Mother-daugher NYC Weekend
 

My mom is turning 60 this October, and I am thinking of taking her to NYC for the weekend (I am 35). I have only been there once, on a school field trip (from hell, lol). She has never been

Here are our interests:

Shopping, but not super upscale
Good food, but not super pricey, we love Italian and nice, local places (would love to get dim sum as I have not had it since my honeymoon to San Francisco/Wine Country 10 years ago!)
We would like to take in a show, something funny

I have NO idea where to stay. Is it possible to get a room for under $200 a night? My mother loves to walk, and we are used to taking the subway.

I am planning to get a travel book, but thought I would start here.

Any help would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

I'd recommend Priceline for a hotel; we got the Marriott marquis for $174.

I used coupons from restaurant.com to eat at some neighborhood ethnic places.

October is heading into high season and probably your only chance of getting a decent place for $200 is to bid on Priceline (learn how first) and assume you will get a small room with one double bed.

There are a few B&B or modest hotels that have rroms with shared bath that you might also get for that price.


Once you have dates I would scour budget hotels on the internet to see if you can get an special deals if you pay in advance (sometimes they do this for 25% or even more off). Whatever you do , do not wait. Prices will only rise, and room availability diminish, as you get closer. (I just checked a couple of possible budget options and 3 show October and November completely sold out - they had internet specials earlier in the year.)

A look at kayak.com for random dates in early October shows a few modest options in the $200 range that you might want to investigate. It also shows the Pennsylvania, the Marrakech and Riverside Towers - none of which you should touch at any price (dirty, possibly verminous and totally unpleasant).

The TRavel Inn, a modest but decent property on the far west side has double rooms available for about $465 - including tax for early October. If you have an idea of your dates I make cancelable reservations now.

Priceline only guarantees a room with one bed for 2 people. If you don't mind sharing a bed, it's an option. How long do you plan to stay? I think you just have to shop around for a good deal. Depending on where you live, you might find a good air/hotel package. Quikbook.com kayak.com hotels.com are good websites for hotels (kayak is also good for airfare). Travelzoo.com lists sales a few months in advance.

When you look for a guide book, check out "Eyewitness Guide to New York" and for maps I like "Streetwise Manhattan" both available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobel etc.

October can be a bit tricky for booking a nice hotel at a decent price. If you see something that looks interesting check it out here and if it's good - book it!

Have fun planning, you and you rMom will have a great time!

When I went to NYC, I got a room from CheapHotels.com. I was feeling quite pleased with myself because it was very reasonable... until I went on yahoo and read hotel reviews. Mine was given very low stars because more than once, people had arrived only to find there had never been a reservation made through cheaphotels. SO I called my hotel directly and guess what!! They had no idea I was booked. I got the head manager's name and had him send me personally signed confirmations. When we arrived our room was pretty frumpy, so they took the price down even more because of our trouble.

For dim sum in Chinatown Jin Fong and second Golden Unicorn.

For northen Italian I Coppi and Supper.