japw82

Don't rule out the B&B option. Several years ago we searched for a house/apartment in a city (notNYC) noticed some B&B's, called and e-mailed the owner, rented every room, and the family had full reign of the place. We were able to visit in the living area and kitchen, we negotiated the use of the kitchen with the owner, instead of them providing breakfast, and had a wonderful time. There may be such a place in NYC that will allow the family to have a common area in which to eat and congregate. Just a thought... Good luck with whatever option you choose.

traveller1959

This is now our plan b - we will rent a fullsize van (12seater) for us 8 and leave the city after a few days:

- 4 days in New York City
- 2 days in Hudson Valley to visit some mansions, the Roosevelt Library, the CIA (very important to us), the DIAeacon and to show my parents a bit of small-town life in the USA - overnight stays close to the CIA (dinner)
- 1 day driving from Hyde Park to Washington D.C. with a break in Lancaster
- 2.5 days in Washington D.C.
- 0.5 day driving to Newark, overnight in Newark, spending the morning in Newark and then boarding the transatlantic flight back home

We still got no response from VRBO 115235, but the Sheraton Lincoln Harbour is tempting - they offer rooms at 149$ for that period. 3 rooms will be sufficient, so the total count would be 447$ - including an indoor pool!

doug_stallings

As long as you realize that a 12-seat van will cost about $250 per day when rented in Manhattan. Rent in NJ to save a considerable amount of money.

travelbuff

Trying to visit NYC and staying in NJ is not a great idea. The cost of getting into and out of the City daily will offset any savings. Also you will eat up alot of your visit just waiting for buses to get into the city and getting back to the Port Authority or taking the Path train back and forth.

The suggestion I made of the Harlem Landmark Guest House, would be just like your idea of an apartment. You would be renting most of the brownstone for the family. The Inn is actually 2 brownstones so they usually have rooms available, and booking in advance you would be able to guarantee your needs.

The Rooselvelt Hotel is also a good idea, they have suites that you might look into as well as single rooms, maybe a suite and room can be combined.

The Ace Hotel also would have the flexibility to accomodate a family, they have suites and rooms with bunk beds and the price is right.
www.acehotel.com.

emd3

travelbuff, just fyi: They don't have to use the trains at Sheraton Lincoln Harbor. The hotel uses ferries to get into Manhattan. One is outside the door of the hotel and goes to 39th St. (or downtown) The other is .5 miles from the hotel w/free shuttle every 15 min. to and from the hotel. Ferries are 8 min and cost $6 each way. Btwn the two ferries you can get into/out of Manhattan from 6 am til 1 am the next morning. Free buses on the NYC side at both terminals take you to many tourist spots in NYC. That is why I stayed there on my last trip to NYC. It worked out great, not a hitch in the process as long as we knew the ferry and hotel shuttle scheduel and they gave us a printout of those at the front desk . The hotel was full of people doing the same thing.

doug_stallings

The reason travelbuff is giving a warning about the cost of transportation into Manhattan from NJ is precisely the cost you have outlined. Ferries are actually more expensive than NJ Transit buses and trains. It's going to cost the posters $116 each day (2 $6 tickets for 8 adults) just for round-trip transportation into the city if they stay in NJ on the ferry route. While the ferry bus does go some places in Midtown, it doesn't go everywhere, and the schedules aren't that great. So the OP will probably need to buy at least 2 subway/bus rides per person per day at a total of $4.50 per person (another $40 per day at a minimum, and possibly more).

Is that a good deal? It makes Manhattan look better by comparison.

MFNYC

They'd still probably need the subway fare regardless of whether or not they stay in Manhattan, but the $116 ferry fare is a consideration. And if there are some in the group that aren't big walkers, a cab (2 for the entire group) may be needed to/from the ferry as well.

Priceline is risky. Rooms are only guaranteed for 2 people and many only have 1 bed. In this situation I don't think I'd bother.

I'd book the NJ hotel, provided it can be cancelled if something better comes along. I'd also plug your dates into Kayak and see what is available in Manhattan.

MFNYC

I just saw the part about the free shuttles from the ferry terminal, so I guess the possible need of a cab, is not an issue.

That being said though, you can pay about $40/night more for a room in Manhattan and it would be about the same value. I glanced at Kayak, and there are some places with rooms for about $200. Did that $149 deal included taxes?

Gretchen

Staying in NJ for that group is jsut not practical. A visit to NYC is never ever going to be cheap. It can be done in an economical way, but being a long distance from your hotel in a big city is "madness".
The ferry cost alone makes a room in the city more affordable.

MFNYC

There's a new hotel that just opened a few months ago that's getting some very good reviews. The MAve hotel (www.themavehotel.com). It's at a good locations as far as transportation (near several subway and bus lines), dining (many restaurants in chelsea), shopping, and there's even a very nice park right there (Madison Square Green, which has recently been renovated and houses the Shake Shack). I see rates at about $199 for April '09. This looks liek a nice deal.

MFNYC

To add to my last post, it also includes breakfast which would be another nice savings.

traveller1959

Finally, we have booked accomodation in NYC!!!

With the help of you Fodorites, I learnt some lessons about booking accomodation in NYC.

Firstly, you were very convincing in discouraging me from booking a rental apartment. In fact, most of the VRBO offers looked dubious, and they were not located well.

Secondly, I had email contact with the owners of
http://www.vrbo.com/115235. This offer appears serious, but one of the bedrooms has just a "full bed" which would not be suitable for my 75+ parents. Hence, this apartment can accomodate 7 adults maximum, not 8, as advertised.

Thirdly, I checked bed & breakfast. Some problem as above - the rooms and beds are tiny.

Fourthly, I checked half a dozen suite hotels, including Affinia, Radio City Apartments etc. To be frank, I found these accomodation too expensive regarding the quality they offer.

Fifthly, I checked the Sheraton Lincoln Harbour. I came very close to booking there. The rates were tempting: 149$ for a suite for 2, and 199$ for a suite for 4. The Tripadvisor reviews were somewhat mixed - many complained about the hotel's standard. Finally, we decided against the Sheraton because you are simply not in the City. Traffic connections are good, but you have not the option to walk just around the corner.

Finally, I tried something new. I had never dared to book with Priceline or Hotwire before, but you encouraged me to play around a bit.

Lincasanova's link to www.betterbidding.com was priceless. I found out that there was a chance to get the Roosevelt Hotel at 110$ with Priceline, but I prefered Hotwire, because it provides more information about the offers.

They offered a 4-star hotel near Central Park at 166$. I checked betterbidding and found out it could be the Empire, checked the hotel's website and TA reviews (mixed, of course) - and booked. And what did I get? The Empire. The hotel even has a pool, although a tiny one. Even if the pool should not be usable, it is still a good deal.

I consider 4 double rooms at 166$ each a great value - regarding that it is NYC and it is right over Easter.

This was the most cumbersome process of hotel selection in my life (o.k. we are 8 persons) and I write this for future posters who might find this thread and the most valuable information which was provided by many posters.

Our next problem is to rent a car for 8 persons. In Europe, every car rental agency offers 9-seater vans, but in USA, it is surprisingly difficult to rent a van for 8 persons with luggage. The only agency which seems to offer a 15-seater (!) at EWR appears to be USave.

Any information about another car rental agency which might offer something smaller (e.g. a 12-seater) will be greatly appreciated.

As always, thank you so much for your invaluable help.

lincasanova

Hey.. great! Congratulations.! That website is so helpful.

And if you want to help other posters, you can go back to betterbidding, register and post your winnng hotwire bid for those dates . That way it can be posted on the calendar of wins, and will help others decipher the hotels offered.

By linking to Hotwire THROUGH their website link you help support them. I can't do enough for them as I have planned so many family and friends' trips and saved so much money on hotels, making our vacations so much more affordable.

Have a wonderful trip. You have made a good decision.

If you have two drivers, perhaps two cars will be a better choice all around, for price and flexibility.

You can do priceline/hotwire for cars, too! But it is good to check out all the car discount codes first. Google and you will find several websites offering valid codes.

If you think the hotel search was tedious.. wait til you do the car!

Gwendolynn

Is that the Empire on 63rd across from Lincoln Center? If so... you're in a wonderful spot. Friends stayed at the Empire before it was renovated and found it just fine. Have a wonderful trip.

traveller1959

I posted on betterbidding!

K_brklyn

so why do you need a car if you are staying in the City? Are you looking for airport transfers, or plan to use the car during your stay?

nytraveler

I'm not sure what your concern is about a full bed. That is a double and the kind you will find in many hotel rooms. Priceline guarantees you a room for 2 people - but not a queen or king size bed - and in many hotels you won;t get them. It looks like the Empire has only queen beds - but no way does Priceline guarantee that.


And a car is worse than useless in New york - expensive and no place to park it so you spend $50 or more a night on garaging (a large van like that is extra and some garages won;t take them at all).

And Washington DC isn't a day trip - driving alone would be more than 8 hours. Neither is the Amish area - you would have to make them overnight trips. You could take a day trip up the Hudson but the beginning of April is still very early spring - and the trees won;t be in leaf yet- nor will many of the flowers be out. It would be an interesting visit - but the countryside won;t be very pretty yet with the trees bare.

SusieQQ

Here is the OP's plan after leaving NYC. This why he wants a van:

"- 2 days in Hudson Valley to visit some mansions, the Roosevelt Library, the CIA (very important to us), the DIAeacon and to show my parents a bit of small-town life in the USA - overnight stays close to the CIA (dinner)
- 1 day driving from Hyde Park to Washington D.C. with a break in Lancaster
- 2.5 days in Washington D.C.
- 0.5 day driving to Newark, overnight in Newark, spending the morning in Newark and then boarding the transatlantic flight back home"

lincasanova

you can do priceline for newark hotels too..

good luck.

nytraveler.. she went to hotwire, and was able to almost certainly identify the hotel before purchasing ( through its amenities) and was correct.. so it was less opaque than priceline in this case.

traveller1959

This thread has grown pretty long...

Our original idea was to rent a large apartment for the whole 10-day duration of our stay. We have done that in other U.S. cities, and we liked it very much - some immersion into real city life, buying groceries, cooking on our own with those exotic products which are typical for America etc. Usually, this is the most economic way of staying in an American city, because you save expenses for restaurants etc.

Our idea was to to some daytrips by train from NYC. Washington D.C. seemed doable with a 2:52 train ride in the morning and a return in the afternoon. Also, Hudson Valley seemed doable by train.

However, since you convinced me not to rent an apartment in NYC (and since I had carefully read the fine print of the offers), we dropped our original idea completely and developed a more conventional plan b, with an itenerary that includes NYC, the Capital, small town USA and rural USA.

Unfortunately, we do not have many drivers - with four seniors and two minors, so we have to rent a van which can accomodate 8 persons. Maybe an 8-seater SUV will also do (although space for luggage will be restricted). That's the next problem I am workin on - but I have found at least one offer at USave.

Maybe we will rent an apartment for three nights in D.C. - I have already found some interesting offers on VRBO (unless you tell me that short-term leases are illegal there, too).