willit

It is a big anniversary at the end of April, and my beloved has suggested we should go to New York.
I am starting from a point of almost zero knowledge, so will obviously be reading guidebooks etc, but provisionally we were looking at renting an apartment for a week.

Looking at prices on VRBO and similar sites, it seems that Manhattan may well be beyond our means, but we have seen places in Queens and Brooklyn that would fit our $1200ish budget. Knowing almost nothing about the practicalities of travel within the city, would these be practical ?(as a general rule - I understand that part s of an area will be more practical than others).

We would plan to use public transport - would the time and money taken to travel to "the sights" outweigh the cost advantages? I am more an Artgallery/Museum/History lover than show goer ot shopaholic, so I probably don't plan to be out until the early hours.

I realise I have a great deal of research to do, but any comments would be welcome.

Judyrem

For a first timer, I would suggest staying in Manhatten.
Is 1200$ for how long a stay?

vjpblovesitaly

"but provisionally we were looking at renting an apartment for a week.

Looking at prices on VRBO and similar sites"

For the most part, short term apt. rentals in NYC are illegal and often scams.

You will need to give your EXACT dates in order to get suggestions.

Long Island City in Queens is often recommended as a good budget place to stay, provided the hotel is near a subway station

willit

Judyrem : $1200 would be for about a week, we would then possibly move on to another city , possibly Boston or Washington for a second week.

vjpblovesitaly - exact dates are difficult as we are still in the very early process of planning. Last week of April is as close as I can get , but I appreciate that if I did know exactly, then I could use priceline or similar.

Aduchamp1

It is the perfect time of year to visit.

Please note it is spelled Manhattan.
______

Just to get an idea of the number and types of art galleries there are in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and to a mich lesser extent Queens, here is Time Out NY which has weekly listing for many events:

http://newyork.timeout.com/

Of course, there are a number of world class museums plus "smaller" ones such as the Frick and Morgan.

For history, see if your local library has the AIA guide to NYC. It is expensive and too heavy to carry.

As a second city, I would choose DC. I truly like Boston, but there no comaprison in terms of things to see and do.

willit

"For the most part, short term apt. rentals in NYC are illegal and often scams. "

I found this quite interesting, and couldn't figure it out until I read about the reasons for it on other sites. It amazes me that places such as tripadvisor permit so many apartment reviews given the high possibility of illegality.

Aduchamp1 - thanks for the time out link and the DC recommendation. I am not even sure where I am going to start wth the planning, but I have some time off over Christmas, and have borrowed some guidebooks.

bspielman

As has been suggested here in other budget-minded threads, you may want to consider staying at a hotel in Long Island City, a part of the borough of Queens that's just one subway stop from the East Side of Manhattan. If you're arriving at LGA, that location offers the advantage of being a relatively short cab ride from the airport.

In terms of public transport, LGA has bus service only, and JFK is a long AirTrain/subway ride away. EWR is across the Hudson and, while you can get into the City by AirTrain/NJTransit, you'll wind up in midtown Manhattan, not where you can stay economically.

cw

Both DC and Boston are good alternatives to follow NYC. Both cities are different enough from one another so your choice may be clear once you know what atmosphere and activities you want. I'll put in a recommendation for Boston, but I'm biased.

nytraveler

Assuming you mean $1200 for 7 nights of hotels you should be able to find something in Long Island City - but do make sure it is very near the subway - and that it has good reviews. (Some blocks are mixed used - warehouses, auto bodyshops etc) and not that pleasant.

Austin

Id rather shorten my stay in NYC by a day or two than stay somewhere outside the city. I think staying IN the city is that important. You will get more time to really enjoy it as you will spend less hours commuting and have a place nearby to freshen up after a day in the city before dinner or the theatre that night.

Wonder if you might consider calling a hotel and asked for a 5 night stay "special deal". I think its worth it. Or bid on Priceline.

doug_stallings

There are plenty of hotels in Queens that are within a 5- to 20-minute subway ride from most of Midtown Manhattan. There are also a few convenient hotels in Brooklyn (the Nu Hotel, for instance, in downtown Brooklyn), but Brooklyn is more of a mixed bag in my opinion. However, I think that $1,200 you ought to be able to find something in Manhattan if you look and are willing to accept a 3-1/2 star property. Bid on Priceline or Hotwire if you want to save, and you could end up with something nicer than you could get at full price. Hotels.com also often has good sales.

My cousin and her daughter stayed at the Country Inn & Suites Long Island City, which is exactly 1 block from the subway that is one stop from Midtown Manhattan. They paid $129 per night last May. That's an exceptional deal and even includes a simple "continental" breakfast of packaged muffins and coffee. There are other choices there as well. But there are some decent hotels in Manhattan for a similar price. Check out the Apple Core hotels.

azzure

With this much lead time, I would sign up for Travelzoo (if you haven't already) and keep an eye out for Manhattan specials. We stayed at a very nice Hampton Inn near Herald Square (with a super continental breakfast) for $139/night a couple of years ago.

travelbuff

You should be able to find something in Manhattan for that budget. Have you tried the Hotel Grand Union on E 32nd St, rooms there are under $200 also check The Millenium, they often have promotional rates.

Also when you have a more solid idea of dates, do priceline, and quite honestly almost anywhere you stay in Manhattan, will be ALOT more convenient than staying in Queens.

There are also B&B's you can check, alot of them are uptown, in my area, like Harlem Landmark Hotel and your budget is fine there, and the subway is just around the corner.

Hope this helps

travelbuff

Sorry that should have been Harlem Landmark Guesthouse.

Judyrem

Nice, Adu.
Happy Holidays.

mclaurie

I think it's too early to see anything but rack rates (rate card) for next April. $200/night is usually the base price for a decent place in Manhattan but there are occasional sales on travelzoo.com travel-ticker.com , a secret sale on quikbook.com or Hotwire that can get you a deal for a bit less. Hotel tax is ~ 15% on top of nightly rates.

There are apt. style hotels like Radiocityapartments.com and the Eastgate Tower, part of the Affinia.com group that might work. There are also places listed as b & b's that are similar to an apt. The Canal Park Inn is on the edge of Tribeca and has a room with kitchenette for $179/night plus tax if it's available for your dates. It's one of the few places that doesn't change rates by date. http://www.thecanalparkinn.com/home.asp

mclaurie

I notice you're in the UK. There's a London agency www.apartments2book.com that has contracts with a lot of the apartment hotels. You might contact them. They might be able to offer better prices than you can get on your own. The downside is I think you'd have to prepay and it wouldn't be cancelable or changeable.

Judyrem

BTW, last week, we stayed at the Skyline Hotel on 49th and 10 ave.
It was a very nice experience.
My review is on Tripadvisor.

willit

Thanks again for all the replies. I have become so used to the apartment rental route, that I am a little thrown by having to think about planning a trip any other way.

I will read around the suggestons that people have made, and hopefully come up with some sort of plan.

Bowsprit

The Hotel Beacon, on the upper west side, might suit you. They run their own discounts so you might want to contact them directly. I love their location and their rooms have small kitchens.