smagdy

Hello!

I was planning to travel to Los Angeles from Sweden, but then i changed my mind to go to New York instead..

So I would like to find good apartments to rent for 2 weeks (Bec, any good hotel is so expensive), where I can easily go to shopping malls and city center..

Please advice me where can i search/reserve it on the internet.

Thanks in advance

sf7307

First, I assume you are referring to Manhattan (New York is a state, and New York City is its largest city, but even New York City is made up of 5 distinct boroughs -- Manhattan, Bronx, Brookly, Queens and Staten Island)). If so, you should know that there are no shopping malls in Manhattan. It would be helpful to have some more information.

smagdy

Hmm,

Well, I think it should be Manhattan, but it doesn't have to be shopping malls, i just mean these big shops like Macy's, Nordstrom, JC Penny, etc...

Thanks

Aduchamp1

There are also hundreds of unique shops.

There really is no city center. Using the subway, walking, buses, and cabs, most of Manhattan you will want to see is highly acccessible from just about any area.

Tourist epicenter is Times Square, but that is just representative of Times Square and not that rest of Manhattab.

michelleNYC

Perhaps you could let us know why you are interested in visiting NYC (aside from Macy's, I don't believe there is a JC Penny and definitely no Nordstrom).

sf7307

But of course there are other department stores in addition to Macy's -- the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's stores, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor.

lcuy

And there is a brand new Penneys, down at Union Square I believe.

Smagdy, How much do you want to spend on your hotel each night? That way, we can give you good ideas.

sf7307

And what kind of shopping are you looking for -- JC Penney is quite a bit less "upscale" than Macy's, which is quite a bit less "upscale" than Saks, etc.

Is shopping the primary focus of your trip?

nyer

I wonder why everyone is so focused on the shopping part of smagdy's post--I assume that it's just a way of saying being close to many things. But, for your information, there is no Nordstom in NYC but there is a JC Penney a block away from Macy's (in the old "Manhattan Mall"--see we did have a mall, but noone really called it that anyway )

smagdy,
The BIG problem which comes up all the time here is that most apartment rentals in NYC are illegal.
Yes, there are some legal rentals, and some people (including some people here) have had luck with the illegal ones, but usually for longer time periods (one month or more) and with people that they have worked with before.
What is your real budget for lodging and when are you coming? Prices vary a lot depending on the time of the year.
NYC has hostels for $40 a night--and hotels for $1000 a night, with many choices in between. Let us know what you need

smagdy

Well, thanks for all the replies...

I was planning to visit Los Angeles wit my wife to have fun, visit disney, universal, etc.. plus do shopping (as its very cheap compared to Sweden) but since my wife is pregnant in 3rd month and won't be able to go much around then we decide to just visit New York.

Anyways, hostels are nothing for us, we need a good place, clean and comfortable..
We want to stay 2 weeks and planning to pay up to $1500 for accommodation, maybe more if it was really worth it.

Want to come 25/Sep -09

Thanks again!

vjpblovesitaly

So about $110/night inc tax? Probably not feasible.

smagdy

Ok let say $150/night but cant i find legal appartment for $1500 for 2 weeks? But must be very clean and modern...

lcuy

smagdy- with your budget, I would be tempted to go to LA. Hotels and shopping are much cheaper there. 0r how about the Mall of America in Minneapolis. They have shopping, hotels and amusement park activities all together!

if you want $1500 for two weeks in NYC, you might need to try Priceline, especially if you want a clean, modern and comfortable place to stay.

Unless your wife is having severe morning sickness, being three months pregnant should not affect your wife, other than she may want to go to bed at 6:30 each night!

puffinx

Try this link for NYC

http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...city/manhattan

Come to Palm Beach Florida. Everything you want is here; exclusive shopping (Nordstrom, Saks, Macy's, ++) at 1/2 the price of NYC plus wonderful beaches and no 'sunshine tax'. You can rent a modern -clean- condo as well. It certainly can be a relaxing vacation. But, you may want to rent a car.

vjpblovesitaly

Ignore puffinx's suggestion for the apartments.

Christina

I agree for big stores, it might make more sense just to go shopping in LA. Now NY does have some good discount places, but you have to know your shopping and stores to go there. So if you are just going to the big chain names, maybe do it in LA (where there are some big malls, Santa Monica, Beverly Blvd, etc). Or Florida isn't a bad idea, actually.

I heard them talking about that new JC PEnneys in Manhattan on NPR, it's supposed to be a very chic JC Penneys and I actually don't think Macys is any great shakes (I hate the store, frankly). I'd actually rather shop at Penneys than Macys, but Bloomingdales, Saks and Nordstrom are better for more upscale.

puffinx

VRBO is too risky? I have done Chelsea with them a couple of years ago with no problems ($200/night). But again, if it is risky, yes, ignore it!

michelleNYC

$1500 for a hotel for two weeks.. hmm... don't think you can make that happen here in NY. Please keep in mind that room taxes are *very* high - for example: your taxes on a $200 per night room are approximately $40 per day. Warning not to go the apartment route - short-term rentals are, for the most part, illegal in Manhattan.

sf7307

I don't like Macy's either, but I actively dislike JCP!

smagdy

You turned off the idea of visiting NYC

So maybe I should think about Florida, though i choosed New York for 2 important reasons.

1- Less travel distance (About 10 hrs)
2- Not needing to rent a car.

But if Florida would have good relaxation plus all the shopping, cheap hotels.. then it could be great!

I searched in hotels.com and they had very nice hotels with good prices but they are all about 40km away from City Center.

So where can we find good hotels where we can find everything close to us.

Also do we need to rent a car? No trains/buses there ?

Thanks