kswl

I have the fun task of finding accomodations for our family party of 10 from Dec. 25 -29. We need at least three rooms. We plan to join in all the regular Christmas festivities, including the Christmas Spectacular, the Nutcracker, the hop on/hop off, circle line tour, etc. We'll be dividing up for shows based on age and degree of jadedness, lol. My nephews aged 5 and 9 have never been to the city but mine have been several times since we moved from there in 1992.

I am thinking that the Cornell Club would be a nice place to park. It is much less expensive than hotels (jr.suite=$350) but there is the added expense of joining, which for us would be about $800. I'd love any first-hand reviews/impressions, or any recommendations for our group. Our budget is $300- $350 per night, but if we found a suitable place for less money I know some people who would be very happy.

mclaurie

You'd consider joining the club for $800 to pay $350 for a suite? I can't believe it would be worth it. Check www.affinia.com hotels if you haven't already.

nytraveler

I assume you mean 3 or 4 rooms at $350 per room? You might check affinia.com - since they have multi-room suites that can be relatively reasonable if you get enough people into them. Also - Radio City Apartments can have more room - and are budget though VERY basic.

kswl

We need at least three rooms @ $350, McLaurie, NYTraveler is correct. If the place is really nice and very comfortable, we would consider it because DH and I could then stay there the next time we're in NYC without all the fuss that finding a hotel usually entails. DD is also planning a trip sometime this year, so I think we would get our money's worth from it IF it is nice enough.

kswl

I've checked the affinia hotel site and just have no idea which would be most suitable as none of the locations looks really terrific. I know it is going to be difficult to get "terrific" in our price range at that time, but we just have too many people to go up much.

kswl

NYT, I checked the Radio City Apartments, as we're going to the show at the music hall the night we arrive. That would be very convenient and I have read that the rooms are spacious. However, the entire place is completely booked over Christmas and has been for some time, so no joy there.

TxTravelPro

I stayed at the Yale Club a few months back and aside from some cool logo items and a nice lobby, it was a pit. Dirty.
I left and went to a decent place half way through my trip.

travelbuff

I'd suggest looking at www.hotels.com. I just looked and there are alot of hotels that would fit your budget and have rooms available, some priced well below your budget at decent hotels. I was a bit surprised, because that is one of the most expensive times of year to be here.

kswl

Hmmm, TX, a cautionary tale?

This is why I was hoping to find someone who'd stayed there.

Most of the online booking services are just not set up to look for rooms in the configuration that we need, it is a bit frustrating. Short of calling every hotel, which means possibly missing out on a good third-party special, I'm not sure how to go about this. I'm actually considering a travel agent just to book the rooms since the combination of 7 adults and three children is just does not compute with travelzoo, hotels.com, or any of the other online services I have tried.

Any travel agent recs in NYC?

TxTravelPro

I have some pretty good connections in NYC. Can you tell me exactly what you want?
I'll post and let you know what I find out.

ggreen

The website certainly makes it look good!

I have been inside the Princeton and Harvard Clubs in NYC; both have pretty public spaces and basic rooms, like many I have seen in older NYC properties (like the Marriott on Lexington, at least how it was a few years ago). I would imagine at the worst the Cornell Club to be the same.

IMO, it would be worthwhile for the oh-so-central location plus the ability to use again in the future as you mentioned and the reciprocal benefits worldwide...

travelbuff

I don't think it would be difficult to book online and then call the hotel to confirm and verify what you will need in each room.

Online you have more options of hotels and at www.hotels.com you can book the 3 rooms easily and then figure out who goes into which room. It seems that you are making this more difficult for yourself than you need to.

mclaurie

I'm still not sure I understand the deal at the Cornell Club. To join is $800 but then the rooms cost something like $200-250/night and it sounds like you'd need 4 or 5 for your crew of 10 since they're small. Here's a write up I found of it on epinions
http://www.epinions.com/content_87346089604

I can't believe you'd say the locations of the Affinia hotels are not good. Apart from the Affinia Manhattan which is near Penn station & Macy's, they're all terrific (imo). The Shelburne Murray Hill is not far from the Cornell Club. No, they're not in Times Square but I think that's a good thing. For the Xmas spectacular, all things being equal I'd pick the Affinia 50, but I see good prices on quikbook for the Shelburne for 1 bedroom suites (and they're not noncancelable which many of the Affinia best prices are).

The Buckingham is on 57th st. & 6th ave. Some of their rooms are renovated and some not. They have a price of $249-299 on quikbook for a 1 bedroom suite for 4 people. Check it out on tripadvisor and if you're interested, phone them and see if you can get 3 renovated suites. The location is great. The Salisbury is in a similar area and it's also decent depending on the price.

kswl

It's purely a matter of economics. If we couldn't find anything better (locaton) under $350, these rooms would at least work and the difference in price would almost pay for the membership. Then DH or kids could use the club for about what a Priceline room would cost $225 year 'round.

Thank you for the epinion link! I always forget to check that site. I don't know what your reaction to the review was, but it sounds to me like the perfect place to stay. I have no burning desire to hang out with old Cornellians (DH is our connection) but a quiet place with breakfast and a library would suit us very well.

I have left a message with the Buckingham; the location would be wonderful, esp. for trying to shepherd this group to the first night's performance.

Travelbuff, what actually happens when you try to book 10 people (7 adults and 3 "children") in 3 rooms is that most will simply say no accomodations are available at that time. It may have something to do with the fact that it isn't an even number. But the actual rooms that result when there is availability are not even suitable for our group. This is a situation in which each hotel really has to be called individually, I guess.

Some of the Affinia locations would be great in better weather. We'll have travelers from 5 to 74 on this trip and I'd like to be fairly close to the evening entertainment we're planning. At least two of the Affinias do not have availability, and the location of a few locations isn't good for our purposes I could stay anywhere and use the subway, but that is NOT true of the group as a whole. Among our group we have two people with celiac disease and a haemophiliac. I'm not sure how the onus fell on me to arrange this circus, but I am trying my best

hdm

I don't quite understand the thinking of these University clubs. I've checked with the Princeton Club in NY because I thought it might be a fun experience, even though it's not really a bargain and I likely wouldn't stay there more than once, although even if we were staying at a hotel, we might like to drop by for a drink or a meal.

I understand that they have initiation fees and annual fees but what I don't understand is that there's no separate fee schedule for foreign alumni who might only use the club rarely. If I lived in or near NY, stayed at the club frequently an/or used their amenities on a regular basis, the full fee seems reasonable.

However, if I live 'away' (wherever that may be -- Princeton has alumi everywhere, right?) and only come to NY occasionally, I don't think I should be expected to pay the same fees as that 'regular' guest.

Gardyloo

Well, I'll ignore the "why would you" advice and just say that we've stayed at the Cornell Club on a number of occasions and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The rooms were reasonably large by NYC standards, the bar is cozy and friendly, and the breakfasts (assume this still comes with the room?) are really really good. The location is superb and honestly we can't find fault with the place, provided traditional/"clubby" atmosphere is agreeable to you.

We stayed there because a good friend was on the Cornell Alumni Association board and he could get us in. He no longer serves on the board and let his membership lapse (he lives in Alaska and no longer travels to NYC as regularly as before) so we haven't been there in several years. I can't imagine it's deteriorated though.

My wife was pitched to join the Harvard Club, and while she travels often to NYC the prices of their rooms (across the street from the Cornell Club if memory serves) when combined with the entrance and annual fees for the Hahvahd Club made it easy for her to say no.

coolbluewater

I am a member of the Yale Club, and just wanted to offer up a separate opinion for those who might look up this thread and be wary. I had family and friends stay there for my wedding and the rooms were small, basic, and clean.

But things can always be different, clearly. Sorry you had a bad experience Txtraveler!

My initiation fee was also dependent on my location--I am surprised Princeton Club rules are different.

In any case, good luck in finding the best accomodations for your group.

TxTravelPro

My room at the Yale Club was very, very basic and not clean at all. The bathroom had loads of mold and enough hair to stuff a pillow.
There was a roll of dirty towels in the bathroom and I put them out in the hall, where they remained the whole time I was there. Room service stuff was not picked up for 3 days! I had to request bathroom amenities.
In the room there was 1/2" of dust in every nook and crannie... as if they cleaned only the easiest surfaces. Carpet was dirty, too. Just old, maybe.
The card with all the Yale products was stained with coffee cup rings and the insert in the trash can was so filthy. Crusty.
I could go on and on...
***
The lobby was nice but you cannot be in it unless you are in business attire. I don't know if they enforce this rule but there is a big sign.
***
BUT the catering at the event we had at the Yale Club was AWESOME!!!
Beautifully presented and delicious.
The meeting space was nice, the catering crew excellent!

I am suspicious of these places now.
I need reviews, not just photos.

kswl

Thanks for all the replies. We have booked three executive suites at the Buckingham for our stay with confirmed reservations. Now I can begin looking in earnest at the club. None of the Buckingham larger suites have been renovated, but booking the smaller ones also doesn't guarantee you'll get a renovated one, either. Our total bill for the four nights before tax is $3828. I am aware that this is a real bargain, but am also a bit worried about the quality of the accomodations. Checking an Affinia location . . .

(and you know, some relatives do not seem to understand how time-consuming all this is---they just automatically say, "oh, So-and-so will arrange everything," simply because they know you do if for your immediate family!!)

BTW, the Cornell Club would be significantly cheaper because we are out of town. It's also less expensive for recent grads.

hdm

Well, I'm going to look at the Princeton Club again, just in case I've misunderstood something or something has changed. But I actually spoke to someone there a couple of years ago and I'm pretty sure he told me there were no 'non-resident' rates.