nikgolas

My wife and I are going to come for our honeymoon to US and we are planning our journey.
We flight to Boston from Athens(we are from Greece)at 11/4 and we think something like:
Boston 11/4-11/7 3 nights
NY 11/7-11/12 5 nights
Washigton DC 11/12-11/15 3 nights
Orlando 11/15-11/18 3 nights
Miami 11/18-11/21 3 nights
-We have 3 more days to spend so where do you think we should go?(Savanah maybe?)
-Which hotels do you suggest in each city?we are willing to spend something between $250-$300 per room per night.
-In Orlando is it better to stay in a hotel in the Disneyland or not?

Thanks in advance
Effie - Nikos

wyatt92

Sounds like a great honeymoon.

In Boston I would recommend Nine Zero. It's a newish boutique hotel with a really great restaurant and bar. Other than that, almost any hotel in the Copley/Back Bay area would be a good bet.

In DC, I like the Sofitel in Lafayette Sq. It's very nice, great service and very convenient to the White House/Monuments. Alternately, Dupont Circle is a great area to stay in.

NY will be expensive this time of year, I'll let others chime in on specific hotels.

Miami has a lot of great hotels. In your price range, check out the National, Loews or Raleigh and see if they have any deals.

I do think it's best to stay in a hotel in Disneyworld or Universal Studios. I like the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal and I'm sure someone else can provide ideas for Disney hotels.

wantsomesun

I would suggest turning this over to a local travel agent, so you won't be going crazy with detail planning. YOu should also be able to get some good deals and LOTS of champagne from the different hotels, just tell your agent to let all the hotels know it is your honeymoon.

Another suggestion would be www.hotels.com which is a good place to start planning and you will see the rates of all your hotels. You should be able to do all the planning right there.

Hope this helps.

bonzhoor

For Boston, I would recommend any of the Copley/Back Bay hotels as another previous poster mentioned. I am not sure the exact price are for some of these hotels I will mention but I know for instance that the Fairmont Hotel in Copley sometimes have specials around your budget. One other really nice hotel is the Eliot Hotel which also houses one of the best, if not the best restaurant in my opinion in Boston, Clio.

There's also the Lenox Hotel & Ritz Carlton by the Public Garden or the Four Seasons - the last 2 may be outside of your budget but who knows, they might be running some specials. Unfotunately, in Back Bay, that's pretty much it and everything else are the big chain hotels like the Westin & Marriot.

KathrynT

Many people like to stay in the Dupont Circle area in Washington DC. I think the TimeandPlace suggestion (from someone at TimeandPlace) is beyond your budget.

I don't know if you have travelled in the US much, but the time it takes to travel from one place to another (particularly to Florida) is considerable. How are you planning to get from one city to the next? You might just want to add more time to one or two of the places you're already planning to visit so you won't feel too rushed.

As a US citizen, I would add more time to Washington DC because there are many places of interest to me, but I'm not sure if you would have the same reaction.

Have a great trip!

kcapuani

I hope this is for November 2007... You're going to get all kinds of opinions on where to stay in each city. I would suggest staying near 14th St and Pennsylvania Ave in DC, which is 2 blocks from the White House and 2 blocks from the National Mall. There is the JW Marriott and the Willard Intercontinental at this intersection. Both will be at the high end of your price range, around $300 a night or more.

Another option is to stay in Dupont Circle. I would look into the Westin Embassy Row and the Jury's Hotel on Dupont Circle.

It is difficult to decide where to stay in NYC. I almost always stay in Midtown East on Lexington Ave and like the Marriott East Side. I like being able to walk to 5th Avenue and the the theater district. Please do not stay in Times Square. It is much too crowded, and I think you would be overwhelmed. But, where ever you stay, plan on doing a lot of walking in NYC. It is the best way to see the city, and is far easier than trying to hail a cab or figure out the subway system.

As for your 3 additional nights, I would split them up between the cities you are already visiting. Boston, NY and DC all have so much history and culture, and there is so much to do. If you add the days on to your time in DC, you could also take side trips to Annapolis, Mt Vernon and Old Town Alexandria. Or, you could simply relax in one of these cities at a day spa!

repete

Oops. Missed that this was earlier noted.

Dupont Circle is nice. For that money, you could have some nice choices, I would say Penn Quarter is also a nice option.

ANP2

Take it easy. I am not hiding that I am associated with Time and Place. Time and Place in DC is located at 1020 16th Street. I work there because the job location is really near my home and I keep working there because I am being treated nicely there and I think the company also treat people nicely.


I also like travelling very much. I know the qualities that are important to me when I travel. Location and the quality of the hotel are very important are critical for me to have a good time. For example, I went to Montreal and Quebec City this past July. I stayed at the Marriot in Montreal and the Clarendon in Quebec City. Both were priced the same and location equally good. I enjoyed my time at the Clarendon in Quebec City much better. We found where the locals shop for food. Beautiul raspberries, strawberries, and other produces. Unfortunately, we didn't have a kitchen so we only got the raspberries and strawberries. We also found the best boulangerie and got delicious crossants , pasteries, and breads. We would have like to get more things like pates but we didn't have kitchen. We ate out a lot but we wanted to also eat like how the locals would eat at home. Also, we walked around a lot and soiled our clothes. I realized it would have been nice to have a washer and dryer. Also, we met a couple on our way home to the States who had a wonderful time in Montreal. They stayed at a hotel near the Marriot that had a kitchen. They told us about a nice evening on their hotel rooftop terrance eating a meal prepared from the vegetables that got from the market in Quebec City.

I still think the best location is near Faragut North Metro Station and particularly at 16th and K. Look at all the Hotels on 16th Street. The new DC Circulator get you to almost all the attractions and it has a stop at 16th and K. It costs only $1. So, you have the Circulator, the Metro, and really nice shops and restaurants around there. Also, you can walk to Dupont Circle and while you explore you can pick up some really good food at Whole Foods in Dupont Circle.


I hope this helps.

escargot

I dont' know where you are flying out of to go home to Greece, but I wouldn't go from the upper east coast (Bos, NY, DC) down to Florida and then back up to Savannah area) and fly out of where to get back to Greece? If you want Savannah, or something like that (Charleston) - why not stop there on your way down to Florida and fly home from Miami?

You know your energy level - but you will be doing a lot of walking in these cities and trying to cram a lot in in 3 dys - I agree with what someone else said about adding another day to Bos, Ny and DC instead of adding another locatin to give you some down time to relax - or add one of them to one of the warmer climates like Florida so maybe you can relax in the sunshine !

repete

It looks like bookings are pretty heavy in town, surprising somewhat for mid-November.

Hotels.com is showing this place for $295/night. Don't have experience there, but location is prett good and it's a decent part of town.

http://www.kormancommunities.com

look for Washington DC furnished apartments ...

emd

On a first trip to D.C. for only 3 days on a honeymoon, I would never stay in Dupont or 16th St area. I'd stay in Penn Quarter, the newly and wonderfully renovated area between the National Mall and Chinatown, across the street from the combined National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum, at the Hotel Monaco, a Klimpton Hotel. Very cool hotel, great service, great packages for honeymooners. That puts you on the route of the new free "Circulator" buses that run directly to the National Mall and the Smithsonian museums, White House, etc. and you'd be right across the street from two great Smithsonian museums in a newly restored bldg., and in wlaking distance to many great, varied restaurants.

Circulator buses, see:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro...2133-8811r.htm

Hotel Monaco:
http://www.monaco-dc.com/index.html

If your aim in Orlando is to visit the Dinsey parks, then yes, stay at one of the Disney hotels on-site. Animal Kingdom Lodge is very cool, you can get rooms overlooking the savannah where the giraffes roam, although it is a bit removed (short bus ride) from the other parks. There are other nice hotels close to Epcot (Swan and Dolphin; Grand Floridian) and Disneyworld (Contemporary Resort, etc.), all with different flavor.

mclaurie

Some basics as you search in case you're not familiar with some good internet tools. Tripadvisor.com is a great website to check hotel reviews. Travelzoo.com features specials on hotels in various cities, usually 1-3 months in advance. Quikbook.com is a reservation site I like. It usually doesn't require prepayment and prices are very good.

If you're talking about this coming Nov. (next month!!?) the only hotel I see within your budget I like is the Salisbury (on quikbook). It's NOT fancy but rooms are large and it's within walking distance of Central Park and Times Square. It's available on quikbook for $294 plus tax. NYC has gotten very pricey and you're coming at a busy time.

If this is for next year, I'd look at the Affinia.com hotels, the Blakely, the Shoreham, maybe the Millenium UN Plaza or the San Carlos.

GoTravel

Hi! I can help you with Miami but I need some help from you first.

Do you want to stay in Miami which is the mainland or Miami Beach which is the barrier island?

Also, there are some fabulous Miami islands that have incredible hotels on them (Mandarin Oriental, Fisher Island Club, The Standard Hotel).

Also, Miami has an oversupply of luxery hotels so for a little more money than you budget, you can really stay somewhere above and beyond the norm.

Do you want a resort hotel or a boutique hotel? Miami is known for its boutique hotels in South Beach but that also can mean tiny cramped rooms.

Also, do you want to be directly oceanfront?

Are you just going to veg out or is Miami a jump off point for visiting the Everglades and the keys?

I know the area well and if you can answer these questions, I can really help you find a great hotel!

kakalena

What a great idea for a honeymoon.

You will be visiting at a good time when hotel rates should be lower unless there is something special going on in a city those days.

DC
Another vote for
Hotel Monaco
Willard Hotel
JW Marriott Flagship

If you want an inexpensive place, try the Courtyard by Marriott near the Monaco.

Any of those will put you in a convenient location to all the museums. You'll be able to go back to the room whenever you like.

I have never heard that Farragut North is the best place for a tourist to be.
It is ding-dong dead after the PM rush.

New York
(if you can afford any of these, check rates)
Hudson Hotel 58th Street
(or if you'd like to stay downtown, but not close to theaters etc. just an interesting neighborhood.)
Soho Grand Hotel in SoHo
Mercer Hotel in SoHO

(these are reasonably priced and convenient to the action, very nice but not luxurious)
Marriott Renaissance Times Square
The Muse

Stay in Disneyland if you can, not outside the park.

Miami
(if you can get a good rate at any of these)
The Victor
The Tides
The Ritz-Carlton
The Setai

I'd spread out your extra days too instead of going somewhere else.

Will you have a car available in any location? If so, you could do some day trips to the shore or countryside or Key West in Miami.

You'd better get booking, time is running out.

repete

Yeah, the Monaco near the top of my list when I maded my recs, but I didn't include that because it's out of the OP's range for that time. (As are the Willard and JW Marriott and a lot of other hotels).

I was surprised that in mid-November rooms were so booked and the winter rates hadn't kicked in -- at least not for these week days. It might be a post-election thing.

Even in Dupont, it was tight. One of the few in range was the Churchill, which is on the far end of the area.

repete

Maded? I meant "made" of course .... sorry

kcapuani

Yes, at this point the JW Marriott and Willard in DC are certainly out of the original poster's price range. Even midrange hotels like the Marriott Metro Center and Residence Inn Dupont are well over $300. I haven't bothered to check the rates in NYC but I'm sure they are astronomical. I am still hoping that he is planning for Nov 2007! How can you plan such an extensive trip like this at the last minute?

jess_honeymoon

We live just outside DC, but recently spend a weekend at the Sofitel in Lafayette Square, as someone else recommended. We had a rate of $219, and the room was fantastic. My husband and I both commented that the room was as nice as those on our honeymoon - comfortable bed, great bathroom - and the service was fantastic as well. Ask for a city view room, I think you'll really enjoy it!

kakalena

Courtyard Convention Center in DC goes for $149-299 if you move the dates around a bit.

Muse in NYC can be had for $299 again by playing with the dates.

Either of those hotels would be good.

repete

You aren't going to get the Sofitel during the week for that .... try 5 bills/night

The OP's sked -- which moves logically from Boston south -- doesn't appear to have a lot of room to "move the dates," he is already getting weekend rates in NYC. There's little likelihood of getting that break in both NYC and DC ...