girls trip to NY
 

4 friends/coworkers ages 39 (for real) to 55ish visiting NYC / mid July to mid Aug / Thurs - Sun OR Fri - Mon. I've been reading some great posts and hoping for more :-)

First priority is hotel. We want a hotel close to night life so thinking we want to be in Times Square - or is that going to be a real young crowd? Considering - Westin, Hilton Garden Inn Times Square, NY Helmsley, - the Kimberly looks great but far from TS.

All are up for almost anything* (* remember we work together so what goes on in NY stays in NY but ....) so other suggestions on what to do is great . We will do 2 art museums, 1 boat tour, have a connection to get broadway tickets so 1 show, wax museum, Museum of Sex, cloisters, CP free tour (thanks to posts). Other posts suggest Planet Rose Karaoke in the East Village, Red Flame to eat, what about non-hiphop clubs??

Thanks for your help and friendliness!!

I have to ask, why the wax museum?

First of all, Times Square is in the theater district, and while there are numerous restaurants and a few night spots - most are in other areas of the city. As for night spots - what are you looking for? Obviously you're not looking for the downtown trendy places you see mentioned in the tabloids (those are for 20s/perhaps early 30's and you need to be young and gorgeous at a minimum, preferably gorgeous, famous and rich).

So are you looking for jazz clubs? Comedy clubs? Night spots with light music to go with a couple of cocktails?

You should have a look at TimeOut New York online before to go to see what spots there are offering the types of entertainment you want. It will give you hours, entertainment and give you an idea which are open to the general public - or at which standing on line would be futile.

Once you've identified some places you can decide what area you want to stay in.

And agree, that Madame Tussaud's is a complete waste of time for anyone over about 10.

I agree 100%. Times Square is definitely not the place to be for "nightlife" apart from the theater. That said, there's nothing wrong with staying there (many tourists love it) and the Westin and the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square are both good hotels. The Westin is much newer, a bit corporate but modern with views. The Hilton Garden Inn is totally renovated inside but an old building. It has big rooms, some with 2 queen beds (at the Westin if you're all staying in 1 room, you'll have 2 doubles). The NY Helmsley is near Grand Central (and not far from the Kimberly) which I think is a convenient for travel but boring area for a girls' weekend. I think the Kimberly is a better location than the Helmsley. The Affinia 50 is nicer still imo and has some suites with 2 queen beds. To get hotel sorted, will you all 4 stay in one room or will you get 2? Would you be interested in a suite hotel so you'd have a living room and separate bedroom or is the objective the cheapest decent room?

The Red Flame is ok for as a breakfast diner but certainly not a destination place. Ess-A-Bagel is a destination worthy breakfast stop right near the Affinia 50 and the Kimberly.

If the wax museum is something you want to do, make sure to look for discount coupons online since it's very expensive. I know that broadwaybox.com usually has one on the bottom left corner of the page. Btw, you'll also find discounts for theater there. Not sure what your theater connection is or what you expect it to yield, but this is far enough in advance to get decent tickets to any of the most popular shows. Theater ins don't generally work for discounts.

GirlsVacation...

For theater tickets you may also want to sign up at Playbill.com. It's similar to broadwaybox where you get access to discounts on theater tickets. I just came back from a long weekend in NYC with my mom and in 3 days saw 4 shows (yes, we really like theater!) and I got all my tickets through the playbill website.

Have a great time!

I printed the 50 spots you can go to w/ a NY pass and the Wax museum looked interesting. Still considering if it will be a benefit to by the pass.

Reply to the reply:

For night life we are looking for a place to end the night - to go for drinks and chat (people watch). It would be nice to be in an area that we can "bar hop" - no lines (although there are 3 hot (young) grandmas in the group, I doubt our cleavage has the leverage needed to enter). In Wisconsin, comedy clubs have set shows - not come and go type place; same for NY? Live music would be ok but not needed- country (from what I hear that won't happen in the City), piano bar, 60's to 80's rock, jazz (but not blues), a good mix of music would be best. We are planning 4 in the room, so a hotel with a lounge either in it or next to it would be good. That way we can "stagger" ourselves up to the room to get ready for bed (the longer we stagger the more we'll stagger).

Hotel priority - private bath, clean, inexpensive.

Theater ticket connection is better than discount sites so I'm set there.

thanks again for your advice

Have a look at the Best Western Hanbee on Grand St. It's got rooms with 2 queen beds and is on the edge of the east village and the lower east side, both areas with lots of bars and restaurants. The other idea is staying in midtown in the Hell's kitchen area as you originally thought. In addition to the hotels you mentioned, I'd also have a look at the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square which is all 1 bedroom suites which would be nice space.

What I like doing in NYC, weather permitting, is having a drink outside and people watching. This is great later in the afternoon, just as it is at night. I prefer the Chelsea, SoHo, Village area for this. Sometimes its' a matter of walking by and catching a good vibe. There are places like this all over NYC, including some several blocks from Times Square. To me, TS is someplace you see once and that's enough. The other times it just happens to be where the shows are.

I second playbill.com I got tix for Mama Mia there for $67. Sign up on their site for updates.

I used to stay at the Helmsley for the airline that I used to work. Pick something else. Its not that great. (sorry to be a sour puss, but really, find some place cute or better yet, cheaper....like the pod hotel. Cheap, same neighborhood, just up 3 blocks, and hip.)

Definitely go to the dumpy little itallian restaruant that is misleading....the place doesn't look that special, but the food is delish.....Gino on Lexington.....I go every time I am in NY....ok....once a year.....

What sort of hotel budget are you thinking of?