FBDII

Hello all!
My wife and I have never been to NY before so we decided to visit on our 5 yr wedding anniversary. And since the in-laws can only handle the baby for one day, we will only have 36 hours in NY City! (Saturday and most of Sunday).
So, since we have little time, we want to enjoy as much as we can of the best NY City has to offer. My budget for a hotel is $250/night. We will have time to see one show. I definately want to take a tour of the city with one of the bus tour companies. A lunch with City view will be a must and romantic dinner will earn me points ;-) We both love Sunday brunches. Any ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated....all the info. ont he web can get overwhelming and I trust Fodorites' choices!

Many thanks!

michelleNYC

Does your 36 hours include travel time? Are you traveling far? Arriving my plane, car or train? The reason I ask, is that all of these could impact the amount of time that you have (especially arriving by plane or car).

FBDII

Michelle,
Driving to NY from Boston. The 36 hour period does not include travel time.

Thanks,

FBDII

sls15

You're sure to have a wonderful time whereever you end up, but here are some restaurant suggestions

For a city view:
Terrace in the Sky--it's in the penthouse on the upper west side great views at lunch or dinner. Food is also great. (West 119th Street)
Ava Penthouse Lounge--Not a restaurant, but go for a drink on the rooftop terrace...the view of times square in the open air will take your breath away. (Top of the Majestic Hotel on 55th and Broadway)

Sunday Brunch (my favorite meal!):
If you like traditional breakfast foods, try Good Enough To Eat--adorable little place that looks like it belongs in Vermont, not Manhattan. The food is outstanding, try the strawberry pancakes. (In the 80s on the Upper west side).
For a more gourmet twist, try Normas--a fancier restaurant specializing in brunch, located in Le Parker Meridien Hotel on 57th street. Light and lemony pancakes are a great bet. The orange juice is also out of this world.

Hope this helps a bit. Have a great time!

Statia

Take her for evening drinks after dark at the View Lounge in the Mariott Marquis Hotel on Times Square. kind of a touristy thing to do, but I found it rather romantic with my hubby on my birthday.

Another place we enjoyed was a very romantic dinner at One if by Land, Two if by Sea. It gets slammed at times on this board, but there are those of us who have had a superb evening there.

Be sure to take a romantic walk thru Central Park during the weekend.

Congrats and good luck with your plans!

Merilee_Tucker

I recommend staying at The Gorham Hotel. It's a small boutique style hotel with very nice rooms and many amenities. You can't beat the location either. It's on West 55th Street and you can walk just about everywhere from there. sls15 is right about Terrace in the Sky. It fits the bill for food, ambience, view and romance.

michelleNYC

My suggestion for brunch is Danal:

Danal
90 E 10th St
New York, NY 10003-5463
Phone: (212) 982-6930

Great brunch, great ambiance, very cozy and there is a very nice garden in the back.

- Michelle

mclaurie

argh! I just "lost" a long post to you. Shortened version-

look at luxurylink.com for possible packages including hotel & theater

on playbill.com (join for free) there's a special offered from the Sofitel for $189/night on weekends-good location

try weekendgetaway.com

Yes Terrace in the Sky! Also River Cafe for great views, food, ambiance.

Suggest matinee Sat (2pm) or Sun (3pm) for theater & save Sat nite for romantic dinner without having to rush to theater. Also tickets are cheaper.

mclaurie

PS consider flying, training or even bus to avoid traffic & tiring drive AND save parking fees. If you must drive, look at iconparking.com for discount parking garages once you've decided where you're staying.

Happy Anniversary!

Austin

I second the Gorham. We stayed there 2 weeks ago and it was great.

Nearby (7th Ave. between 54/55) is an excellent Chinese restaurant - The CHina Regency. Great food, excellent service. We even ate there twice. And very reasonable! I think for 3 of us it was about $45.

wantsomesun

FBD,

These suggestions are designed to get you BIG points.

Stay at the Palace, which is on Madison at 50th St, staying there you are close to everything, and there is a parking garage very close, so you can park and walk everywhere.

Also right in the hotel is one of the best restaurants in the city Cirque 2000, not spoken of here alot, it's expensive but you won't find a restaurant in the city more romantic and it's right in the hotel.

If you want to venture out, try the 14th St area, of the Blue Water Grill or the Union Square Cafe, both are excellent but on the expensive side.

Do a trip to the Met Museum and have a drink on the outdoor sclupture gardenn on the very top of the museum.

AFter dinner take a carriage ride in central park and then have a drink at Tavern on the Green, you might propose again in the carriage ride and that would be a nice place to give her a nice gift. Oh and bring some champagne.

For lunch the next day you might wander downtown to Little Italy or Chinatown and Soho Village all are walkable have lunch and find a little cafe in Little Italy for pastery.

Then head back uptown and head home.

(By the way Boston is my hometown)

Have a great time while you are here and if you need any other ideas, just ask.

By the way you can get good weekend rates at the Palace and tell them when you make the reservation that it is your honeymoon. IF you have a problem, let me know and I can make a call for you, several clients of mine have stayed there so I know the GM of the hotel.

Gekko

If the weather is cooperative, how about drinks on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's roof garden overlooking Central Park? I believe it's open on Saturday evenings (check the website to confirm). It's beautiful, romantic, and uniquely New York.

And/or visit the Peninsula Hotel's amazing rooftop bar for a glass of champagne. The view is incredible (as are the drink prices, but oh well).

Enjoy!

FBDII

Thanks all for the replies!!
You know, I have been doing a lot of research and it's just crazy how much info. and opinions are out there about NY City!
I think the hotel part is almost done!!
What is left is lunch and Dinner on Saturday night...I know I will be asked how much I expect to spend! Well, what can I get for $100 for two??
Any suggestions?

Thanks folks!

abram

Our favorite NY hotel is the Doubletree Suites in Times Square, at 47th St and 7th Ave. It's beautiful, and having a suite seems so special. Last time we paid just under $200 per night.

We love to go to Chinatown for dim sum on Sunday.

djkbooks

We visit Manhattan from Boston several times a year.

When are you going? What time do you arrive/depart? Are you staying one night or two?

FBDII

Abram, I heard good thing sbaout teh Double Tree too! And to answer your question, djkbooks, we will be arriving at noon 10/4 and leaving back to Boston (goo SOX) around 4 PM 10/5! I have a feeling you will hit me with some good info.

Thanks!

djkbooks

Well, I'd book the room with Hotwire or Priceline, sticking to 4* and above. The savings would more than cover the overnight parking and occasional taxis.

Sign up at Playbill.com, theatermania.com, broadwaybox.com, then get your theater tickets, so you can plan the rest of your time.

You may want to go for a Saturday matinee, so as to have the entire evening free.

If it were me, I'd head for drinks at Rainbow Grill atop Rockefeller Center (its down the hall from the Rainbow Room). Pricey drinks (large, one lasts a while) with unsurpassed views (especially of the Empire State Building. Best time to go is about 7:30 when the pre-theater crowd leaves. Then, off to dinner...

If you really want to do a bus tour, and the weather is splendid Sunday, I'd recommend catching the Gray Line hop/on hop/off Lower Loop. There are any number of fabulous places for brunch in SoHo/Greenwich Village (one of our favorites is Bistro Les Amis), where you can also do a bit of exploring before hopping back on for the rest of the route.

donnabee

$100 for 2?? If you like to have wine or cocktails with dinner, you will not go far on $100. The River Cafe just over the Brooklyn Bridge is by far the most romantic. It's right under the bridge on the Hudson, and you get a beautiful view of NYC skyline. A nice family style restaurant that might run you $100 is Carmines. There is one near Radio City Music Hall, and another in the Upper West side. There website is: http://www.carminesnyc.com/index.htm

If you are going to see a show, check out restaurants that offer a pre-theater menu.

The tour bus is Big Apple Tour Bus - I think you can hop on and off.