us open tennis
 

Okay Im being a bit of a vulture - but its been a life ambition to go to the US Open, and with the exchange rate being so favourable (I'm from Uk) I thought I'd make my dream come true. But where to stay that's not over expensive ($100 or around)? And how best to pick up tickets - internet? Any help most gratefully received, and thankyou in advance.

Unless you're prepared to stay in a hostel or share a bathroom in a hotel, you won't find a hotel in Manhattan for $100/night. But you COULD get one at around $120 plus tax bidding on Priceline, especially if you come on the first weekend of play which usually coincides with our Labor Day weekend. If you don't know about bidding on priceline, read FAQ on biddingfortravel.com and/or betterbidding.com

By bidding for a 4* hotel in midtown east, you're likely to win the Grand Hyatt which sits just above Grand Central Station from which you can hop the subway out to the stadium.

If you don't want to deal with bidding, the Vanderbilt YMCA is right at Grand Central and has some private rooms.
http://www.ymcanyc.org/sub.php?p=ser...tan#Vanderbilt

Another option is staying near Penn Station (34 st & 7th ave.) where there are lots of budget hotels and you can get the Long Island Railroad train to the tennis center. Some budget hotels in that area include the Herald Square, the Red Roof Inn and the Stanford.

Tickets is another story. Best seats are scooped up by cos./people who buy a box for the entire event. Single day tickets are harder to find. Cheapest will be for the early rounds (coinciding with best hotel prices).

Forget about getting a good rate at the Grand Hyatt through Priceline. A goodly number of rooms are taken by USTA officials and tournament players.
There is no problem getting tickets for the first week. And, the best part is that general admission tickets allow you free access to every playing arena except the main Arthur Ashe Stadium. During the first week, the great fun is going from court to court watching the action...or, if you're lucky, seeing some of the top players practicing on the side courts.
As for getting to the Open, the best and easiest and cheapest way is to take the subway.

Coming from England and not having access to the Ashe stadium for the feature matches seems crazy to me, but each to his own.

I might add that since the OP is obviously on a limited budget, there's the question about the cost of the stadium tickets! Last year, the cheapest seats in the stadium were $50 a session. Thus, for a full day, the minimum cost would be $100.
Thus, I wonder whether seats in Arthur Ashe are within his budget.
From experience, I can tell you that it is a great, great experience to roam the area and visit all the courts the first week. That's the greatest part of being part of the US Open experience.

For ticket information for the 2007 Open, check out http://www.tennistour.com/event_page...individual.asp
Be prepared for high ticket prices!
The cheapest seats are for the evening matches the first week--$65.
Daytime prices the first week are $$65-$75 for grounds passes (general admission) and $85 for the cheapest seats in Ashe Stadium.

This year tickets were offered for $10 at the end of July through Ticketmaster with the WFANDANGO code. Maybe such a deal will come around again. Not the best seats but most matches up to the semifinals were available.

stevelyon---my husband and daughter went this year. He bought tickets for 2 different days through an agency (you have to know someone to get these, and I can't say more). Those were good seats, but $200 each. He also bought seats higher up from the internet for a different session. The other two days they used a grounds pass, and he now says he wishes they had done that for every day. The tickets are just for Arthur Ashe staduim, where one game is played. With a grounds pass you have access to open seating on every other court. So while Rager Federer may be playing in Arthur Ashe, you could see Nidal or someone else playing on the other courts at the same time. It is not at all "crazy" to forgo the expensive tickets, especially in the early rounds.

Limited budget or not, if the exchange rate keeps up the way it has been then the ticket prices will probably seem like a bargain for someone using Sterling!

enzian is wrong about about the Arthur Ashe tickets. They are good for admission to any of the side courts. Incidentally, while the cheapest seats in Arthur Ashe are, naturally, way up in the stadium, the view of the matches from there is fine.

Thanks for all your help. Guess I don't need to stay in Manhattan thus keeping costs down - so where else?

You can check places in Queens, but will probably find they're more than in Manhattan, not less b/c many people are doing what you are. The key is to be near the # 7 subway. There's a Comfort Inn in Long Island City (just over the 59 st bridge) that gets used as a budget option for visiting NYC, but I'm not sure it's near the 7.

Hotels at/near La Guardia airport would be quite close to the tennis stadium, but those will be even pricier. You are really best staying in Manhattan and finding a bargain on that first weekend of play.

HowardR--Actually, I didn't say that the tickets will only get you into Arthur Ashe; I said they are only needed for Arthur Ashe stadium. Perhaps I didn't state it clearly enough. My point is just that one can see a lot of good tennis, including many of the top players, without buying a ticket for the Arthur Ashe stadium. My family saw Maria, Rafael Nidal, Andy R., Mauresmo, and many others, on their grounds passes. And they were very glad that their Arthur Ashe tickets happened to coincide with the days when the matches were NOT rained out.

One can stay in a hotel in White Plains or Long Island for far less than Manhattan. As far as the US Open goes one can get a general admission ticket and watch the top seeds practice which is quite a lot of fun.

Point well taken, enzian.
Yes, the grounds pass will afford you the opportunity to see many of the top players in the second and third largest venues there--the Grandstand and the Louis Armstrong Stadium--during the first week.
I think it's also important to mention that the multitude of concurrent matches in the outlying courts only happens the first week of the US Open. Once we get to the final rounds, the matches are in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Manhattan is the only sensible place to stay. Hotels in Queens - where the stadium is are either for one of the airports (not very pleasant and not under $100) or in a very dicey neighborhood that rent by the hour.

Plus Queens is suburban and unless you're commuting back and forth to the city public transit is not very convenient - you would really need a car (with all the expense of renting and parking - as well as hideous traffic jams).

Getting to the Tennis Center from the City is much faster and cheaper. So - you'll either have to find something (a hostel) for $100/less or up your budget. ($100 is really super budget for Manhattan at any time of year - even low for Priceline in Jan/Feb for an actual hotel.)