Do you have a anticipated budget for "4.5 to 5 star"? My first thought for that kind of experience is the St. Regis.

Probably between $250 and $300 per night. Looks like there are some rooms at St. Regis in that range.

Are you sure there are rooms at the St. Regis at that price?

sorry...I was meaning per person...they have rooms at $600 per night.

That seems reasonable since August is fairly low season - so many locals are out of town at beach or country houses for the hottest weather. But as you get closer I would definitely check out websites of the hotels you like. (And being near Times Square really isn;t necessary. Few major sights are there - many more are either downtown or uptown.)

Bookmarking for upcoming trip this year. Great advice!

We did the shuttle on our last trip and it was the worst. The worst traffic and we were the last ones to get dropped off. True, it was Tree lighting ceremony night so that was a big factor. but I would just splurge on the towncar or taxi, like we will be doing in May.

It should be easy to find a 4* in mid August for $250-300/night (prices fluctuate wildly and mid August is not considered high season in NYC) but unlikely you'd find a 5* for that budget. Have your wife look at the Palace hotel. Much much nicer than the Waldorf. http://www.newyorkpalace.com/ You might even find a deal for the Plaza hotel at that time of year in that budget. I'd pick a few hotels and sign up for emails on sales.

There are also quite a few hotels scheduled to open between now and then. Hotelchatter.com is a website that talks about new hotels and oyster.com is a newish website with lots of photos and reviews on hotels. Ofcourse tripadvisor.com is also very good for reviews.

Actually, the City recently repurchased a large part of Coney Island and awarded the amusement park operation contract to Zamperla USA. The plan is to have the amusement park running this summer-so there should be something to see and do there. Plus if it is on your wife's bucket list you should go for it and not let someone discourage you from doing so, the same with Times Square, they to me are both worth visiting at least once.
Suggestion, go from Manhattan straight to Coney Island (about 45-60 mins depending on the train), on the way back stop at the Botanical Garden (assuming you meant the Brooklyn Botanic Garden), then take the train down to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk over the bridge to Manhattan. Then you have the option of walking through Chinatown, Little Italy or Ground Zero. It would be a long day, but you'll get to see a lot as well.

The walk along the Coney Island boardwalk into the Russian part is also fun and there are lots of food options on that side of the boardwalk to try.
Some pics can be found here:
http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/b...each/index.htm


By the time August comes around there should be enough of the Brooklyn Bridge Park completed for you to take advantage of for resting, taking pics, food, beverages, etc.

The Yankee schedule for 2010 is already available on their website so you can have an idea of the home games. http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/sched...nyy&m=8&y=2010

We visited the Botanical Gardens last August but, frankly, it really was too hot to enjoy them. Unless you have a special reason for going there I would put them on your list for an eventual return trip in a cooler month.

Glad to hear there's still some life left at Coney Island. Last we heard, the plan was to build more condos there.

Coney Island just blows my mind. I love this spot. I hope I'm always delighted to have a gorgeous beach and the great Atlantic in front of me while still being in New York City. This unexpected juxtaposition is so typical of so many parts of New York.

Well, Coney Island is a beach - bt gorgeous - I don;t think so. If you want a real beach near NYC you head for Jones Beach - which is huge and beautiful - and way less crowded. At the moment it's not definite what Coney Island will be like by the time you ariive - but the surrounding neighborhood is definitely downscale (public housing projects, empty lots and some abandoned buildings).

Well, beauty in the eyes of the beholder and all that, I guess. Here's a link to a photo from a few years back, 2005, so those interested can judge for themselves:

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...sland_no_1.php

I think it's quite nice and my standards are fairly high as I'm fairly biased toward the National Seashore Beaches of Cape Cod. Jones Beach is also lovely, though. Quite true.

Here's a link for Jones Beach photos, past and present:

http://www.jonesbeach.com/index.php?...&Itemid=100063

So back on the Coney Island thing: 19 new rides will be open to the public in May 2010, 5 more in 2011. The plan is for an amusement and entertainment district to be developed over the next few years. So with that and the new Brooklyn Bridge Park there will be lots more to see and do in Brooklyn.