NYC visit - with a wheelchair?
 

I am planning a late December trip (Dec 18-22) to NYC with my mother (age 80) and daughter (age 10). We'll be visiting my older son who attends college in Manhattan. My mother broke her hip this summer and is walking with a cane, very slowly. She is energetic, mentally ahead of me and an enthusiastic traveller, so we would still like to get around a bit but minimize the walking. I'm looking for a little advice....

1) I found an on-line price for the Roosevelt Hotel at $139 a night. Should I snap this up? The reviews here are good for this hotel and close to places we want to be. It looks like most hotels have higher rates at this time. I don't think we are candidates for Priceline.

2) I've come up with some possible activities and wondered if anyone had any ideas on their practicality:

- Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall
- Tour of the UN (is the dining room lunch worth it?)
- Carriage Ride in Central Park
- Cooper-Hewitt museum (is this the one that was Andrew Carnegie's house?)
- Guggenheim Museum
- Visit to the new American Girl Doll store (that one is for my daughter!)
- I think I read somewhere that the Roosevelt has tea in the afternoon?
- Thinking of a possible Ballet, symphony or opera - haven't looked into these yet
- Would like to do a little shopping, don't know how maneuverable the stores are.

I like the smaller museums to accomodate my daughter's short attention span.

We've discussed the possibility of bringing her wheelchair. I'm thinking as long as there is no snow on the ground, I can manage several New York blocks, and she could still be mobile enough to get up and out when need be. Does a wheelchair sound like a good idea? Or should we just rely on taxis? If I carry the wheelchair up and down stairs, could we do the subway?

Any help would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance!

Bring the wheelchair, you will be glad you did. The subways are the only place I can think of that could pose a problem.

I think the best small museum in New York is the Frick. Also interesting is the Forbes Museum.

I would also find another hotel, the Roosevelt has way too many stairs for you to manage.

I was just at teh Hotel Grand Union on E 32nd St and it seems very nice and the price was good too at just about $100 a night. They also are on www.hotels.com and may discount the price.

Late December you are booking at a peak time here, so book quickly.

The phone number for the Hotel Grand Union is (212) 683- 5890. The reason I suggest it, is the proximity to everything.

I don't think the subway is practical for you with TONS of stairs up and down, but the buses should be ok, you can even take the wheelchair right on the bus, she won't have to walk at all.

It could be a bit messy here with snow/ice/rain, so come prepared and you should do fine.

The Frick Museum and the Met would be the 2 I would choose or the Museum of Natural History, (thinking of it the Frick may have too many stairs, you might call and ask). The MONH and the Met both have wheelchair access entrances, and both will be all dolled up for the holidays.

You didn't have A Christmas Carol on your list, but I would do that over the Radio City Show. This is the last year, the producers say for the show, adn it is wonderful. Get seats on the end of the rows and put your daughter there, since the cast walks through the audience and gives out candy and "Christmas Crackers" to kids in the audience. She will LOVE A Christmas Carol.

The Nutcracker is up at Lincoln Center and of course LOTS of concerts at Carnegie Hall as well. Check both websites for availability and for tickets to Madison Square Garden Theatre for A Christmas Carol.

Hope this helps a bit, have a GREAT TIME and I know it's early but HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Some of the major subway stations have elevators; sometines it takes two: one to get you to turnstile level, one to get you from there to track level. It's doable, but tricky. All city busses have automatic lifts for wheelchair passengers, so they will be great for you. With three of you traveling together over a thirty block distance, the cost of a cab would be about the same as three base subway/bus fares.

Unless you are big modern art fans, I would skip the Guggenheim. While the building itself is of architectural note, I've found that many average visitors are baffled by the exhibits, which are limited, and entry is expensive. Even though the Metropolitan Museum of Art is gigantic, the exhibits are so varied that you can just keep switching from paintings to sculpture to furnishings as your daughter's interest lags--all in stylistics periods that may seem more familiar. Plus, the Met is "suggested admission"--you always can pay what you wish, so if you feel like making a brief visit, pay for a brief visit.

Yes, the Cooper-Hewitt is in the Carnegie Mansion, but you don't get the "mansion" sense of it as much as at the Frick. The Frick is art set in a mansion with furnishings. The Cooper-Hewitt's design exhibits are in a mansion and you see some architectural and wall details, no furnishings and such if that's what you were hoping for. Check the subjects of the current exhiibits before you go.

Another quick, small museum: Theodore Rossevelt's Birthplace, a Victorian-era townhouse. The guided tour takes about half an hour.

Hospital Audiences, a nonprofit organization in NYC, has a website with accessibility information on lots of museums, theatres, etc. You might want to check it out.

http://www.hospitalaudiences.org/

I second ellenem's comments about the Metropolitan Museum. To accomodate that short attention span, you can keep switching around, or else you can pick one section and treat it as a mini-museum. I think it's pretty much a wonderland for kids because it has such a wide variety of things -- at least it was for me at that age.

I think all of the other suggestions are great that people replied too. But a little shopping never hurt a girl...

For wheelchair accesibility I would have to suggest going to Bloomingdales and Macy's. They both have elevators and are big stores....for your daughter FAO Swartz. It is a wonderful toy store....please call and find out about the elevator situation...i think it should have one. The Nutcracker is excellent!!!!!!! Have a good time...

I pretty much agree with the advice you've gotten Marita.

1. The Roosevelt is well liked on this board, but I'm not sure is good for you. It is in a busy commercial area where sidewalks can get crowded and it's not REAL close to any of the sights you've mentioned (it's near Grand Central Station). People like it for it's closeness to subways but I think it's too much trouble for a visitor to use subway with a wheel chair (just my 2 cents) Can't comment on wheel chair accessibility there. I suggest you PHONE them before committing.

I think a better location would be the west 50's which is near Rockefeller Center, Radio City, the Fifth Ave. shops. The Gorham is often mentioned as a good place in that area. Also the Warwick, the Hilton and the Sheraton (VERY BIG) are in that neighborhood. A little further north is the Parker Meridien. While these may all be more expensive, you might wind up saving in transportation.

The other option would be to stay in a more residential area like the upper west, upper east side ro Murray Hill (east 20's-30's) where sidewalks won't be quite so jammed & there will be more choices for inexpensive neighborhood restaurants. You might also want to consider staying in an all suite hotel with a kitchenette. That way if your Mother wanted to have a nap she could in privacy. Having a kitchenette (which I think are in rooms at the Gorham) can save a bundle in breakfasts & lunches.

There are a number of all suite hotels. One that I think is particularly senior friendly is the Shelburne Murray Hill. Find more choices by typing suite hotels AND NYC in the text search.

2. The Frick is a great small museum & I don't recall any steps (I think upstairs is closed). Another small museum is the Neue museum on 86th & Fifth near the Met. They have a wonderful rest. there called Cafe Sabarsky (also good for tea).

The Roosevelt townhouse is great & very interesting but I think there are mandatory steps there. The main part of the Guggenheim is a circular inclined ramp. Not a good place for a wheel chair IMO. Yes, go to the Met Museum-elevators, take it in small doses. Great shopping in the gift stores there too.

Not sure about tea at the Roosevelt hotel but there's tea at the Pierre (the best!), the Plaza. More choices can be found by typing tea AND NYC in the text search. Your daughter might like Alice's Tea Cup on the upper west side. (don't miss Serendipity for fab desserts & hot chocolate).

Thanks for all the advice - sounds like some great ideas. I'll look at the other hotels mentioned. Looking at a map, I thought the Roosevelt looked pretty close to Rockefeller center and (possibly) walkable to the United Nations - probably the 2 places I'm most interested in seeing. -But I think I'll be adding the Met to our itinerary - sounds like the best bet. As for the Christmas Carol - is it that much better than the Christmas Spectacular? We have local productions of the Christmas Carol here in Cincinnati, I kind of thought the Spectacular would be totally different from anything we have here. And the Christmas Carol is in Madison Square Garden theatre, which looks cavernous on the website - thinking it might be tough for my Mom.
Does anyone have any idea about those carriage rides in Central Park - getting up into one looks like it might be arduous, but I thought it would be a good way to get some fresh air and see the park.
Thanks again!

I'd pick the Music Hall Christmas show over A Christmas Carol. However, my top choice would be the Nutcracker by the NY City Ballet at Lincoln Center. It's is perhaps the best production anywhere. But, get tickets now! It's a natural for your 10-year-old daughter. (Hey, and you and your mother will love it too!)

Marita, the blocks east to west, from ave to ave are much longer than the north to south numbered blocks. So while the Roosevelt on Lexington is only 3 blocks east to Fifth ave, it's a lot further than 3 blocks north or south. Hope that makes sense. Because the UN is all the way over on the east river, that's also a bit far to walk. There are hotels near the UN that often have good rates because it's not in the main tourist area. It's a nice area that's more residential (called Turtle Bay). The UN PLaza hotel (I think it's the Millenium now) has some great views & a swimming pool. I also just remembered the Beekman Towers hotel, near the UN is an all suite hotel I think. It's at 1st ave & 49th.

The hotels nearest the Met museum are usually quite expensive. Directly across the street is the Park Hyatt Stanhope (sometimes available on Priceline-but I agree, Priceline is probably not for you needing 3 beds.) BTW, no one has mentioned the Met has a magnificent Xmas tree inside!

I don't want to make you crazy. If the $139 at the Roosevelt is for a 3 bedded room & you're happy with it, go for it. Remember there's a 13.5% hotel tax that's sometimes not included in the price quoted.

Can't compare the productions of Xmas Carol vs the Spectacular. Radio City is an awesome place (CLASSIC art deco architecture) but check their website for accessibility issues. The Nutcracker ballet at Lincoln Center is another Xmas favorite.

As to the carriage ride, I've seen some carriage drivers have a wooden step or a running board (like an SUV) to step into the carriage. Best bet is to go have a look yourself beforehand & see what you think.

No matter where you stay in Midtown, you'll be closer to some things and farther from others. For the price and location, I think the Roosevelt is fine for your plans. To Rockefeller Center is .3 mile walking, United Nations is just over .5 mile. I would recommend phoning the Roosevelt about wheelchair access.

Too many steps in the subway stations!

You may want to consider the buses. All the buses we rode weekend before last had wheelchair lifts. They also have space reserved for wheelchairs opposite the door with the lift. There's a fabulous bus routes map you can download (pdf) from the NYC Transit website. You can crop, enlarge, and print areas, to fold up and carry in your pocket. You can also look at each route for the exact location of the stops.

Note that the #42 goes east and west on 42nd Street, the #50 goes west on 49th and east on 50th, and several buses go north on Madison and south on Fifth (the Met and Frick are both located on 5th Ave.).

Since the tourist passes are now $7/day, we prefer the "pay per ride" pass. For every $10, an additional $2 is credited to your card. All three of you can use the same "pay per ride" pass.

Here's another recommendation for the Frick. More like visiting the home of someone with terrific taste in art and an incredible collection well displayed throughout. To the best of my recollection, there are 8 or so steps from the entrance to the foyer. All the rooms are on one level.

The Met has street level access (see the website for details).

I would highly recommend Radio City with a 10-year old - it really is spectacular! Everyone will enjoy it enormously. Note that Radio City has a special ticket number (212) 465-6115, Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., for disabled people and their guests.