decoratordale

I am starting to plan a girls week away in NYC in August. I have tried Quikbook but noticed they only do hotels, and not flight combinations. Their seperate hotel prices seem out of whack with the fight/combination deals I have seen.

1. Does anyone have any ideas of hotels that would be close to the subways, near to access to MOMA and the theatres and also to shopping (You know the girl things we do

2. Is there any one site that has better deals for these flight/hotel combinations?

3. Anyone with suggestions for hotels?

Thanks so much.

Dale

nytraveler

There are dozens of hotels near MoMA, theaters and shopping and hundreds near the subway.

How many are you and how many will you want to put in one room? What is your hotel budget?

Generally buying your best air fare and hotels separately is a better deal.

Have a look at kayak to see what air fare you can get. Then look at quikbook, travelzoo and other discount sites to see what deals you can get on hotels. (You might look at Priceline for 2 people per room but it is usaully difficult to get a full week in one hotel.)

decoratordale

hi nytraveler,

There will be 4 of us, and we hoped to do 2 per room. Budget is around $800-900 including air fare per person. Don't know if it is possible.

We had found one for the Bentley but I heard it is a bit of a walk to the subway.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will try them all to get an idea.

nytraveler

Well, since we don't know where you're coming from we don't have a clue about airfare. But assuming the air is $200 roung trip and your budhet is $900 per person that leaves you $200 per night/7 nights for a room for 2 - which is distinctly budget but probably doable in August.

And yes, the Bentley isn;t a great location.

Look at the discount sights to see what they are offering. You could try to for 2 roms nm Priceline but theyrarely have a week together. You might be able to do 2 bids - one fo 3 nights and one for 4.

Ifyour hotel per night falls much below $200 you will start to have trouble finding anyplae decent.

decoratordale

we are coming from Vancouver, Canada. Two options for hotels right now are the Newton and the Lucerne. From the info online it seems they are both close to subways and have fairly good ratings.

We don't want to spend a huge amount for rooms, would rather spend the $$ on going to see things etc. but we don't want bedbugs either if possible

Any suggestions on plays currently on? I heard Billy Elliot and the Jersey Boys are supposed to be good.

Thanks so much for all your help.

WillTravel

I would suggest bidding on Priceline or Hotwire for New York City, but there are a number of pitfalls that you have to watch out for. See www.betterbidding.com .

I was in NYC recently. I got a special Facebook/Twitter rate at the Roosevelt Hotel - $99/night. It's a 3.5* hotel and perfectly located in midtown Manhattan. However, that deal is not available very often. It wouldn't hurt to sign up, though, in case they do that again.

I really liked Fela the Musical.

I have noted some reasonably good specials here, although usually not so good as Priceline/Hotwire:
www.travelzoo.com/

I've also seen some good rates at this hotel, but I haven't tried it myself:
www.thirtythirty-nyc.com

I was also traveling from Vancouver. In my case, I got a cheap fare to Philadelphia. The MegaBus from Philadelphia to New York cost me $5 one way, and $1 the other way (no typos!). I also spent some time in Philadelphia.

WillTravel

The cheapest way to do this is to fly SEA-PHL and take the MegaBus. Then fares are currently in the $250-300 range on some dates. This would probably involve going to a hotel near Seattle airport the night before.

If you want to fly from Vancouver to New York (probably Newark is cheapest), fares are in the $450-550 range.

If you want to stay a week, in either case, I think you would have to be thinking more in terms of hostels than nice hotels, if your budget is only $800-900 per person.

Other than for outright errors, I've never seen any great deals on flight/hotel packages for NYC. Make sure you are looking at the full price including taxes.

WillTravel

(I should say SEA-PHL is the cheapest currently. When I booked, for whatever reason, YVR-PHL was the cheapest.)

nytraveler

The Lucerne is a pleasant hotel in a mid/upscale neighborhood. right next to the subway and Central Park and close to several major museums as well as whole pack of inexpensive/moderate neighborhood restaurants of every possible ethnicity. Ifyoucan get it in your price range grab it. Newton is also fine but a little more modest and further uptown - still a good area but a longer walk or bus to the museums.

Billy Eliot is fantastic and Jersey Boys very good. Go to Broadwaybox.com now to see if you can get discount codes - so yo can get tickets in advance and don't have to stand online at TKTS booth. (Don't know if either show IS discounting - you may need to get full price tks now.)

mclaurie

There are dozens of hotels close to the things you list and some would accomodate all 4 women if you're willing to share beds. That would be one way to reduce hotel costs. That said, I think your big problem is airfare. It's very expensive from Vancouver (you live fare away!) It looks like non-stop flights in August are ~$550+/person. You can save some money by flying US Airways and making a stop ($365-400/person) but I'm not sure that's something I'd want to do if I could avoid it.

I agree with nytraveler's assessment of the 2 hotels you're considering. Both are fine mid class hotels with the location of the Lucerne being much more convenient. Milburnhotel.com and Beaconhotel.com are 2 apartment style hotels in the same area that might provide more space and a small kitchen in a suite. The Beacon has some 2 bedroom/2 bathroom suites that are quite spacious. You'd need to phone for those. Btw, if you can come the end of August, you should find prices lower.

As for air/hotel packages, kayak.com list some under "vacations", Expedia and Travelocity also has them. If you have a preferred airline, they may offer an air/hotel pkg. I'd also check on travelzoo.com and travel-ticker.com

There are loads of ways to save money in NYC. One way is to get discount show tickets although not all shows are discounted. Jersey Boys is one show that's not been discounted so far but Billy Eliot has had some discounts. I recommend In the Heights and if you come before Aug. 22, South Pacific. You'll find discounts listed on the left column of broadwaybox.com and also if you register for free on Playbill.com

WillTravel

It's true that if the 4 women are willing to share 2 double beds, they could do pretty well. For example, the conveniently located Holiday Inn at 440 WEST 57TH ST has a rate of $180/night for 4 adults for many nights in August. Most people wouldn't want to do that for a week, though.

nytraveler

Don't know how well you know each other and if you would be comfortable sharing 2 double beds - for me the deal breaker would be 4 women sharing one bath.

There are other options you might want to look into including the TRavel Inn.

But IMHO the Lucerne is more convenient for transit and a nicer area.

live42day

We are flying from Victoria the first week in Sept on Air Canada for $209 each way, just over $500 return which I thought was great. I just booked the air on line with AC

We bid on priceline, and could not get a week at one hotel so broke it up. Got 5 nights in Times Squre for $160 at a 3 1/2 star and then 4 nights in Madison Square area for $160 but only a 3 star which is okay.
we were happy with those prices.

decoratordale

I managed to get 6 nights hotel at the Lucerne and flights from Vancouver for $1077 Can. which I thought was pretty good. The Lucerne is supposed to be a mid range hotel, but the location sounded good for all of us.

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions.
Dale

mclaurie

You'll enjoy it. Will you get 2 rooms or one? The area is called the upper west side and you'll find lots of info already on the forum if you do a text search. The movie "You've Got Mail" was shot in the area and might be fun to watch before the trip. You might want to consider an overview tour with kingofnyc.com if none of you have ever been to NYC. The hop on/off buses are more popular but can be very hot in August since they're open top.

Ryan

I've stayed a few times at the Fitzpartick Grand Central Hotel which is on East 44th between Lexington and 3rd. Reasonable rates in the $220 per night range. Easy enough to walk to the MOMA. 1/4 block from to the entrance to the East Side 4/5/6 train line which and the Shuttle to Times Square.

A bit impersonal, but I noticed when looking at rates for an upcoming stay that the Waldorf-Astoria had a few deals offered. Living off reputation but it is centrally located.

decoratordale

We are getting 2 rooms. Great idea to watch "You've Got Mail" before we go.

Are the discount broadway show sites worth checking out, or should I just do the early morning ticket lineup?

Thanks for the all help.

ellenem

It is worth it to check broadwaybox.com. You get discount codes that you can use to buy tickets online before your trip, and can even use the discounts to buy tickets at the box office. Why spend vacation time in line if you find something you want to see ahead of time at a good price? Not every show will be available--popular shows don't offer many discounts, if any.

mclaurie

If you plan on seeing more than 1 show, why not buy one in advance for early in the trip using a discount code (if you phone and speak to a live person, you get better control of seating options vs. online) and then just print out the discounts for other shows you're considering and bring them with you. If you go straight to the box office when you arrive, you save some of the transaction fees by buying online or by phone and the lines are generally much shorter than the same day TKTS booths. If there are any non-musicals you want to see, the line for those at the TKTS booth is much shorter though.

decoratordale

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. One more question: Since we are going in August, and trying to keep luggage to a carry on size, what clothes should us women take, since we will probably hit a show or two while we are there.

Suggestions are much appreciated, since I am not sure how hot and humid it will be.
Thanks.