delivery day, and they had sold out of almost everything in just 5 hours. People had been queuing all day all down the street to get in past the bouncer on the door. We got there just as they were about to close, with not a lot left to buy. Luckily i compromised on a few colours and styles, and got a couple of the last pairs. The place looked like a bomb had hit it, and the shop staff looked in shock lol.

Another tip...we had been in Vegas before NYC and were missing English football a bit, so had noticed someone on MSE had recommend a pub called the Red Lion on Bleeker Street...we headed there and got a few cups of proper tea whilst watching a live match.

Also went on a night cruise http://www.nywaterway.com/tour/nyharbor-cruises/90-minute-twilight.shtml which was brilliant (and v cold!) and well worth the money.

Another STRONG recommendation... We wanted to buy a few electricals but couldn't find anywhere at all that sold exactly what we wanted (there certainly isn't any kind of Curry's/Comet style places there!) we walked up and down for miles, and finally stumbled across this amazing place on the last day http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ , B&H Photo Video
420 9th Avenue, they stocked absolutely every make and model of every bit of kit or accessory you could ever want (which was odd, as we'd noticed a shortage of loads of the stuff we have over here) the people who work there are ultra helpful, ultra knowledgable, ultra quick and ultra efficient, and the prices cannot be beaten in my opinion...most of the stuff we saw was over half the price of the UK.

Couple of eatery recommendations.... Cucina and Co@ Macey's, Empire Diner at 210 10th Ave at 22nd St (24 hour diner, lovely food, very authentic diner) and The Old Homestead Steakhouse at 56 9th Avenue near 15th St, beautiful food, amazing steaks, brilliant service and great great price in comparison to what you'd pay in the UK.

Don't take cash to the US if you can help it. Get a small amount of currency for tipping and other odd bits and bobs from https://www.currency-express.com/currencyexpress/ who had the best rate at the time we went, then get a Nationwide Flexaccount with Visa Debit, and load it with your spending money, then just use that for EVERYTHING when you're there. We got a rate of 2.067 on one day. Don't forget to take your passport out with you at all times, you need it for ID far more often than you'd think, esp when paying for stuff.

Also, if you're a bit thick like me, buy another suitcase (or take another one with you) i had to de-box everything we bought as i thought you were only allowed one suitcase to be checked in, when we checked in with Contintental we were allowed 2 each. If only i had known!

We stayed 5 days and booked most of what we did prior to leaving the UK, and were struggling for things to do by the end of the 4th day, so if you plan everything well in advance, you can get everything you want to do in the time you have available. I recommend printing a map off google images, and marking on it everything you want to do and see, and try to stick to the same area each day to get everything in that area done. Also, if you can, try and walk everywhere. Although you are walking massive distances, you don't even notice, and you get to see so much more, and stumble across things you didn't know about. We only got the subway once in 5 days, and a taxi twice in one night (our feet wouldnt possibly walk anymore and we had to get from one end of manhatten to the other in the lashing snow, that's the only reason we did it!) You also walk off all the food you eat.. i actually lost weight over our stay, through constant walking everywhere!

lolamancity

lilfairy wrote: »

Hey, a bit aside from flights, sorry...

If I take my hair straightners/phone charger etc to New York with me do I need a voltage converter or just an adapter? Im quite worried, as the last thing I want to do is blow up my GHDs!
Thanks
Steph

Hmm, i was the same as you

I bought a couple of heavy and bulky converters on Ebay before we left, but was scared of blowing the GHD's, so took my cheapo ones.

Anyway, got there and used the converter with my cheap irons for a few days, and it was fine. Then it stopped working. So used another for a few days, then that died too. So started using a normal adaptor plug, and it got my straighteners 'almost' as hot as they get in the UK, but not fully. Also, i couldn't get my Nokia charger to work with the adaptor 9 times out of 10... every now and then it would randomly charge for about 5 mins