everyone has been great thank you all so much for your help. i talked to my wife and we are going to stay with the pennsylvannia because all we really need is a place to sleep at night without a whole lot of service and the rate we got is really good (90 a night) and when i looked around everything else was going to be more and we want to save money to splurge on other things. former ny resident your advice is great i think that we are going to take advantage of some your suggestions. i also like the idea of getting out of the city for day we were already thinking of doing this before because we have some friends that live in stamford ct and thought it might be nice to see them and maybe stay in a bed and breakfast out there. with all of these wonderful suggestions i am sure my wife and i will have a wonderful time in a wonderful city. Bye

Larry, that Pennsylvannia Hotel is going to ruin your trip! Even if you use the room just to sleep, you still need a clean room with a comfortable bed! Especially after walking around NYC all day long! You're going to get crap at Penn H and crap at any cost is expensive! We stayed a couple of nights in August at the Ameritania Hotel which is on 54th (or thereabouts) and between 7th and 8th Ave. It is smack in the middle of everything -in Time Square. Cannot get closer than that. It was'nt the best hotel, room was tiny but it had a sort of happening lobby, gave us a clean room, decent enough bed and included continental breakfast. 105.00 per night plus tax. We walked everywhere from there - no need to even take the train. I think it is perfectly fine to scrimp on certain things in NYC because it is expensive but I would'nt scrimp on the hotel if I am spending 10 days there. You need to be comfortable at night.

I am in agreement with everyone else that says "GET OUT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOTEL!!!!" We went a year ago and checked into that disgusting, filthy, drug-infested..okay, i can give it more adjectives, but I won't...place. The first room we checked into had not been checked out of yet. Clothes everywhere.
The second room we got sent to had less clothes but more beer bottles than I've ever seen. The third room had the bed unmade and stuff (use your imagination) in the toilet.
Since the third time is supposed to be the charm, and it obviously wasn't, we checked out. I won't even talk about the "lady" manager who we demanded this experience not be charged to our credit card...i'm sure she'd go to any room for a price...
YUCK!!!

Love the idea about taking the Hampton jitney, which you can also get off in Southhampton or East Hampton, both of which are my personal favorites and will be more lively than Montauk now. Rent bicycles to tour the island, Sag Harbor is a 30 min. ride from EH or SH and has antique shops and the American Hotel which is great for dinner. Maybe you could even stay there as a base. The biking is easy, the roads are smooth and just some low rises is most areas and traffic will be light then. Shouldn't be too cold. The Jitney is more efficient than the LIRR which involves changes of trains. Leave your big suitcase at the NY hotel and just take an overnight bag. Weekends are more lively. NY Hilton on Ave of Americas is huge, very well located, you can probably get a rate in low 100s. You want a good concierge and a line of taxis out front. Plus you can earn Hilton points!

Just checked several sites for better hotel rates-choices. The Radisson Lexington, which is right at the subway, has an average rate at that time of $202 per night. The Regent Wall Street is $180, though this is far from the action. The Helmsley Windsor is around $200. I think there will be more last minute offers in the mid-100s. Also call the hotels directly and negotiate a better rate since you are staying more nights. The Pennsylvania is in an unappealing location, never been but would avoid. The Franklin, classy, Upper East Side, is at $179. Anything in NYC under $150 is highly suspect! Plus you will stay one or two nights in the Hamptons and one night in Connecticut so it's only 5 nights, not 8. I saw a package on Luxury Link for dinner for two at "21" including wines, tour of wine cellar, etc., for $301. That may be a worthwhile splurge and with the four wines probably worth it. Keep an eye on the Hilton website, they are having a sale this month at the Waldorf and they may offer something for November at any of their properties if they don't fill up between now and then.

former nyc resident, obviously you were living in a higher tax bracket than the rest of us, peninsula rooftop bar charges $11 a cocktail. larry, you DON'T need to spend a lot to have a great time. plenty of cheap hotels like the aforementioned ameritania and places like the edison hotel, herald square hotel, red roof inn on 32nd street, comfort inn (midtown and on central park west), will provide you with a nicer experience than the penn. without spending a lot of money. check out chinatown, eat some great food for under 5 bucks a dish. go to coney island and eat a nathan's hot dog on the boardwalk. get pizza at lombardi's, walk thru little italy, drink a nice chianti at bar veloce in nolita. grab dinner at next door nobu in tribeca. eat lunch near the promenade in brooklyn heights, then walk back to the city across the brooklyn bridge. check out museum of modern art at its temporary home in queens. if you spend one night in the east end of long island, be sure to stop by one of the vineyards in the north fork. there's lots to do in this great city. best site to check out is citysearch.com, the reviews are usually dead-on. have a wonderful trip!

again thanks to everyone for helping out we are going to go ahead and cancel our reservations with pennslyvannia and try to find better accomodations with some of the hotels listed above also the new yorker was listed at a good price range and we might try there unless it is a dump like the other hotel. i think that instead of going to connecticut we are going to go to more the hamptons area the idea of renting bikes and riding around sounds like a lot of fun to do for the last couple of days of the trip but i haven't made reservations yet. lots of other good ideas, going to coney island might be fun to see since i have heard alot about it. thanks again everyone. Bye

Why don't you try priceline for the hotel? Might be a good idea?

Larry,
Try www.millhouseinn.com for a great East Hampton B&B. They have last minute autumn specials. The place has a perfect location right in EH town. Very charming and romantic. Back to the city. One tourist trap to watch out for is anything to do with Russian restaurants out toward Coney Island!!!

Larry,
The only thing crazier than making the reservation at the Penn in the first place would be to cancel the res before you have another place to stay, having been warned that it's a very busy weekend in the city.

I agree that Priceline might be your best bet at this point. Go to www.biddingfortravel.com, read their FAQ and their lists ofhotels that other people have won on PL.

Larry, follow this link to see Dave Barry's trip report about stauing at the "Hotel Shpennsylvania."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...ry/3375167.htm

Why don't you try priceline for the hotel? Might be a good idea?

we stated at the Penn Hotel in April and it was just fine.we had a large room with king sized bed and it was clean...new furniture....and the staff was pleasant. Its not the Ritz but its fine and very convenient. Most of the nay sayers on here are relying on here say.

I used priceline.com for a hotel room lasat weekend. VERY short notice, or I could have done better. I asked for midtown south(I think that's what they called it) and ended up at the Clarion 5th Ave for $121/night. Now, being a frequent traveler to NYC, I understand about 17% hotel taxes and extra $2 per room per night charges so WHATEVER price you get, know that it will get pumped up with the extra. (Our room ended up being $143) Still, it was a fantastic location (around the corner from the NYC Public Library, half a block from Lord&Taylor, and Bryant Park (behind the library) has become my favorite NYC park. But enough about ME, regarding hotel options -- try Marriott's website. They had an $89 rate at a Courtyard in the same area where we stayed (E40th and 3rd, Madison Ave, somewhere around there). Those rooms were gong when I started looking, but you could get lucky. They may also only be at that price on weekends, but see what pops up. Another site you may want to catch (playing off your name here...) is the new Planetarium....

Sorry about all those typos -- but I hope these tips help a bit. Sometimes I "talk" faster than my fingers move. (or was that vice versa?)

My brother and I spent a few days in the Hotel Pennsylvania and it was a pit but certainly livable. Actually we were there the week before Dave Barry's article. The only problem I had with Barry's piece was that it was too kind.

The beds were worn out, the walls stained, the bathroom fixtures ancient, and the bedspread was tattered.

On the other hand, the elevators worked fine and were always available, the ice machine worked, the door locked fine and the windows opened so I could puff a fatty without stinking up the hall.

For $90 per night you might do better but we just wanted to crash in mid-town and it fit the bill.

A last note, if you have a car be aware that the parking is probably 1/2 mile away and the hotel does not have a place for you to stash your bags before check-in. We parked our car and came back later to check in. We had to haul our bags down the street and it was a bitch.

Anywhere is NYC is usually a gas so stick with it. Many of the rooms are newly fixed up but not all as I just noted.

MM

I'm glad you decided to check out of the hotel - I think you will be much happier staying somewhere else.
Let me just say to those of you that said you had an okay experience at the Pennsylvania Hotel....consider yourselves lucky.
I would never talk badly about a hotel just because it's not like the Ritz. As a matter of fact, I've only stayed at a Ritz once and it was because an airline put us up there because of a problem with the schedule.
All I ask of a hotel is that it is clean and safe. The Pennsylvania Hotel was neither. I, frankly, do not want to stay in a flophouse, which is exactly what that was.

Pennsylvania Hotel is fine for the $$$. Centrally located... access the rest of the city. Especially easy to get to form EWR & Penn Station (hence the name).
Like fine art at the Met? Check out the Frick Collection down the street. It’s a magnificent art collection in its original location. Old man Frick really knew how to live...http://www.frick.org/

Larry
Enjoy NYC
Try ...www.avalonny.com or www.wolcott.com

Hi Larry, I am adding on a holiday to NY at the same time as you Nov 2-6, as part of a work trip to Boston. I am from Australia and have never been to NY before. I have not yet booked my accom. and can't believe we will be there at the same time as the marathon! damn! I have been reading everyones tips about where to stay & will try out some of their suggestions, like not staying at the Penn! Maybe I will run into you & your wife at the met. have a great holiday..

i didn't think people would still be posting to my question but i am glad to everyone that has because everyone has helped a lot and i think we got a lot of good advice. just an update for anyone, we cancelled our reservation at the pennsylvannia of course we had a another place lined up first. we have really gone out on a limb on this one, as far as upgrading but it turns out my wifes travel department had a good deal on a new york hotel this same time frame we were looking for so we got booked at the hudson hotel which is real close to lincoln center and from what i understand is a real nice hotel. they told us that the room was going to be small but we dont really care since we are not going to be in the room much anyway. thanks again to everyone who helped out with such great advice and everything we are really looking forward to our time in new york. Bye