kiwiguy

Hi There
We are booked to head to New York mid November for a long weekend to celebrate a friends 30th bday. We are booked to stay at the Milburn hotel which I gather is a good spot. I hope it is central enough for us to get out and about? Any comments welcome on that...

Does anyone have any ideas of something we could do for her while there? Am really open to suggestions on this one (restaurants, plays, tour...) just something to make it extra special for her. Appreciate any insight
Thanks

mclaurie

You have to tell us about her. What does she like? Is she a NYer or from elsewhere? Where? Do you already have plans for THE birthday dinner/night? Come on, kiwiguy, let's make it personal for her.

You'll like the location of your hotel. It's called the upper west side. Nice residential area with good transportation all around.

kiwiguy

Thanks for the reply Mclaurie. I feel better knowing we are in a good area. It is actually her bday this month but since we live in different countries we are meeting in NY - which is cool in itself! We have no plans for anything at this stage no dinner, no evening plans. This is her first trip away since new baby/marriage and kind of a university room mate reunion as well. She is lots of fun, young at heart, isn't a huge culture vulture, but loves sentimentality and has no idea what to expect from NY but is so excited. Also enjoys her food & wine. Does that help any? Is there anything typically NY that we could do for her while there?

mclaurie

You still haven't said where she's from or what she DOES like. I don't know if she's a party girl or more sedate. Is her husband coming? How many of you are there? Generic, typically NY might be a meal at the Sea Grill or the Rock Center Cafe, both with a view of the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center-very NY. Go to restaurant associates.com, the website for the co. that owns both these and a few other restaurants. This is more a sedate sort of place with great food and views.

For a more fun atmosphere, Pravda downtown is a fun sort of Sex & athe ?City type bar. Tao is a popular rest. (pan asian) midtown restaurant.

Your hotel is not far from the museum of Natural History and the Rose planetarium. They have late nights Fri I believe. Night time is wonderful to visit the planetarium.

A comedy club is another idea. There's one near your hotel. Here's the website
http://www.standupny.com/.

kiwiguy

Sorry for the lack of info...she is coming from Toronto without hubby/kid and 2 of us are coming from Ldn - all ex university roomies. Since we only have 3 days we want to have fun/catch up and probs do some of the touristy NY stuff. I love your Sex and the City type suggestions - totally up that alley. Think on this whirlwind trip we will be giving the museums a miss but definitely hitting the shops, major sights, and some NY trendy stuff at night which will include wine/cocktails (without breaking the bank to heavily since we will be funding her bday wknd celebrations). Does this narrow it down anymore? Will look into the Pravda suggestion that sounds fab

mclaurie

The trendiest areas are mostly downtown. (You're staying uptown in a nice residential area that makes it easy to get to midtown where theater, shopping are.) The "hot" areas are the meatpacking district and the lower east side followed by Chelsea, Soho, Tribeca and the village in no particular order. The meatpacking district is on the edge of the village. Spice Market is a very trendy rest. there. The Hotel Gansevoort in the same area has a very cool rooftop bar but I don't know what happens there when the weather turns cold.

But this is all just general info based on your liking the Pravda suggestion. If she was really into Sex in the City, I found a tour that goes to some series locations listed at this website (it's $37/person, ouch!) http://www.sceneontv.com/tour.php/satc/
have no idea if it's any good.

But almost anything is possible in NY There are specialized tours for everything (there's a Seinfeld tour). You can order live singing telegrams, you could have birthday balloons delivered...but if she's just had a baby maybe a gift certificate to a spa? or a day of beauty at a salon? Or a massage?

cindymal

Great info mclaurie,I would rec. the Spice market but make your reservation in advance,Asia De Cuba is a cool placeThe lever house,Lure Fisbar,Balthazar-casual and fun in soho.Definitely check out soho and the staue of liberty if you are going downtown any way.There are so many trendy bars,shops and galleries.Most resturants and bars are right off west broadway.I would not be afraid to venture out of the area that you are staying and head downtown.During the day you can ride the subway and in the evening I rec. a taxi. The area that you are staying in is close to Cental Park and there are many sidewalk cafes but most of the spots are downtown as mclaurie mentioned.check out www.zagats.com for phone # and reviews
Have Fun

kiwiguy

hey thanks guys for your messages. I have them printed off and ready to go. Making me very excited to visit NY. Do you by chance know if there is a cheap and cheerful way to get to our hotel or area from JFK airport? Is there a subway you can catch? Thanks again

nytraveler

If you don;t have too much luggage - and can deal with some stairs with it you can take the AirTrain from JFK to the LIRR (Penn Station). From there you can either get a cab to the UWS - perhaps $12/14 plus tip.
Or, if you don;t mind steps - take the subway. You would need to take the 1 or 9 train (Broadway Local) north to 79th St (your hotel is at 76th St).

You can get an interactive and downloadable subway map at the MTA web site.

mclaurie

Here's the website that lists the various ways to get into the city from JFK.

http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/jgtsmain.htm

There is no direct train service. There's a train at the airport called AirTran that takes you either to a subway stop or a LIRR railroad stop. The railroad train goes into Penn Station which is not really near your hotel so you'd need yet another subway or bus or taxi from there.

There are buses (coaches) that go to the Port Authority Bus Terminal from which you can get a taxi or bus to your hotel OR there are other coaches from JFK that stop at hotels around the city (but yours will probably be one of the last stops.)

A taxi from JFK is ~$60 ($45 flat fare + $4 toll + ~$8 tip)so split by 2, that's $30/person vs. $15-20/person using one of the coaches.

mitsor

just returned from a 3 night stay at the Milburn Hotel with my husband and 3 children. We absolutely loved it. Obviously - a different sort of trip than you are planning but I would go back here even if I was with friends. We loved the location, ate a great dinner at Nikos on the corner and a great breakfast at the Manhattan Diner across the street. We had a one bedroom suite, plenty of room, nice staff, etc. We spent one day in the Times Square area and I think we were all glad to return to the relative peace and sanity of 76th street!

kiwiguy

Thanks very much for the first hand feedback. I feel confident now that we are staying in a good place. I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.
Cheers,