New York - best area to stay as a tourist | ExpatWoman.com
 

New York - best area to stay as a tourist

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 12:27

Hi All

I am planning a trip to New York. Can any one tell me which area(s) I should be looking at for hotels. We would like to visit the usual tourist places, planning to go in May 2012 for DH birthday. Ive been looking at various websites for advice and they cover most of NYC !! dont know where to start.

Any recommendations for hotels would also be handy :)

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EW GURU
Latest post on 06 December 2011 - 12:39
We stayed at the W near Times Square. Great hotel.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 December 2011 - 12:47
Not where to stay...but don't forget to do a cruise around Manhattan. Offers you some of the best sights and picture opportunities http://www.circleline42.com/new-york-cruises.aspx takes abour 2 1/2 hours....but especially nice in the early evening ! Enjoy !
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 December 2011 - 20:43
Wow thanks everyone. Going to sit down at the weekend and have a good look at all the suggestions and get a plan together. Green goddess thanks for all the suggestions, get the impression you loved your visit! I have wanted to visit for so long and reading everyone tips has made me very excited!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 December 2011 - 10:51
and yeah we got a taxi, was 50 dollars, no way couldve dealt with public transport after that and we'd come from vegas so had lots of luggage. the spotted *** is that naughty oink oink creature. forgot it edited out that word!!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 01 December 2011 - 10:47
we went a few weeks back and stayed in lower east side, so glad we did as feel we wouldve missed out on this side of new york had we stayed right next to the tourist attractions. taxis are plentiful but we did tons of walking, very necessary given all the yummy restaurants we went to! of which tons were on our doorstep, we had a few recommendations then a waiter gave us some more on the first night and all were amazing. we stayed at 'hotel on rivington' lovely boutique hotel and the surrounding area has amazing bars restaurants and shops. was close to the subway, though we never used it, and is near the famous Katz deli (from the when Harry met Sally film) some restaurant recommendations for you (all are quite relaxed not fancy places but AMAZING food!): (most are turn up and wait so go 30-40 mins before you think you'll be hungry! Katz deli- for pastrami sandwiches and bagels The Spotted *** - Michelin starred quirky pub/restaurant with amazing food in west village Momofuku Noodle Bar - great for lunch or dinner. So good I bought their cookbook! Have the pork buns, addictive! Momofuku also has ssam bar, another rest we decided to have dinner at we loved it that much! The Meatball Shop - as it sounds, was near our hotel. The BEST meatballs I have ever had!! unfortunately their cookbook wasnt out before we left or I wouldve bought that one too! (have decided cookbooks are my new holiday souvenirs!) Colluccio and Sons - book for this one, fab Italian food in very glam restaurant nr Chelsea Buddakan (meatpacking district) - like buddha bars style of food but more of a restaurant, quite trendy, again amazing food here, this was where the waiter gave us his great recommendations Serendipity - this is a daytime one if your near Bloomingdales, go here via Dylans Candy Bar (famous sweet shop) as its on the way, is a really quirky cafe that serves amazing sundaes, eat lunch first at your peril, we only had starters and shared the halloween sundae which was a monster! we couldnt finish it all! again expect a little wait but we put our names down and went back to dylans for a nosy there before coming back for our table. Another recommendation we had that looked great (but didnt go cos hubby had shorts on and felt undressed) was Rouge Tomate, this is just near central Park and looked quite healthy. As you can tell I LOVED New York and its food!! def want to go back there again, we had another ton of recommendations we never got to sample. All of these have websites. Tourist stuff, we did Empire State at sunset. book it online before you go, we didnt and queued 40 mins and nearly missed sunset. Also Ground Zero is ticgain book before you go. We didnt :( We didnt go to Statue of Liberty as it was heaving and dont do crowds, we took the staton Island Ferry which is free and goes past it. If you have a DSLR you'll get great pics anyway. Chelsea Market is actually quite a cool place to walk around and is nr the The Highline Park, which is a park raised above the city formed from the dis-used railway tracks. Is a nice way to walk across town. My sis in law did ice skating in central park and recommended it but we didnt have suitable clothes and hubby was scared! take warm clothing! take sensible footwear! Oh and wine prices are about the same as they are here!
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 18:52
tbh I would give the shuttles from the airport a miss and go for a taxi - you could pay as much anyway depending on how many of you there are. The shuttles pick up and drop off other people and you spend as much time sitting in the darn things and in the airport waiting on people. Worth the extra $30 or so to get to your hotel quickly and with less hassle. I second that. After a long flight I dont want a looong shuttle too.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 18:50
tbh I would give the shuttles from the airport a miss and go for a taxi - you could pay as much anyway depending on how many of you there are. The shuttles pick up and drop off other people and you spend as much time sitting in the darn things and in the airport waiting on people. Worth the extra $30 or so to get to your hotel quickly and with less hassle.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 18:48
Hilton hotel has fantastic location.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 18:41
Crowne Plaza Times Square- brilliant location and the rooms are pretty generous for new york- it's worth getting a 5 day bus pass for the hop on hop off bus tour which starts just out side the hotel and use it as a regular bus. It also gives you a ticket for the outlet village which is worth a visit for some bargains. and also gives you a night tour and you can do the main tour and the harlem tour- and entrance to the empire state building and the Statue of Liberty( including ferry) ( but I believe the statue of liberty is currently closed for renovation) all for just over 100 dollars- all well worth doing if you havent been before. Also head to Century 21 for some designer bargains which is down by ground zero. have a fab time!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 15:11
We stayed at the Distrikt hotel just off Times Square (was recommend by a fellow expatwoman, they also have a facebook page) It is a relatively new hotel, we were upgraded when we arrived. The rooms are not huge but very clean. The staff were also very informative. We took the super shuttle to the hotel from JFK was $15 dollars each and booked it online before we went. The subway is at the top of the street and there are loads of fab restaurants around the corner. I would also recommend hiring a bike a cycling around Central Park (weather permitting of course) was one of the highlights of the trip and i'm not exactly sporty. Have a fab trip, I'm jealous....totally loved New York.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 14:21
Thanks everyone for your replies. I will make a start and look at the suggested hotels. I normally use trip advisor so hopefully I will find something. We dont expect to be in the hotel much (as you say there is so much to do outside). Just somewhere clean and in a good spot. In this case near a subway!
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 14:15
what about a hotel with spacious inter-connecting rooms? In ny, there is no need for spacious rooms, as noone in their right mind would spend their NY time in a hotel room ...
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 14:10
We stayed at The Jewel Facing Rockefeller Center Hotel in July. It was excellent, very central location, 1 minute from 5th Avenue shops, right opposite the Rockafeller Center and within walking distance of Cental Park and Times Square. The hotel was a boutique style, very new and clean, small but adequate sized rooms. They had water coolers on each floor with bottles so you could just help yourself and not have to think about getting supplies in. Only downside was the restaurant was in another tower, but as there are so many cafes, bars nearby it wasnt an issue. We thought it was very reasonable for the standard of room / location.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 13:40
New York, and I take it you mean Manhatten in this respect, and SPACIOUS rooms is an oxymoron..... unless you pay through the roof, that is....:-(
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EW GURU
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 13:31
what about a hotel with spacious inter-connecting rooms?
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 13:16
When I go, I like to stay near Central Park/times square or Upper West Side. Easy to get around, very central in Manhattan, nicer area - and everything is practically walkable.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 12:50
Hi, Depends what you are into in terms of what tourist type things (there is so much you will have to visit time & time again!) and also type of hotels (big chain or smaller boutique hotel etc) - some would say Midtown if you have never been before but, to be honest, once you get your bearings you can get around quickly and easily. Especially if you are willing to use the tube (I mean Subway!) during the day to get about. I would go for the hotel you like & is within budget rather than a specific area - that's what I always do and it has worked out well, even on my first visit. Now knowing the city better I prefer Chelsea, Meatpacking, Lower East Side etc but that's just because of the shopping I like and places to go out in the evening. Here is where I stayed a few weeks back and loved it - http://www.hotelgansevoort.com/ Would highly recommend it but, as with everything, depends what you like. Hope this helps a little - my first stop is always expedia, lastminute, hotels.com etc and take it from there - check if hotel you like is near a Subway station and you'll be fine for getting around to all the key tourist attractions and at night get a taxi. Also, I always look at Tripadvisor too before booking anything and typically the reviews include what the location is like. S
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 29 November 2011 - 12:29
have stayed here at least 10 times: www.wolcott.com you cannot beat it for location (two blocks from empire state and macy's) and price.
 
 

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