My husband and I are very excited to be travelling to NYC for our 25th wedding anniversary next week. We'll be staying for 7 days. This will be our first trip to NYC. I have booked two hotels and need to make a final decision. They are priced the same.

#1 Casablanca-Queen Room. We like what we've seen about this hotel. Great reviews on TripAdvisor, warm/cozy atmosphere, lot's of added value, etc.

#2 Royalton - King Suite. Although the suite is enticing, reviews are quite mixed. Fireplace can't be used unless temps are freezing (unlikely in April). Lots of upcharges. We are somewhat put-off by the fact that we were able to book a $550.00 suite for $299. Makes us wonder.

Feedback on hotels would be appreciated. Also suggestions for restaurants and fun actiivies would be great. (p.s. we are in our mid-forties)

Thanks.

Topping this for you while asking for a little more info. I can't speak specifically about your hotel choices because I have not stay at either of them. I think it's great that you have 7 days to spend in NYC - what a treat! As far as activities, what you do like? Tours? Museums? Wine/Food Tasting? Maybe a visit to the Botanical Garden? Tell us a little about your interests and you'll get lots of suggestions.

I don't know about Casablance, but the room I saw at the Royalton a few years ago didn't get me excited.

I think we've decided on the Casablanca. Too many "mixed" reviews on the Royalton. As far as activities go....being that this is our 1st time to NY we are hoping to get a lot in. We have tickets to the Producers and Carmen. Would also like to see a play. Jazz/Blues club. Nice Restaurants. We're planning on the Statue/Ellis Island tour. Central Park of course (what about the buggy ride?) All the neighborhoods. History/Architecture. We'd love to hear any suggestions.

Thanks for the feedback.

If you like History/Architecture you might want to check out the tours given by the Municipal Arts Society, there is more info at: http://www.mas.org/Events/tours.cfm

For a play, if you mean a drama, Doubt is terrific and won lots of awards. It's often available on discount if you check broadwaybox.com

Faith Healer is just starting (haven't seen it) with Ralph Fiennes.

Read reviews online and see which of these interest you. Here's a link with synopses and info
http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/off.htm

Here's NY Times reviews
http://theater.nytimes.com/pages/theater/reviews/

For restaurant ideas, tell us what sort of food you like. One idea is going to the UN Delegates dining room for lunch. If you're interested read info here
http://www.newyorkology.com/archives...d_nations.html

If you'd like a tour of the Statue of Liberty, try to make a reservation online NOW. Going first thing in the morning is usually best as lines for security are long and reports are first boat out is the best. If you just plan on going to Ellis Island, unfortunately, it's still the same ferry as the SOL and you still have to go through security.

For jazz, bigapplejazz.com is a good site for venues. Gothamjazz.com lists a few venues and who's playing by day. There are a few places that have both good jazz and decent food---Knickerbocker Bar & Grill, the Garage, (both in the village) are 2. Dizzy's Coca Cola (part of jazz at Lincoln Center) is at the Time Warner building (Columbus Circle) and has good jazz and a nice view. http://www.jalc.org/

The buggy ride is controversial (on this board). Some feel the horses are not well treated. I personally think it's a romantic thing to do BUT don't do it thinking it's a good way to see the park. The carriages are limited to going on the internal park roads (with cars). It's generally $45 for about 20 minutes. If you do it, try to go when many of the park roads are closed to vehicular traffic.

You might want to take some sort of overview tour of the city at the beginning of your stay. In good weather, the Grayline hop on/off tour is popular. There are also 2 other tours with smaller enclosed buses, NY Party Shuttle and Marvelous Manhattan.

nypartyshuttle.com
kingofnyc.com

Thanks for the great suggestions. As far as food goes...we like most things. In particular, Italian, Seafood, Thai, (my husband loves Sushi, but I don't). I'm looking for a romantic restaurant for our anniversary night. Several that have been recommended by our hotel are One if by Land, The View, The River Cafe, Jezebel, and Chez Josephine. Any thoughts? I was thinking that we might want to stay away from Times Square that evening. Fun restaurant/bar ideas are also welcome. Thanks for the play recommendation (drama, comedy, just not a musical as we've booked that already). I've made the Statue/Ellis Island reservation. We'll do that our first day, we thought it would be a nice way to start the trip. I'm into genealogy so excited to see Ellis Island, I've heard the tour is good. It's going to be a great, busy 7 days!

Again, thanks for the great suggestions.

For your anniversary dinner, the only ones I'd consider on that list are River Cafe or Chez Josephine and they're very different. River Cafe is in Brooklyn with fabulous views of NYC. It's a memorable, special occasion kind of place. Serious foodies may not be impressed, but most people I know like it. Chez Josephine is more a fun place with good, not great food, and live piano (there's live piano I think at River Cafe too). It's very festive, especially later in the evening. The View is very touristy with mediocre food. If you want to go there for the revolving view, a drink or maybe their dessert buffet is probably a better idea.

I haven't been to Jezebel in some time so can't comment, but I don' think of it as a special occasion sort of place.

The Bateaux NY dinner cruise is supposed to be very nice, but can't give personal account. http://www.spiritcruises.com/bateaux/contactus.html

One if By Land has been known as a romantic place, but recent reports are the place is tired. There are lots of other lovely places with good food. I agree getting out of TS that night is a good idea since you'll pretty much be wedded to it on the nights you're going to the theater.

Asiate in the Mandarin Oriental hotel has great views and very good Asian food.