I have secured parking at the ICON in NYC. My question is; we arrive much earlier than our reservation for the hotel room. When you park your car, can you get back to it to retrieve something out of it once you check it in for the stay? I have show tickets and I am not sure what to do with luggage until check-in time. I did email the hotel and asked about holding the bags and waiting for a reply. Any other suggestions??

We have never had any trouble leaving our luggage before check in or after check out at hotels. The bell staff take care of it for you, give you a receipt. A garage may put your car away in a position that might make it hard to retrieve luggage.

Thank you. I am basically a virgin traveler alone with my 2 kids and really want to have all my ducks in a row!!

If there is a hotel in NYC that won't hold your luggage until check-in time, you do NOT want to stay there!

The hotel will hold your bags but most garages won't let you get back into your car, though a big tip can do wonders.

Tip the bellman when you retrieve your bags. We do this frequently including when in NYC.I agree totally with NeoPatrick.

No - you usually can;t get back to your car. This is not an open air lot but an indoor garage and cars are parked nose to tail - often 4 or 5 deep - requiring moving a lot of them around to get to a specific one that's in the back. You tell them when you will want the car so they know if they should park it in the rear (overnight or more) or even upstairs (a couple of days). . And depending on the location they are often parked on different floors requiring moving up and down on elevators. Once the car is in it's in - until you want to remove it. And don;t forget to tip the attendant when you do pick up your car to leave.

You should drop your luggage at your hotel before putting the car in the garage - then it will be waiting for you as soon as you arrive. There may be a small fee but it;s usually just a tip to the bellman who locks it in the luggage room.

FYI: What hotel is this?

One note - YOU do not park your car. You turn your car and the keys over to the attendant - since they frequently need to move the cars around. There are a few garages where you actually get a spot you can park your car in - but they are VERY expensive - not like ICON garages - and IMHO not worth it.

I agree with Neopatrick -- in fact, I've never heard of any hotel, even a 1* one in Europe, that wouldn't hold bags for someone until the room is ready.

I had one exception to that rule in all the years we have been traveling, where the hotel did not hold bags and that was the Kasteelhof T'Hooghe in Ypres, Belgium. They had school groups on the grounds viewing the trenches and craters from WWI and they said they have had things stolen. That answer made me wonder about the entire stay.

Fell that does it. I'm canceling my next reservation at Kasteelhof T'Hooghe immediately!

I would too Neo. There isn't a B'way show in sight for 1,000 miles.

BTW, who's Fell?

LOL. Rough time on the iPad mini last night I guess. Fell was supposed to be "Well". Go figure.

That's what I thought, but there was a comic actor named Norman Fell and it could have been an obscure reference.

Norman Fell, the great comedy actor best known as Mr. Roper -- "obscure"? Bite your tongue!

Oh, never mind. I guess you meant the reference would have been obscure and not the actor himself! Phew.