See what comes up in that price range on booking.com or quikbook.com for those dates, then come back with a list of possibilities and ask for comments. That's my advice.

Tell him to try hotels in Long Island City that are close to subway stations or in Jersey City near PATH stations. They are usually much cheaper than those in Manhattan.

Thanks Tracy:. Will look at those on the two web pages and let him know.

And SusieQ: We talked about staying close to NYC (another friend did that on the nice hotel street/area in NJ and found the connections very convenient) - but since he is only going to be there for a few days - he wants to stay right in the Big Apple.

I also have been looking for a budget hotel for that weekend in NYC.

Agree about Long Island City, very close to upper east side. The Four Points hotel Long Is. City/Queensboro bridge has rooms for $149 a night that weekend.

1st weekend of June showing nothing at or under $200 for any of the budget hotels I usually book in NYC. I do see a rate of $199 at the new Starwood property, Aloft hotel, in Harlem. Have not stayed there, check the reviews...

If they can handle it, the Jane has a bunk room (a small cabin like rm w/bunk bed) w/shared bath for $135 a night that weekend. Otherwise the Aloft Harlem is looking pretty good for us.

OK, back agahin ere...tell your friend to check the Choice Hotels site for that weekend. There are indeed several Choice hotels for less than $200 for that weekend, some w/two beds in the rm. Like Comfort Inn Convention Center ($169 2 doubles, $143 advance purchase rate). Ditto Comfort Inn Manhattan Bridge and Comfort Inn Theater District. I just booked one of those.

Even better, the Gem Midtown (also a Choice Hotel) is alos less thn $200 that weeeknd, signigicantly less for a king, and still less for 2 doubles.

I am going to rebook there now instead of the COmfort Inn.

Tomsd, Long Isleand City IS in NYC; it's in Queens.

If they're willing to share a bed, I recommend Priceline--we've gotten very good hotel rates that way.

It sounds to me like they want to stay in the borough of Manhattan.

I agree that Priceline is the best option. Two nights ago, I stayed at the lovely 4-star Benjamin in midtown for $90. If you prefer the comfort of a reservation long in advance, look into the Apple Core group of hotels.

abram: LOL - I stand corrected. Yes, they want to be where the island was exchanged for 24 pieces of silver was it?

And thanks to the others for the good suggestions.

My friend has been there before with his son - but he just nailed a bargain fare from here on the left coast - less than $300 RT - and wants to make this a budget trip.

My personal choices (when my wife is not along) are The Larchmont in Greenwich Village/11th - http://www.larchmonthotel.com/ and the Chelsea Lodge on 23rd, http://www.chelsealodge.com/Lodge.html both on nice tree lines streets.

The Larchmont also offers a nice little continental breakfast - with juice - and the bathrooms/showers down the hall don't bother me (always wear flip-flops) - but the Chelsea does have a shower in the room - with the wc in the hallway.

Both are close to a Murray's Bagel shop - and other good places to dine.

OOps - the Chelsea Lodge is on 20th. There was a good Thai restaurant on 8th Ave - along with some other decent places - and of course, all kinds of options in Greenwich Village/nearby. see: http://tinyurl.com/cw4uopb

They are also both near subway stations.

Tomsd, why aren't they just staying at one of your two favorites? Larchmont is $130 a night that weekend.

I'm looking at several dates in late April, and I have seen several rooms under $200 on Hotwire.com in the blind choice section.

I haven't bothered to look at anything less that 3.5 stars, but there have been several choices in 3 and 3.5 range.

I've been reading betterbidding.com and using their Hotwire advice.

Both are close to a Murray's Bagel shop - and other good places to dine.
________
Followed by a grand repast at the epicurean Gray's Papaya and then sup at that garden of gastronome delights, Artichoke Pizza.

emd3: I don't think they have double beds at The Larchmont - and not sure about Chelsea Lodge. Again, this is for a father and his 14? year old son.

Ah ha: The ole Gourmand - Aduchamp1 - still wanting to mix it up, eh? LOL - you are consistent.

There are plenty of very good restaurants in the greater Greenwich Village are - including a couple of Italian ones I can personally attest to.

Please tell me again - if it was you: What is the difference between Cambodian and Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches? I'm a little hazy on the concept.

Ah ha: The ole Gourmand - Aduchamp1 - still wanting to mix it up, eh? LOL - you are consistent.

I try not to be excessive.

TOM: Assuming you are genuinely interested, this is the excerpt from the post you refer to:

<Tom: The sandwiches certainly are similar but given the animosity between the two nations, neither wants his sandwich to be referred to with the name of the other. As far as I can tell, the Cambodian versions tend to have fresh cooked meats often BBQ, and are served hot, while the typical banh mi includes pate and is usually offered at room temperature. (Num pang means "bread" in Khmer, I believe) The bread used at Num Pang in New York is not the usual banh mi Viet-style baguette.

Both sandwiches trace their origin to the French colonization of Indochina, as sandwiches/bread are not traditional in most of SE Asia. (Although the northern Chinese shao bing have been very popular here in New York for the last few years)> As I mentioned, I've eaten my share of banh mi on visits to Saigon, but have no opinion on the shops offering same in NYC. I'm sure you can dig up lots of info on Yelp.


Might be difficult for an outsider to distinguish between the various "ole NYC gourmands" on this forum, hence the confusion.

Tom, your hotel the Larchmont has queen bed rooms for $165 a night the weekend your friend and his son need a rm. (Double beds are $145)

I think it's unlikely he will find a decent hotel with private bathroom and 2 beds in Manhattan for $200/night on that weekend since even the Long Island City hotels are asking that price AND MORE for a room with 2 beds. He might win a bid on Priceline at around that price, but Priceline only guarantees one bed for 2 people in Manhattan.

I think if budget is set in stone, he should make a reservation at one of the Long Island City hotels that's near a subway station (and not all are) while it's available. The Country Inn & Suites has a promo rate of $127/50 but that's only for a room with 1 king bed.

The best thing I see in Manhattan is the Millenium Broadway on kayak.com (booking on kayak) for $250/night plus tax for a double double superior room cancelable with no penalty til May 3.

Righto eks - that was you. However - as I recall - both you and Adu1 hammered moi when I wrote my review of Tout Va Bien -so my bad if I sometimes mistake you "old gourmands".

And my response to your ostensibly incorrect analysis of Banh Mi sandwiches:

...........BTW - for you Banh Mi/Num Prang fans - this webpage has some interesting reviews - http://gastronomyblog.com/ and out here in San Diego, my favorites did have the garlic/butter/spicy mayo sauce. (see NY Times article/reference below). Our first/trusty Banh Mi store was marvelous - and back then (over 15 years ago was when I first discovered these treats) - a great sandwich was only $1.25.

The proprietor was a real dynamo - and she also had a Banh Mi shop in "Little Saigon" in LA (run by her son) - and one in Long Beach (run by a daughter) - and a fourth somewhere else in Orange County - but then she sold them and the new owners here in San Diego didn't make their sandwiches as good. As a consolation however, a new Dim Sum place opened up in the other end of the Linda Vista/Asian shopping center and is very good, and they also offer Bahn Mi sandwiches, which are good but not like those my little Vietnamese lady had.

As previously noted - my favorite was the BBQ Chicken - but they had pictures of about 10 different fillings/offerings up on the wall (BBQ Pork/Beef etc) - and while I am a big pate fan - never liked what they offered in their sandwiches.

From the NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/dining/08banh.html?pagewanted=all

"In New York, chefs are obsessing about precisely how to slice the cucumber, whether the carrot-daikon pickle should be crinkle-cut or julienned, and how to make the sandwich ever better, richer, spicier and bigger. “I think we’re the only ones using both butter and mayonnaise,” said Ratha Chau, the chef and a co-owner of Num Pang, a new sandwich shop in Greenwich Village. “And of course it’s a chili mayonnaise and garlic butter, and we toast the bread with the garlic butter first so that the outside is crisp and the inside moist.” At An Choi, which just opened on the Lower East Side, Tuan Bui, the 34-year-old co-owner, adds caramelized onions to the traditional filling of shredded roast chicken. He may be the first on the East Coast to serve the upscale delicacy banh mi thit heo quay — stuffed with banquet-style roast pork belly and slivers of crunchy pork skin."

Forgot to add: The well established Vietnamese/Banh Mi places here in San Diego warmed both the baguette and the filling.

Again, I never cared for their pate but loved the BBQ Chicken.

mclurie I have been searching for the same weekend for our trip, and the GEM hotel and the Comfot Inns I mentioned above in aMnhattan are pretty decent w/ private baths under $200 for that weekend.

With 2 beds???

Just called The Larchmont - worried if they by chance might have a room with double beds. They do have one "family" room - with a queen and two single beds - but it's $249, and not available during June 1st weekend.

My friend wants a room with two double beds.

Ergo - I don't have to utter the famous line: What a Stupid I am!!!

That was what the tres misfortunate Argentinean player - Roberto de Vicenzo - exclaimed when he learned that he did not tie for the 1968 Masters Golf tournament --- because he had signed an incorrect scorecard. What's worse - the error was inadvertently entered by his playing partner - Tommy Aaron, (writing a score of 4 instead of a 3 on a hole)- but you are in the final ruling - still responsible for your own scorecard being correct. Such a shame.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_De_Vicenzo

Yes. Read my posts above. And I just rechecked for our trip a few hrs ago and those are all (Confort Inn Manhattan Bridge CI Convention Center, and CI THeater, and GEM MIdtown) still available under $200 with two beds.

I wonder if TomSD did any research at al for his friend before he came to us. I now see from his posts that he is very familiar w/NYC, he writes reviews of NYC restaurants, knows hotels there, and wants to debate ethnic sandwiches. I feel silly for sharing all the research I have done for our own trip. I'm outta here.

emd3. I was asking about this for a friend and his son, and appreciate your response. FYI - I did not invite this cynical/non-topic response by Aduchamp1, or did you read it?

**************************

Both are close to a Murray's Bagel shop - and other good places to dine.
________
Followed by a grand repast at the epicurean Gray's Papaya and then sup at that garden of gastronome delights, Artichoke Pizza.

And Tuscan: Thank you also.

I think Tom was referring to me when he wrote the ole gourmand. And while Murray's makes one helluva bagel, I have never seen it in the same sentence as dine. In fact they consider it a sacriledge to toast a freshly baked bagel and will not do at the shop.

Adu: Maybe you need to read more, or change your outfits more frequently?

Adu: Maybe you need to read more, or change your outfits more frequently

I love witty banter, but one must understand it first in order to reply.

Sorry, just ignore my comment.

www.betterbidding.com see calender of pricline wins
mid town 4 stars bidding priceline.com from $120 always
for me usually the Hyatt. For no bid econos parksavoyhotel.com
right atCentral Park or chelsealodge.com starhotelny.com
for budget.

Check the rates at the LaQuinta that weekend. I like it for a nice basic hotel at a usually good rate.

(Ignore the dogs, digging up old bones)

I agree with tuscanlifeedit that Hotwire may have a good deal for you (in their blind choice category). I just put in the dates of June 1st to June 4th and they had a 4-star in the Dupont Circle-National Zoo for $111 and they had another 4-star in Capitol Hill-National Mall for $137. We're going to Washington DC next week and are staying at the Eldon Suites which we got on Hotwire - listed as a 3-star for $124 a night. Being Cherry Blossom season we thought it was a good price; we'd been trying Priceline for two months but it didn't work out for our dates.

I'm sorry, Tomsd. I just realized you were asking about NYC instead of Washington DC. We were recently in NYC where we got something on Priceline but now are going
to Washington DC on Hotwire. Too many trips make me goofy! In any event, still check Hotwire for NYC. If I were you, I wouldn't chose a hotel that has less than 90% approval rating by Hotwire users (it's listed on their website). Also, you probably wouldn't want something less than a 3-star or 3 1/2 stars because Hotwire star ratings are a little over-inflated compared to Priceline. Hope this helps.