Trip to New York Advice

[iOrlando]

Um, yes.



Disagree. If you're within 20 min of Manhattan on the subway or PATH, you'll save a LOT on hotels, without much inconvenience. On a student budget, the difference is significant. I do agree that you should avoid the actual suburbs, and the outer edges of the outer boroughs.

i guess I lost touch with the college student crowd. For me, that would be an awful time and whatever money I am spending on the cheap hotel would be completely wasted and put to better use with a hotel in manhattan, but i guess if he is in college and quite frankly doesnt know better..he probably would have less issues with it.

if you do it by cost..well yes technically you will save.

you can get a good decent room for $200 say...in downtown manhattan.

how much is a room 20 min outside..? $120?

and subway is what these days...2.50?

but the cost of 40 min commute and the cost of just not being able to walk a few blocks and take a nap in your room before dinner and such....way more than any actual dollar savings...

vacations are the time you splurge.

I see so many people do the cheap route and then they complain about the city they visited.
People who visit Miami..for example..get the wallet out and stay at a hotel in Miami beach, dont go cheap and get some random hotel back over near the airport. You end up hating the vacation and then you think the city sucks.

 

[nospeed411]

We visit NY alot...I always stay at the Lotus hotel. It is as cheap as they come but still has super nice rooms and great staff. It's actually a converted apt building and you share the bathroom and kitchen. You basically rent one bedroom in an apt and the original living room is also a converted bedroom. The room key opens the front door and your locked bedroom door. We love the place. Plus it's right smack dab in the middle of everthing. Times square is a 15 min walk to the west and the Apple store is a about 20 blocks due North. Also takes about 15 mins to walk to Radio City. I can't stress enough how convenient this place is.

Hers the link.
http://www.lotushotelnewyork.com/default.aspx?pg=home&rp=gallery

We always drive when we go and there is a great place to park a block away...the little Jetta gets special second floor reservations..LOL

We where there for Christmas this year and our room was less then 200 a night

 

[splitpea]

but the cost of 40 min commute and the cost of just not being able to walk a few blocks and take a nap in your room before dinner and such....way more than any actual dollar savings...

For 40 min, I agree. For 10-20 min, you're going to be spending that much time getting places even if you start in Manhattan, unless you can afford $300/night anyway. That's all I'm saying.

 

[ddeadserious]

Try this. It's in Queens, just over the bridge from Manhattan.

http://www.bestwesternnewyork.com/hotels/best-western-city-view-inn/

I like this one, definitely on my "considering" list.

I really like the price of this one, but not sure of the hotel itself lol
The Americana Inn
69 West 38th Street New York, NY 10018

Is that in a bad area? I looked at Google Map street view, and it just looks like a big city(but I'm judging this based on Detroit), but it doesn't take much to look "alright" to me.

We visit NY alot...I always stay at the Lotus hotel.
Hers the link.
http://www.lotushotelnewyork.com/default.aspx?pg=home&rp=gallery

I like that idea, but it's booked up through May Thanks anyways though

Thanks again to everyone offering their input.

The trip should be happening April 22-25.

 

[splitpea]

I really like the price of this one, but not sure of the hotel itself lol
The Americana Inn
69 West 38th Street New York, NY 10018

Nope, that area is just fine, although it may be a bit dead at night -- it's in the middle of the commercial part of midtown, so it empties out after work and on weekends. Things will be a little busier a few blocks north and west, nearer Times Square. It's also just a few blocks from several major subway lines -- great location.

Major attractions right there are Bryant Park, the central branch of the New York Public Library (the Reading Room is gorgeous and worth a visit if you're that close), Grand Central Station, and of course Times Square. You're also not far from the Empire State Building, Herald Square (where Macy's is) and Madison Square Garden (not as exciting as it sounds unless you're there for a game). You're also a short walk from Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

 

[ddeadserious]

Nope, that area is just fine, although it may be a bit dead at night -- it's in the middle of the commercial part of midtown, so it empties out after work and on weekends. Things will be a little busier a few blocks north and west, nearer Times Square. It's also just a few blocks from several major subway lines -- great location.

Major attractions right there are Bryant Park, the central branch of the New York Public Library (the Reading Room is gorgeous and worth a visit if you're that close), Grand Central Station, and of course Times Square. You're also not far from the Empire State Building, Herald Square (where Macy's is) and Madison Square Garden (not as exciting as it sounds unless you're there for a game). You're also a short walk from Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Cool thank you so much.

Any opinions on the Ramada Queens?
Ramada Queens
164-40 Hillside Avenue
Queens, NY 11432 US

It can be had for $80/night and has really good reviews on Priceline.

 

[rdowns]

Cool thank you so much.

Any opinions on the Ramada Queens?
Ramada Queens
164-40 Hillside Avenue
Queens, NY 11432 US

It can be had for $80/night and has really good reviews on Priceline.

It's on the other side of Queens and probably a 45 minute subway ride into Manhattan. Not the greatest neighborhood.

 

[splitpea]

It's on the other side of Queens and probably a 45 minute subway ride into Manhattan. Not the greatest neighborhood.

This.

If you're going to stay in Queens, stick with the area called Hunter's Point on Google Maps (aka Long Island City... you should be able to find it right near Manhattan). That's the area that's most convenient to midtown. Between the Long Island Expressway and about 36th Street, and west of Broadway, you should be reasonably close to the subway and have a quick trip into Manhattan, although parts of the neighborhood are better than others.

In Brooklyn, consider Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights, and the Grand Army Plaza area (which is also near the Brooklyn Museum, which is awesome.)

Brooklyn will be a quicker trip to the downtown parts of Manhattan; Queens a quicker trip to midtown.

Look for the little Ms in blue squares on the map for subway stations.

 

[bainesajay]

Re: Prices

I think you should check out hotwire. I stayed in Times Square for $89/d and that was a few weeks ago.

 

[ddeadserious]

Thanks guys, after looking through hotwire and priceline, it seems the Americana Inn will work fine for me for a decent price, so I made the reservations.

Now I just need to figure out how we're getting there. I was planning on taking a train, but it's not going to be quite as cheap as I had anticipated, so now I'm looking at flying. The train would cost $132 round trip per person(using a student discount), but it's a 15 hour ride. The plane will be around $200 each(+ baggage) but it's only a two hour trip. Like iOrlando said, vacations are all about the time you splurge. So is it worth it to spend almost 8 times the amount of time to save maybe $200 total? I'm leaning towards just flying(besides, I've never flown before )

 

[splitpea]

Have a great time!

 

[jersey]

My inlaws just came to visit us in NYC and they stayed at the Waldorf Astoria for $110 a night. You're not going to get much fancier than that.

Also you should check Craigslist. A lot of people in Brooklyn, LES, the Village, etc. are renting out their apartments while they are out of town. So you get an actual place to stay for like $250 a week.

No Chain restaurants. Get yelp for your iphone and trust it.

Propose while walking across the Brooklyn bridge.

 

[ddeadserious]

How on earth did they get in the Waldorf Astoria for $110/night?

 

[jersey]

How on earth did they get in the Waldorf Astoria for $110/night?

They used either priceline or hotwire. It's easy to game hotwire if you know the specific amenities of the the hotel you want to stay at.

 

[TwoBytes]

So what's the the deal travelling to NY and using wIFI? Is there much other than the free Mcdonalds wifi? ( and face it, you don't want to have to run to a McD's everytime you need to check google maps

Didn't want to exchange SIM cards

 

[splitpea]

So what's the the deal travelling to NY and using wIFI? Is there much other than the free Mcdonalds wifi? ( and face it, you don't want to have to run to a McD's everytime you need to check google maps

Didn't want to exchange SIM cards

I think there may be municipal wifi in some of the parks, but other than that you're stuck tracking down Starbucks and such.

That said, Manhattan is a grid above 14th St, and there's this old-fashioned thing called a paper map that you can use to get around.

Plus NYers aren't as grouchy as their reputation. Don't be afraid to stop people and ask for directions.

 

[TwoBytes]

I think there may be municipal wifi in some of the parks, but other than that you're stuck tracking down Starbucks and such.

That said, Manhattan is a grid above 14th St, and there's this old-fashioned thing called a paper map that you can use to get around.

Plus NYers aren't as grouchy as their reputation. Don't be afraid to stop people and ask for directions.

Thanks friend. I'll come clean, I just want the WIFI to check out macrumours on my iphone/iPad (if i can pick one up!) whilst the lady shops me out!

 

[Ttownbeast]

Anything you do for travel in city is cheap enough but if you two decide to visit the greater Hudson valley outside the city the transit system is ****ed heres a comparison between the two regions I have lived in:

Tacoma, Washington to Olympia Washington by public transit:

-Distance 30 miles
-cost to travel 3 dollars
-time waiting for a bus 1 hour

New york city to Newburgh new york:

-Distance approximately 40 miles
-cost to travel 20 dollars
-bus schedules once every 2 to 3 hours.

You can take the train out here but it is still more expensive than a bus from Tacoma to Olympia. you would probably be better off using a cab out here--taxis seem to have a national standard no matter where in the country you go