FlightMan

We're looking for somewhere to stay in NYC. Planning on 4 nights at the ends of 3 weeks in Florida in August 2010. I like planning!

Location is everything, as we'll be doing the tourist trail. It must be kid friendly ( girls will be 11 and 7 ) and no more than £200 a night.

Help me out SN!

what would scooby do

Courtyard Marriot

mamoon2

We stayed at The Bryant Park Hotel :::::: New York :::::::The Official Website which is located in midtown opposite a quite nice little park and next to the New York public library. Its literally in the middle of everything, tube station at the end of the road, 2 minute walk to 5th Avenue, 5 mins to Times Square.

Couldn't fault the hotel, it was superb. I spent 4 weeks reading the reviews of nearly every hotel in New York before booking here. It was the only hotel with 100% good reviews on trip advisor, also a plus was the size of the rooms being quite big compared to a lot of New York hotels. I would imagine you would get a suite which will probably have a park view.

Not 100% on the child friendly part as i didn't see any children in there

BOB.T

Motel6 will be less than £200 for the four night, and they leave a light on for you!

Motel 6 - Find Discount Motels Nationwide & Book Motel Reservations

jods

If you haven't sorted Florida accomodation yet - Take a look here.

Home from Home - Luxury Pool Villa, 3 Bed 2 Bath Sleeps 6-8 - #2387 - Find Vacation Rentals .com

I can do good rates for Scooby Net members

fatherpierre

We stayed in the Waldorf last year, and it wan't so much over your budget, from memory.

We got upgraded to a suite too...... But that was because the Mrs' relative lives in NY and has influnce

Well worth spending that bit extra. We stayed in a place in Greenwich Village the night before and it was only about £30 cheaper, but a **** hole.

jods

The Waldorf IS pretty cool - we stayed there last year, also in a suite and it was approx $550 a night (Not bad when £1 bought over $2) Not quite so good on £1:$1.5

Breakfast was spot on. Evening drinks in the Bar weren't especially cheap but there are hundreds of places nearby to explore.

fatherpierre

Yeah, the bar was **** take, even at $2/£1! About $9 for a beer I think!

The suite we had was probably as big as our house! But, as l said - that was through family connections, not being flash! It was a $3000 per night suite!!

Good just to experience that place for 1 night if you can budget it into your stay.

alistair

Come on guys the Waldorf is a dump - at least 10 years past it's refurb date - it has a cool name but that's about it.

I go to NY a lot on business - when I took my kids over, I chose the Double Tree suites in Times Square - my kids are 10 & 12.

IMHO the Double Tree is the best combination of location, price & practicality for kids of that age

ChefDude

The Iroquois is very nice. mid town too.

Luan Pra bang

I stayed in the Iroquois when we went over for a family wedding and out of the three different hotels we used it was clearly the nicest of them.
The waldorf is pretty avarage for the money.

Allan

iTrader: (1)

Was going to recommend the Kitano 5 min walk from Grand Central, not sure if it would be kid friendly enough though.

Mandz

the Pennsylvanias good. it on 7th avenue & 34th street, i think.
we've stayed there... about... 4 times!
the rooms are big, its right next to macys, 5/10 minutes from times square, the tourist bus stops right round the corner, its right opposite madison square garden, its 5 minutes from 5th Avenue, kid friendly too, can be hard to get a room though if theres something major on in Madison Square & the only other problem is the view, its normally of a brick wall
the best hotels are right in Times square like Novotel, but there really expensive. New Yorker is also not bad, not too kid friendly though!!
any more questions about new york just ask away!

jods

Dude - Thanks for that , I have one chance of a bit of cache saying I've stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and you come along like charlie big potatoes and pi55 all over my chips!!!

Fair enough the rooms might need a bit of a face lift but you have to admit the common areas look pretty impressive AND breakfast was spot on. FAR Better than the last time I was in NYC (Wife booked Holiday Inn Express, Paper plates and plastic knives and forks)

fatherpierre

I wouldn't call it dump. The suite I had was pretty impressive and immaculate.

alistair

Fair enough - the place is huge - I've stayed there a few times when all our other 'approved hotels' have been full and I've always found it a bit past its sell by date, but I'm sure there are some nice rooms.

The communal areas are impressive and for a big wedding or something I'm sure it's great. I've never spent any time in the bar there, so can't comment on that.

Serously - I was impressed with the Double Tree for kids - standard room is a small suite - kids slept in the lounge on a sofa bed & we had a separate bedroom. It's right on Times Square too, so if you're in tourist mode it's perfect.

FlightMan

Tks for the offer Jods, but we've got a villa sorted in Orlando.

FlightMan

Cheers Mandz

So what are the must do's for 3 full days in NYC then? I've got:

Empire State.
Rockefellar centre.
Staten Island ferry.
Central Park + zoo.
Grand Central station.

Anything else?

Robert Rosario

Carnegie Delhi
Ground Zero
Century 21

mamoon2

We went for three days and did the shopping thing, ground zero, helicopter ride (well worth it) ect..

If i were you i'd pick either the Rockerfella centre or the Empire State building and go in late afternoon so you can see the city in light and dark. Rockerfella Centre has shorter ques at this time.

Ground Zero is a must, get the tube down to the financial district. Its only $2 a ride whereas a taxi will cost you $20+

We accidentally wandered into Grand Central Station on the first night there when looking for somewhere to get a map from. Its very impressive, but will probably only take up 30 mins of your time.

All the big department stores are well worth a visit and Bloomingdales and Macys offer international visitors 11% off, just go to the customer info desk for your card.

FAO Swartz - World famous toy shop - next to Central Park, worth a visit.

Ice staking in Central Park

vallumlj

the hilton on 6 ave 42 street i think was nice and a great location

Luan Pra bang

My suggestion would be a tube to brooklyn followed by a nice walk back over the top of brooklyn bridge so you can see the waterfalls if they are still there. The staten Island ferry is pretty entertaining, not just becuase of the view of the Empire State more becuase its full of tourists who get on the ferry turn around and then run to get straight back on to go the other way.
One of the great things about NY is the restaurants I would reccomend Morimoto's but you would probably need a baby sitter. If you want a good slice of NY night life head to the meatpacking district, more hot fanny than you will ever see in one place in your life. If you can get the kids looked after it is well worth a visit to enjoy it and if you have cash to burn a table at One Oak is a must.

FAO schwartz is a destination on its own and watching the performance on the 'BIG' piano is great fun especially when they let you and the kids have a go.

Robert Rosario

FAO schwartz is a destination on its own and watching the performance on the 'BIG' piano is great fun especially when they let you and the kids have a go.[/quote]

Agreed, your children will love it, and so will you if you are a Tom Hanks fan!

alistair

I wouldn't bother with the Staten Island Ferry (unless you're a cheapskate ) - The Beast is a much better way to see Liberty.

There will be no ice skating in Central Park in August

Shopping will very much depend on the exchange rate....

Empire State at night is quite impressive.

pnbond007

iTrader: (1)

We stopped at the Renaissance, 714 7th Ave at 48th st on Times Square back in May it was lovely, though had room only cause there's so many places to eat at.

mamoon2

Ah, for some reason I thought he was going next month

fast bloke

**** me you do plan ahead. We are gong in three weeks. Nothing planned yet other than skiing, but we have a week to kill in NY. My girls are 10 and 7, so I will let you know how we get on when we pick something. Thing we have booked is helicopter transfers from Newark into Manhattan. 60 quid each for 15 minutes, but how many times in your life can you do that.


2010 - Fek me. That is a long way away!!!!!

Nigel H

We stayed at 2 places last year, the Hyatt at Grand Central station. The trip advisor reviews are quite accurate, hotel fine, rooms small, but highly convenient for large parts of NYC. We used the food court at Grand Central to eat out quite a bit.
Grand Hyatt New York (New York City, NY) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor

We also stayed at the Marriott in financial district. This was great for the trip across to the Statue of Liberty, and a few other places (Brooklyn Bridge) but can be remote. Cheap if you stay there at the weekend. Has a swimming pool and gym.
Marriott New York City - Traveler Reviews - Decent Marriott in Financial District - TripAdvisor

Daryl

We stayed at the Sofitel last year, good price, good location, decent sized rooms.

jods

Oi Oi FM.

Would you be ok with sending me a link to the website of the villa you chose?

I am on 3 websites at the mo and want to compare layouts/prices etc...

Cheers

Jods