New York apartment accommodation help please!
 

Calling on the New York City experts!! In September/October 2010 I will be in New York with 5 girlfriends (all in our 50's). We want to stay in an apartment/s for one week and need some help please! We are all agreed that we need separate bedrooms, but apart from that we are pretty flexible. We don't mind if we share a couple of adjoining apartments. Our budget is approx $US200 per night each. Naturally if we can spend less we will!

$1000 per night will not get you a five bedroom apartment in Manhattan.

The NY Salisbury has a two bedroom apartment (two queens, king, sofa bed, and two baths) and a one bedroom (two queens, sofa bed, one bath) that might meet your budget. They are right down the hall from each other.

The Affinia Hotel group may have three bedroom accommodations.

Hi GoTravel, thanks for replying so quickly!! It doesn't have to be Manhattan. Please excuse the following as I don't know New York at all yet but if we aimed for one of the villages would we get better value for money or is that a more expensive option?

Greenwich Village and the East Village are both Manhattan and both are expensive.

I'd figure out what you want to see, and get a map of Manhattan, and figure out what area would be best for your group.

Don't try and stay outside Manhattan to save money if what you want to see is Manhattan. Commutes for five who have no idea of their surroundings can get frustrating, time consuming, and expensive.

Thanks for the advice GoTravel, I think I'll do as you suggested and research a little more. You make a good point that commuting will will be irritating.

Wait a minute. Are you saying you can spend up to $7000 for the full week for the 5 of you?

Aren't there some really nice central suite or apartment hotels that will do that?

You will definitely want to stay in Manhattan for convenience. Especially on the weekendd, the subway constructiona nd route can get very inconvenienct if you are coming in from another borough.

I 2nd GoTravel, figure out what you are interested in seeing before you find a place to stay. I'd find the villages a little out of the way for me for sightseeing.

I think you are going to be hard pressed to find a place where you can each have your own bedroom unless you split up. But I've never been looking for that so I can't say for sure, hopefully someone will know better than me.

Ooops. I misread the part about 5 bedrooms. I actually thought it said you agreed you don't need separate bedrooms. OK, I know I need new glasses, but this is getting ridiculous.

Oh, Patrick, we thought you made that mistake on purpose as a subtle way of pointing out that the separate-bedrooms requirement was going to be a big obstacle.

Oh,yea. That's right. That WAS my intention. And now I'm sticking to that story!

Very few Manhattan apartments have 5 bedrooms, almost none would be for rent short-term and the price would be way above what you want to pay. And since most apartments are illegal individual sublets it's extremely unlikely to get 2 apartments in the same building. And even if you could - are you willing to deal with 5th floor walk-ups (common in middle class buildings), no doorman and pretending to be a relative of the legitimate renter if something goes wrong with the plumbing?

If you go to a corporate renter (for people relocating) you could get several apartments in the same building - but again - not for even close to $200 per person.

Really you should be looking to see what kind of deals you can find at the Salisbury or the various Affinia suite hotels - much less aggravation that way.

Oh - and I suggest you get a map of NYC. Manhattan is an island where most of the sights are located, but it consists of many different neighborhoods - and I don;t suggest staying elsewhere in terms of the time and cost of trekking back and forth into the City. Also, places outside Manhattan will not have a City atmosphere - they will range from suburban strip malls to mixed use (business/factory/car repair shop) areas that are extremely dreary at night.

So if there are 6 (you + 5 GFs) and you each want a bedroom, your best bet is to look for three two bedroom suites. $400 per night per suite($200 per person) is potentially doable but not easy. Chances are better if you get a weekly rate at a place like an Affinia property - www.affinia.com, look for the weekly rate.
While you are looking, you can consider what you would save if you booked three one bedroom suites where the bedroom has two beds.

Hi, I've done a bit more research, has anyone heard of www.envoyclub.com. They advertise 2 bed apartments. From the photos they look ok, but I'd love some opinions especially re the location. During the week we would like to see some of the typical tourist sites - MOMA, Central Park, Broadway, Brooklyn Bridge and we will hit the shops and some restaurants.

NeoPatrick, you are a very funny man!! You've made me laugh in the past in the Europe forum and now here you are again making me laugh out loud with your comment about new glasses. We ladies are of an age where we definitely want our own bedrooms!! (my girlfriends have been known to snore - not me though ;)). To answer your question, yes, between us we can spend $7,000 for the week, and a bit more if we have to.

Seamus, you are right on the money!! Two bedrooms suites/apartments are exactly what we need. I looked at affinia.com but they were just a little bit over our budget.

I know this particular building but don't know anything about the company that rents these apartments. It's right on the corner of 1st avenue, not between 1st and 2nd, but the location isn't too bad. You're close to buses to go up and downtown and about 10 minutes from the 4/5/6 subway. Lots of neighborhood restaurants. I live near there.

However, it's not even close to your price range. Try Radio City Apartments and be aware that you are coming right in the middle of high season, when rates in Manhattan jump tremendously.

cathies - did you look at the weekly rate on the affinia site? There were a couple properties that looked to be within your budget when using the weekly rate. It may be, too, that since you are more than a year in advance the weekly rates are not yet posted for your dates. You might try emailing the hotels to get a quote.

I would say that you are trying to do something way too early. Most hotels don't have their rates more than a year ahead. I'd get a book on the city, find the things you want to do and don't worry about a hotel until early in 2010, then start looking for good rates.

This far out, so many things could change.

Envoy club is near the entrance/exit to Queens midtown tunnel. A bunch or fresidential buildings with some neighborhood type shops and bars/restaurants. Not really near anythng you want to see/do - will have to take a bus or subway to almost everything.

Agree you're looking too early - prices could be completely different next year (lower or higher) depenging on the economy.

wht might make most sense is just to look for a hotel with 5 single rooms - and one person get a suite so you have a LR to gather in (naturally the others would have to share in that extra cost).

"" Most hotels don't have their rates more than a year ahead.""

Hotels have their rates for YEARS in advance. How else would hotels budget? Also groups block rooms years and some times up to ten years in advance.

Cathies, pick your dates and book your rooms now. In peak season you'll have a hard time finding what you want.

The reason I mentioned the Salisbury is because of its excellent Midtown location.

It would be really difficult to find a five-bedroom apartment for a one week rental, so yoou're probably better off with a hotel. But another option you could check into is finding someone who is planning on being away at that time and could use the extra income by renting out their apartment while they're gone. Seems more and more people are wiling to go this route.

We did a trip to NYC in 2007 with a group of 40-year olds, and stayed at the Flatotel. It is a former apartment building that has been converted into a hotel. It's not the Ritz Carlton, but was very roomy with 2 separate bedrooms, living room, dinette and kitchen. We had a corner apartment with a great view of the city. We stayed in what they called "unremodeled suites" at the time, but it looks like they may have all been remodeled by now. They do have 2,200 square foot suites that might work for you. It is in a great location close enough to walk to the theater district. Here is their website: http://www.flatotel.com/

Hi Seamus, I just realised that I only looked at one of their buildings and forgot that the home page showed they have others. I'll check again.

NYtraveler that's a good idea. I'll discuss it with the other girls. I'll also check out all the other advice. At this stage none of the places I've looked into are showing availability for Sept/Oct 2010. When we find somewhere that looks promising I'll email the place direct. I am hoping to book early as we know what we want is a bit unusual.

Thanks again everyone, I knew I could rely on Fodor's posters for good advice. :)

How about 5 hotel rooms on Priceline?
read up at www.betterbidding.com and www.biddingfortravel.com

you could go 5* with your budget

The trouble is you're unlikely to get so many rooms at the same hotel - esp if you want one to be a suite so there's some place to gather. Also, tht time of year Priceline may not have tht much availability.

I think most hotels are not showing availability yet because you're trying to look far too soon. No hotel that I know of books more than a year out to individual travelers. Groups are booked that far in advance at negotiated rates, and then regular bookings are taken starting about a year out (sometimes less for some hotels).

I think you know by now that there are no 5-bedroom apartments or condos in NYC for rent by the week for less than about $50,000. And I don't mean that it will be difficult, but I mean NONE. Do concentrate your search on a hotel where you can book a suite with a small kitchen and a few other rooms. That is quite doable; however, your budget for the fall high season is pretty small, and I really doubt you'll find 5 separate bedrooms in any combination with a kitchen for that price.

This group actually might be able to use Priceline, using the common strategy of booking a cancelable backup alternative. You can bid on up to 10 rooms simultaneously, though of course as the total number of nights and rooms increases the potential to win something decreases. However, if they want group accommodations for the sake of camaraderie, then it's not a consideration.

Hi all, we don't need 1 x 5 bedroom apartment - sorry if my original post read that way. We want 3 x 2 bedroom apartments/hotel suites or 2 x 3 bedroom apartments/hotel suites. Doug_Stallings you are right in that I can't search online for those dates - they aren't showing up yet. But some general suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again, Cathie

I think we've made all the viable suggestions there are to make. You need to check one of the cheaper suite hotels and book a suite with kitchen and then a few regular rooms. That is doable. However, your price range is probably far too low to get everyone their own separate bedroom. It's as simple as that. There are also some apartment-hotels or apartments for rent in Manhattan, but they are few and far between.

But you want to go in the height of the high season and you want to pay a price that's less than the price of a cheap room in a cheap hotel right now (i.e., in 2009, when we're in the midst of a deep recession and travel and hotel rates in NYC are way down). By next year, I expect rates will begin to return to their norm, which is far higher than $200 for the kind of place you want to get. I think that's the crux of the problem.

One final factor to remember is that in NYC, a 2-bedroom suite will cost more than two single rooms.

If you really have to have an apt., this place will sleep you all but I don't know how comfortably.
http://www.vrbo.com/115235
I sure would prefer some nice suites in a nice hotel for that kind of money.

We want to have an apartment a kitchen because it will be much easier to feed a five year old than eating in restaurants. Any one ever stay at a private apartment?

As stated above, most short term apt rentals are illegal in NYC. Look at the apartment style hotels, particularly those recommended on the other thread you made this query on.

May I suggest Radio City Suites Apartment between 6th and 7th Avenue on 49th street. We travel to NY only in January after the crowds have left for the season. We stay only at this location because their rooms offer kitchens. They have two bedrooms, one bedrooms, and standard rooms and their prices are quite wonderful because you are 1 block from Times Square and 1 block from Rockefeller Center and a block from the subway system. We eat in and use our money for plays an such. Would not stay anywhere else. Have stayed at Affina properties and found them not close to the action. If you need more info please respond with specific questions. Radio City has their own website which allows you to select which type of room you would like. By the way, our last group in January numbered 15 women.

Poster NeoPatrick has stayed in "private" apartments several times but they were usually for a month and always studios or 1 bedrooms. Since there is no such thing as a 5 bedroom apt. which means you'd want multiple apts. in the same building, a suite hotel or a b & b with apt. type rooms would be your best bet. A lot of the b & b's don't allow young children (ie 1871house.com) so we're back to suite hotels. Affinia.com offers the most selection. In their group, the Benjamin, Affinia 50, Affinia Gardens, Shelburne Murray Hill are imo the nicest/most recently renovated. Other suite hotels to consider are the San Carlos, the Alex and the Beacon.

Hi stupid and mclaurie, thank you both for you suggestions. You've both been very helpful. I'll definitely check out the places you have suggested. :)

Contact the Marriott Hotel chain. They have a great solution for you....new too! midtown! Have fun and be sure to see Toys R Us in Times Square, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, take a water taxi, enjoy a Big Apple double decker bus tour, spend a day at Ellis Island, ....How many days do you have? Sandy G

Hi Sandy, we think we will have 5 days, not quite sure yet. I'll look into your suggestion as well, it sounds good. If you have any other suggestions as to what we should see and where we should go I would be very grateful. I do want to go to the Museum of Modern Art, which sounds wonderful. When I was in Paris I spent an entire day in the Louvre and loved it. MOMA sounds just as good. I'd also like to spend some time in Central Park, explore some of the interesting neighbourhoods (Chelsea etc), eat out and of course, see a Broadway play. I go to regular tap dancing classes and have threatened the other girls with taking my taps and "tapping my way down Broadway", however they have threatened me with a fate worse than death if I do!! :) We are 5 women in our 50s who have all been friends for ages and are very excited about our trip. So far we are planning to fly Sydney - San Francisco, stay there for 3-4 days, then fly to New York for 5 days, then on to Boston for 3-4 days and then home again via Hawaii to unwind. We know it will be rushed, but we can only abandon our husband for just so long!!

Hi Cathies,
Look at the website below. It is a B & B with 6 bedrooms and full kitchen. You may want to call or e-mail the owner to see if you can rent all the rooms for your dates in NYC. They may even give a discount.
http://www.ivyterrace.com/

Here is a website that lists B&B's in NYC. You might find a property that will meet your needs.
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/manhattan-new-york.html

japw82, Ivy Terrace looks just like what we want. I've emailed the link to the other girls and I will email the owner ASAP. From their calendar it appears to be available for our dates, which have just recently changed to May of next year as that suits the work pressures of some of our group.

Thanks so much for the tip and for the link to the B&B site. Cathie