New York December Trip
 

Hi!!! We were thinking of parrot cay, but finally decided NYORK, so now I'm trying to plan a trip to nyork with my husband the 1st week of december...We are trying to book a hotel but they are all so expensive these dates...We are trying to get a good price on the New York Palace (we have stayed there several times and love it!!). We tried four seasons and mandarin oriental and they are far too expensive for us (4seasons standard for 900$)
We have flights reservation till tomorrow...depending if we can find hotel by that time...
any suggestion for around 500$ per night??
I'm also looking for a show. I had decided "Jersey Boys" but apparently there are no tickets available....Maybe I'm not doing it right....any help on that??
Another thing...does anyone know what is on the met and the moma for those dates??
Thanks!!!

Well -

As you can see you have picked the most expensive tyime of year. And for $500 per night you won;t get 5* and probably wont get 4*.

Here are a coulle of suggestions:

Try Quickbook to see if theyhave any relative bargains

Look at the web sites of the larger chain business type hotels - they have somany rooms to sell they sometimes have rooms available at not TOO BAD rates

Try the Affinia group of all suite hotels. They are sort of 3.5* - but almost always get good reviews and give you lots of extra room. It's likely they should have somethig available in the $500 range if you move quickly.

At that price point, you might look at some of the boutique hotels further downtown.

I just checked 60 Thompson (luxury boutique hotel in SoHo), and they have queen superior rooms available the first week of December for $539/night.

The Maritime is about $400/night, the Hudson is $499/night for those dates.

What you're doing wrong is picking that week - it is the busiest week of the year in NY.

If you come in after the 18th you can probably stay within your budget.

Check out entertainment-link.com for cheaper NY theater tickets. If you can't get Jersey Boys see Spamalot. It's hysterical. Also, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is excellent.

We can only go that week because in Spain there it's holiday...I know it's a pity!!!
we need to go to a musical cause my husband doen't speak english that well and if we see for example spamalot, he won't catch any of the jokes (maybe neither would I....)
We were thinking of going to miami to try the new acqualina, but I prefer to go to nyork!!!!!!!!!!I LOVE NY!!!!!
I will try all the places you all suggest and give you my feed back!! thanks!!!

Agree first week in Dec. is probably THE most expensive. The lights on the tree in Rockefeller Center get lit.

If you like the location of the Palace, the Affinia 50 isn't far and it's $499/night--or the San Carlos for $500/night, both on quikbook.com The San Carlos is a bit newer/fresher but both get good reviews on tripadvisor.com

The Lucerne is a nice hotel on the upper westside (near Museum of Natural History), an area many people like. It's $455/night for a suite also on quikbook.

60 Thompson is a nice boutique hotel in Soho (where there's tons of shopping) and is available on quikbook for $499. Would be a fun area to stay if you're coming for Xmas shopping.

At this point, I highly suggest you take mclaurie's advice and go for the Affina 50. At this point, most of the moderate hotels are already booked and only the really expensive top end have any availability for a week.

I would call The Surrey Hotel, another Affina property and see if they have any availability. The website isn't showing any but that doesn't mean anything. It is one of the nicest boutique hotels in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. It is catty corner from The Carlyle.

The Surrey is $509/539 (changes on some nights) on quikbook for a studio apt. I also notice the Sofitel is available on a special on quikbook at about the same price, but it requires prepayment/no cancellations, not true for any of the others mentioned.

As you know the begining of December is the height of the tourist season here, and not sure anymore when the low season is, lol, we seem to be packed with visitors all year long.

That said, you might try www.hotels.com for suggestions on what hotels are available the week you are going to be here and what the rates are showing.

You might try The Dream Hotel as a good choice, and should be within your budget.

A few stars less, but a nice hotel is the Grand Union on E 32nd and the Affinia on E 34th.

Have a great time while you are here.

Since your husband doesn't speak English have you thought of a night at the opera? If you googled the Metropolitan Opera you could see if there was anything that interested you. It's a wonderful experience. OR... the New York City Ballet will be doing their Nutcracker then. There's a lot more theatre in NYC than Broadway -:)

thanks but we prefer a musical...
does anyone know (first hand) any luxury-well situated apartments in Nyork?? that is harder to find that a hotel (their websites are not so detailed and their pictures not so good..)The palace option is beginning to fade....by the way...the 4seasons standard rate (on their website) is already 2.000$/night!!!!!
thanks!

carlota, you will simply not find a luxury hotel room in NYC for the first week of December for less than $500, and certainly not one of the caliber you are looking for (the regular rates at these hotels are above $500 a night now). It is the beginning of the most expensive season of the year in the city. You should be able to find a well-located, decent hotel (a standard, corporate chain like a Sheraton or Marriott) if you reserve soon. I'm afraid I can't suggest a "luxury" apartment rental; if you want something more modest, look at suites at the various Affinia Hotels throughout NYC; these hotels are pretty nice and the 1-bedroom suites apartment-like.

For musicals, look at Tuesday and Wednesday nights. You might like The Drowsy Chaperone, which is a good new musical. You might be able to get tickets for Mary Poppins or A Chorus Line, which are opening this Fall, though that is one of the busiest weeks for theater in the entire year.

You might try the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel. It is a lovely Irish chain with nice, large, well-appointed rooms and good service. It has a certain charm. We put our wedding guests up at the one near Grand Central (they have 2 Manhattan locations). I put the dates arriving Dec. 3 for 4 nights and came up with a rate of $439 a night and $529 for a suite.

The Surrey is pretty close to being a luxury hotel.

"Les Miz" is returning to NY in the fall. You might score some tickets now. The action should make up for the language barrier.

Check with the Helmsley Park Lane on Central Park South. They usually have rates half what RC, FS, Peninsual, NY Palace et al have.

You might consider Marriott Courtyard in Mid-town. It is not a large hotel, and is just about 2 blocks from Times Square. One of the more reasonable places, and conveniently located.

thanks for all your suggestions!! I'm checking all of them!!! a friend has also given me names of apartments near st. patrick, so I'll have a look at them also!! I hope we can finally go!! I really love Nyork at christmas!!!

Carlota- New York is usually abreviated NY or NYC. Sorry, but nyork just sounds like something teenage boys do with their nose in the mornings!

Have you checked VRBO.com? They have loads of apartments that you rent directly from the owner. Most of the apartments have availability calendars on the listing, so you can immediately tell if they are available for your time slot.

Good luck.

Nina

I don't know how luxurious it is first hand, but this apartment is in a great location (56 st b/w Park & Lexington) in a new building.

http://www.cyberrentals.com/USA/New-...an/p137574.htm
You might also check the Lombardy Hotel on the same block. It used to be a residential hotel and is now condos/hotel rooms. Here's the page with their rates.
http://lombardyhotel.com/rooms_and_rates.htm

I agree with the advice Doug Stallings gave you on musicals. Drowsy Chaperone or A Chorus Line (hasn't opened yet). Look on playbill for listings and links for tickets. If you're desperate for Jersey Boys, check http://www.applause-tickets.com/
They're a broker but their prices are usually not too crazy.

For the museums, have a look on their websites
metmuseum.org
moma.org

maclaurie!!!I really liked the lombardy!!! the location is perfect and the prices are into my budget!! I tried to book online but it's full those dates!!!!!what a pity!!! thanks anyway!!!

Have a look at the Helmsley Carlton House.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

snif!!! it's full from the 6th till the 10th (included)....bad luck!!! but again, it seemed fabulous!!thanks anyway!!

The Iroquois is a nice smaller hotel on "club row" 44 st b/w 5th & 6th ave. It's right next door to the Algonquin, on the same block as the Sofitel. On quikbook I see prices of $459-489 depending on room type/size. Would be within walking distance of both Fifth Ave. and the theaters. The only issue is the rooms are very small so the $459 price might be too small. At $489, you might as well take the Sofitel if you can deal with a non-cancallable res. Here are reviews for Iroquois
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

never thought it would be so hard to find hotel...I'm waiting for the spanish travel agencies to receive their deals for that week (as it is holiday in spain)

carlota, you will not find any 'deals' for NYC for the begining of December.

At this point, you'll be lucky to find anything.

does anyone know "the Royalton", "the hudson" and "the grand shoho"?

Yes, we know them. They're all uber trendy. The Hudson is in midtown, a bit far west for convenience but ok. Their rooms are extrememly small.

The Royalton is also midtown nearish the theaters. Read reviews on tripadvisor. Can't remember if their rooms are also very small.

The Soho Grand is downtown (in Soho) and it's a lively area with great shopping and dining but not near the typical tourist venues or the theater. But this could be a fun change for you. 60 Thomspon and the Mercer are 2 other hotels in the area that might be a bit nicer.

As much as I enjoyed Drowsy Chaperone, I don't think I would recommend it in this case. The show is great primarily because of word play, satire, etc. and I'm not sure how well that would translate.

In addition to the newly opening shows (Les Miz, Chorus Line, Mary Poppins), don't forget some of the "oldies but goodies." Hairspray, The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera...all would give you a wonderful night at the theatre, and tickets are likely to be available.

Have you checked "orbitz.com"? They have rooms at the Dylan for under $500/night. I haven't stayed there but travelers reviews are quite good and perhaps other posters here can give some input. You also might try a search on "Kayak".