The NEW YORK Megathread (questions & answers..not chat)

furiousox

ncmc wrote: »

...Nice idea staying in the same hotel btw, very romantic!

I have my moments!
Total surprise too btw, she doesn't know about it yet.
I might let her find out about it on this thread!

Liamo08

DingDong wrote: »

I'm heading the end of October and was hoping to get somewhere for around €600-700 for 5 nights. I've seen two bed apartments for around $300 a night which would suit as another couple is coming with us.

I wouldn't rule out a stay in an apartment but just be careful that you check out the apartment before you pay anything. I used http://www.homeaway.com/ and ensured that any place I looked at had plently of reviews and looked legit, having sent some mails to places on craigslist you'll know quick enough if its a scam or not. We ended up with a great 2 bed (With a sofa bed that slept upto 6) in the Lower East side for around $300 a night.

Omega28

I was looking to get away for next week for 5 nights, is 1250euro for flights and accom too expensive or is that the average price for Sept?

p.s whats the weather like at that time of yr?

thanks

ncmc

Dylanmc111 wrote: »

I was looking to get away for next week for 5 nights, is 1250euro for flights and accom too expensive or is that the average price for Sept?

p.s whats the weather like at that time of yr?

thanks

I'm heading next week too! The weather at the moment is cloudy and wet, but the 10-day forecast is good, sunny with temps of high 20's from Sat onwards so fingers crossed :pac:.

Are you only booking now? If so, you are paying a premium for flights, so yeah, €1250 sounds about right. Is that per person sharing? If so, it's not cheap, but I think at this stage you can expect to pay that.

We booked back in March and are paying €1900 for the two of us for flights and 9 nights accom. Pays to book early sometimes .

Omega28

thats promising about the weather!

I suppose 1250 is alot! but we are getting 5 nights in a 4 star hotel!

yep thats 1250 euro pps!

may I ask where u booked it?

thanks:)

p.s I wish I booked early!

ncmc

Dylanmc111 wrote: »

thats promising about the weather!

I suppose 1250 is alot! but we are getting 5 nights in a 4 star hotel!

yep thats 1250 euro pps!

may I ask where u booked it?

thanks:)

p.s I wish I booked early!

We really lucked out, happened to hit on a really good air fare with Continental, €900 for the two of us, it went up by €150 a few days later. We booked the hotel with a 3rd party website www.yeego.com I wasn't really familiar with them but they seem to be on the level, we got a 3&1/2 star hotel 5 mins from Times Square for 9 nights for €1003 in total! Complete bargain price, don't know how we managed to get it so cheap. It was less than half the price of the hotels own website. I rang the hotel and they have our booking and have been paid for it, so it seems to be ok! We'll prob get the worst room in the place, but I don't mind that, it's only a place to lay your head at the end of the day!

furiousox

Ok Having read through this entire thread I've found it very helpful and informative, big thanks to everyone who contributed!:)
As I said earlier we're going back for 4 nights in November (last there 15 yrs ago)

Apart from the obvious sights I've added the following to our wishlist on the advice of previous posters.

Take the Staten island ferry
Get a New york pass
Check out New york tours
Eat in the revolving restaurant (Rockerfeller centre?)

Check out a movie/tv sets tour
Check out madison sq gardens
Go to woodbury common
Do 'top of the rock'
Take the rock n roll walking tour
Go to Ripleys museum
Go to Chocolate by the bald man in Union Square and get "Death by Chocolate"
Eat in Carmines (opposite Toy's R Us in Times Square)
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge and eat in Grimaldi's on the other side.
Take in a Broadway show.
Try and get tickets for Letterman.
Go to Chinatown/Canal St

Anything else I should add to the list?
Not the obvious (Empire State, Liberty etc)
Looking for the not so obvious that people have discovered, something to make the trip even more memorable.
Just wondering is it worth going to see a movie in New York?
Probably unlikely as there will be so much more to see and do, but is there any 'wow' factor about a new york movie theater or are the big cinemas here just as good?

Toto Wolfcastle

Going to the cinema in NY is pretty much like going to the cinema in Ireland. Depending on the film the audience can get pretty animated but that's just annoying.

BaZmO*

furiousox wrote: »

Check out a movie/tv sets tour

janeybabe wrote: »

Going to the cinema in NY is pretty much like going to the cinema in Ireland. Depending on the film the audience can get pretty animated but that's just annoying.

Think you missed the bit in bold.

Toto Wolfcastle

furiousox wrote: »

Just wondering is it worth going to see a movie in New York?
Probably unlikely as there will be so much more to see and do, but is there any 'wow' factor about a new york movie theater or are the big cinemas here just as good?

Think you missed that bit.

BaZmO*

janeybabe wrote: »

Think you missed that bit.

Haha. So I did.

lord lucan

The Roosevelt Island Tram should be back up and running by November,that'd be worth a short spin. It's a cable car that goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island in the middle of the East River. You get some great views of Midtown Manhattan and the East River on the way over. You can use a Metrocard on it too as it's run by the MTA and is part of the public transport system.

Worth it for the views,there's nothing to do on Roosevelt Island so you can take a short walk,take some pics and head back.

hshortt

Take a stroll around central park too.

Enjoy

Zaph

furiousox wrote: »

Go to Chinatown/Canal St

I'd avoid that tbh. Dirtiest, smelliest place I've ever been to. Couldn't wait to get out of there.

cooperguy

This has probably been mentioned before but you can get some very good deals on Hotwire.com for hotels in New York. Friend of mine was there a few months back in a great hotel at a 25% discount.

Draw back of coarse being you dont know the exact hotel you are staying in until you have it booked. But with star rating, amenities and location listed it isnt that much of a risk.

furiousox

I've applied for Letterman tickets, are there any other shows I could try and get audience tickets for?

Tom Fiat

You could try one of the CSI shows.
Also - shows like the hills are always looking for extras when filming outside of LA.

furiousox

Cheers, but just looking for audience tickets for the likes of Letterman etc.
Are Jay Leno, Conan O Brien etc recorded in New York?

lord lucan

furiousox wrote: »

Cheers, but just looking for audience tickets for the likes of Letterman etc.
Are Jay Leno, Conan O Brien etc recorded in New York?

Leno is in California. O'Brien is only starting to film a new show for TBS in November iirc,not sure if he's staying in NY. Letterman is the daddy of the lot. Best advice i've heard is get there early in the day as they hand out tickets if there's no-show's from those that had tickets and said they were attending.

fendigal

Hi..myself and hubby thinkin of bookin the newyorker for 4 nights next March..has anybody stayed here or would have any opinions on the place?
Also wondering about going out to woodbury common, is it best to hire a car to take us out and come back for us..or how would people rate the bus service out to there?
Thanks in advance for any help

borderlinemeath

fendigal wrote: »

Hi..myself and hubby thinkin of bookin the newyorker for 4 nights next March..has anybody stayed here or would have any opinions on the place?
Also wondering about going out to woodbury common, is it best to hire a car to take us out and come back for us..or how would people rate the bus service out to there?
Thanks in advance for any help

Stayed in the New Yorker last February - rooms are quite small so average by NYC standards.
Also the lower floors are let out as student dorms - didn't bother us - just that every time we came back in we were asked to see our keycard as they seem to be quite strict on who they let access the floors. (and with hands full of shopping it was a bit awkward sometimes)

Service was good, everything worked and the Ticktock diner which is attached to it is really good - fast service, huge portions and very reasonable prices)

Location wise - you couldn't be better - opposite Penn Station/MSG - a block from Macys, 2 blocks to Empire State, and about 7 blocks from the bus station where you get the bus to Woodbury Common.

I really wouldn't bother with a car - Parking charges are astonomical in NYC, never mind the driving!! It's a long enough drive (about an hour) and you could easily get lost if you're unsure of where you're going. And don't forget the tolls!!
The bus is probably a better option and if you book it online before you go it's cheaper. Bring a suitcase with wheels as you will be walking around Woodbury all day and bags get heavy! Lots of storage space in the coach for luggage.

fendigal

hey thanks borderlinemeath thats great info..the hotel sounds pretty good so! im not fussy as long as its clean and central..dont plan spendin too long in hotel only to sleep so size of room doesnt really matter!
Sorry i didnt mean hiring a car to drive ourselves but moreso hiring a taxi or that to take us out there..a friend of mine said they done that an it worked out cheaper than the bus but there was 4 of them to split it..there'l only be the two of us! Would you recommend gettin the bus to woodbury?ive heard its a good idea to bring a suitcase alrite rather than draggin bags around..
Also (sorry to be pickin your brains) the price we got from hotel included breakfast..did you get breakfast in the hotel? what was it like..
thanks a million again

furiousox

How much should you tip the guy who brings your luggage up to your room?
Sorry for the dumb question but it's been 15 yrs since I've been in NY and back then it was $1 per case!

ncmc

furiousox wrote: »

How much should you tip the guy who brings your luggage up to your room?
Sorry for the dumb question but it's been 15 yrs since I've been in NY and back then it was $1 per case!

I would think $1-2 dollars per case would still be ok. We were in NY last week and we gave $5 for two heavy cases. He was very nice though and showed us were everything in the room was. I would have felt cheap giving anything less.

Nalz

One thing - if your planning on going to Top of the rock Rockafella building, DONT get the sky ride. Its basically a very poor flight simulation ride through the city, your rocked around for 15 mins and its just pointless and a waste of money.

Get the city pass though - for 80 dollars its worth it. Empire state building, rockafella, one or two decent musuems, boat trip around manhatton, some vouchers etc.

China town was a bit meh for me, likewise ground zero

borderlinemeath

fendigal wrote: »

hey thanks borderlinemeath thats great info..the hotel sounds pretty good so! im not fussy as long as its clean and central..dont plan spendin too long in hotel only to sleep so size of room doesnt really matter!
Sorry i didnt mean hiring a car to drive ourselves but moreso hiring a taxi or that to take us out there..a friend of mine said they done that an it worked out cheaper than the bus but there was 4 of them to split it..there'l only be the two of us! Would you recommend gettin the bus to woodbury?ive heard its a good idea to bring a suitcase alrite rather than draggin bags around..
Also (sorry to be pickin your brains) the price we got from hotel included breakfast..did you get breakfast in the hotel? what was it like..
thanks a million again

No we didn't opt for breakfast - sorry!!
But I would imagine it's either in the ticktock diner or the restaurant on site and the diner was pretty good.
Getting a hire car/bus is only worthwhile if there's a decent sized group, for 2 people the bus works out better value. I know there's a link to the site that you can book online if you search through this thread...

ZOLTAN28

Anyone staye din the Salisbury? Gets good notices on Trip Advisor and since we are booked already I'm just looking for anything to look out for rather than alternative places to stay - never been to USA before so looking forward to all the touristy stuff.

Nalz

Trilla wrote: »

One thing - if your planning on going to Top of the rock Rockafella building, DONT get the sky ride. Its basically a very poor flight simulation ride through the city, your rocked around for 15 mins and its just pointless and a waste of money.

Get the city pass though - for 80 dollars its worth it. Empire state building, rockafella, one or two decent musuems, boat trip around manhatton, some vouchers etc.

China town was a bit meh for me, likewise ground zero

Sorry I meant the Empire state building when talking about the skyride. They'll hassle you on the street to get it, fill you crap about "givin you the history" "skipping queues" etc

vgrainge

Thinking of heading to New York for a week in November on honeymoon, looking for a nice place to stay, can anybody recommend any hotels?? The following hotels were mentioned to me edison hotel, beacon hotel, fitzpatricks grand central...would these be suitable for a honeymoon?? Have a budget of 3500e for flights and acc. As its our honeymoon would like to stay in a nice hotel.

Also as it will be our first time, thing to do, places to eat and night life etc

Any help appreciated

furiousox

Not being smart but the best thing you can do is read this thread from start to finish.
I did and I got some great info and ideas from it.
Just cut & paste anything that interests you and you'll have your own personalised guide to New York.