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

veggie4life

sodamnfunky wrote: »

Im looking to book my seats for NY in Feb, and looking on the virgin site, we are flying on an airbus, but there does not seem to be many available seats left on our outward flight 09.25 from heathrow, and on the return 22.25 from JFK there seems to be lots of seats available at the back of the plane. Now I am not sure if its just me, but I seem to have some psychological thing about sitting at the back of the plane as I do with trains.

Does anyone know if Virgin just release a set number of seats before hand, and then on the day of the flight more are available? Mrs SDF has given me strict instructions to make sure we are together...Ideally I would like a seat near the door.

I can't really help you but I do know if there was ever a crash stats show you have a better chance of surviving if you sit within five rows of an exit and at the back of the plane.

mrsimes

Hi,

We just returned from our first trip to New York having spent three nights there from Saturday.

We flew from Bristol on Continental airlines to Newark. The flight was excellent with good leg room, seatback inflight entertainment and good food.
The staff were smart and attentive throughout. I would certainly recommend and fly Continental again. Entry to the States took about an hour at immigration and we'd already booked a limo ahead of time to collect us from the airport and take us into the city.

The limo company we used are called Go Trend Limo. Unlike many of the limo services I found on the net, Go Trend are actually licensed according to the NYC Taxi Commission and can be found on their list of current licensees if you check their website (www.nyc.gov/taxi).
We booked a Sedan (Lincoln Town Car) for four of us. We had two large hard suitcases and two medium soft suitcases and these all just fitted into the boot of the vehicle. The vehicle itself was immaculate and pure luxury to travel in. It really started the weekend off in style and was very reasonably priced - contact Go Trend for a quote. In fact we enjoyed the ride so much that we "pushed the boat out" and called them to take us back to the airport when we were coming home (we originally planned to use the hotel shuttle bus for this!)

We stayed at the New York Hilton. I would definitely recommend the hotel. The rooms were bigger than we expected, very comfortable, modern and well appointed. All maintained to a very high standard. The only downsides were: the breakfast there was overpriced and served luke warm with a huge queue each morning to get into the restaurant, and; they charge to look after your luggage on your final day when you check out. I would therefore not recommend that you take breakfast there - instead, head towards the hotel's Starbucks, and cross the road where there is an excellent 24 hour deli (W53rd Gourmet Deli). In there you will get a really good freshly cooked breakfast at a fraction of the price, and you'll be mingling with all the business men doing the same!

All in all we had an amazing time. Macy's is just brilliant for clothes shopping, Century 21 good for bargains (if you can spare the time to dig through it all), the TopOfTheRock was amazing (better than Empire State IMO), oh and it has a really novel way of getting to the top...(! - you'll see what I mean if you go up there). The view is breathtaking if you get there as the sun is about to set.

Don't think you'll get any good deals on electrical items though. We found that UK internet prices on cameras etc beat any prices we found in any of the (legitimate) stores we found on the high streets.

We used a Nationwide VISA debit card to draw money and pay for everything and we were really pleased with the rate they gave us upon checking back in the UK (thanks for this advice Martin!). Chase Manhattan bank did not charge for ATM cash withdrawals but Bank Of America did add on $2 (they did notify us at the time). Oh, you can even check your balance over there from an ATM which was handy.

One thing that we were surprised at is how safe we felt in NY. There was a very strong Police presence everywhere. We didn't do the subway as we found the Taxis to be very reasonable and they were very efficient at getting through the traffic (a few white knuckle rides along the way though!).

We definitely plan to go back again someday, hopefully sooner rather than later.

S

M4RKM

hmm.. moneysaving = taking the subway
moneysaving = cheap hotels, not the hilton...

oh well.... *goes back off to hide*

M

wayne77

Good report.

T._x

markymoo wrote: »

hmm.. moneysaving = taking the subway
moneysaving = cheap hotels, not the hilton...
M

Indeed, although everyones budget is different. Some pay more for flights and less for hotels, some (like me) get a good deal on flights and then spend more on rooms.

I stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Times Sq and I've no doubt next time I could do the trip cheaper. Two of our party was a bit older and they were selective on hotels but I can't have too much complaints. If folk can afford the Hilton, which looks fabulous, then perfect.

I would definitely use the subway next time but for a first time the bus was good for taking photographs - even though I feel sick on the bus.

jaxxs

Hi

Off to NYC this Friday , can't wait
I have a question , I plan to vist both the Rock & Empire state building
and have been looking at there websites.
It seems I can pre buy my tickets for both , is this advisable ?
I had hope to visit at least one of them at sunset , anyone know roughly what time this is , and what time would i have to allow to achieve this ??
Any pointers would be great :beer:

shetitasatic

Hi - we're just back from 4nights in NY. many thanks to Markymoo for all his tips. I booked our trip as a surprise for my DH's 60th birthday, booking flight and hotel with Expedia last April. We stayed at the Desmond Tutu Center in Chelsea. When i booked it had only been open a few months and I only paid about £125 per night. By the time we left on 6th Dec it was 14th on the Tripadvisor list and prices had shot up!! It is the most amazing place, part of the General Theological Seminary. There are 60 rooms all decorated in S African type hardwoods. Breakfast is provided in the refectory of the college - a large room with hammerbeam roof and stained glass windows, just like Hogwarts. Breakfast includes bagels, smoked salmon, an ommlette bar, porridge, cereals, fruit, joghurt, muffins ,mini doughnuts, danish pastries etc. etc Each afternoon after sightseeing we came back to hot cider and cookies and there was always a big bowl of apples in reception to help ourselves to.
In our room thick bathrobes were provided, with organic toiletries, bottled water and a pod type coffee maker. There was also a Cd/alarm and flat screen tv. The staff were v friendly and welcoming. I Emailed them to say it was a special visit for a 60th birthday and they left a bottle of SA shiraz, 2 glasses and a corkscrew in the room when we arrived. I cannot recommend it too highly!
On my husband's birthday we went up the Empire State just before midnight - no queues and only about a dozen people there! We came down in the lift from the 86th floor on our own!!
My DH is a big John Lennon fan and as his birthday(8/12) is also the anniversary of his assassination we visited the Dakota building and Strawberry Fields on that day - were a bit disappointed that there were very few people around.
WE had a great time, used our subway passes to good effect, even rode the subway at midnight and used it + the Air Train to get back to JFK. We flew with Delta and found everything to be fine. We both want to go back again!!

greenface

:mad: so do all of us now:mad:


great post sounds like your planning was worth while

Dolly-Rocket

sodamnfunky wrote: »

Im looking to book my seats for NY in Feb, and looking on the virgin site, we are flying on an airbus, but there does not seem to be many available seats left on our outward flight 09.25 from heathrow, and on the return 22.25 from JFK there seems to be lots of seats available at the back of the plane. Now I am not sure if its just me, but I seem to have some psychological thing about sitting at the back of the plane as I do with trains.

Does anyone know if Virgin just release a set number of seats before hand, and then on the day of the flight more are available? Mrs SDF has given me strict instructions to make sure we are together...Ideally I would like a seat near the door.

Hello,

Exit seats and bulkhead seats will be held back (I think). However.......
The seats that are showing gone are just provisional holdings. 24hrs before the flight departs, check-in online and choose your seat then. Many seats that were held before may be released now due to cancellation/change of flight/upgrade etc.
Do reserve your seats now though, at least you will be together. Being at the back isnt so bad, it may be bumpier but you will be served first, thus getting first choice of meal etc.
HTH

Dolly-Rocket

By the way, loving this thread. Have visited NYC approx 200 times since 1990. Really love the place (though Chicago is Verrrrrrry close).
Work as air crew for Virgin Atlantic, so happy to answer queries where I can!