Two days isn’t even enough to spend in FAO Schwartz.
One of my favorite places to visit in NYC is the Brooklyn Museum: Brooklyn Museum - Wikipedia. It’s typically not as crowded as the Met but it has a fantastic collection of art including a wonderful Egyptian wing. It also is near Prospect Park, which is the scene of festivals from time to time.
I also am a transit nerd, and I really enjoyed the New York Transit Museum (also in Brooklyn) which showcases the history of subways and trains in the city: New York Transit Museum - Wikipedia.
It’s built into a decommissioned subway station and almost all of the old train cars on display are set onto the actual station tracks for people to walk through. Very cool.
If you want a true New York experience, go to the Apollo Theater on 125th St.
Yeah, don’t worry, we know to take more than two days with NYC. That really is a Thai thing, they’re masters of the 1/2-a-day guided tour. It’s not at all unusual for upcountry Thais to spend a good part of the day driving in a group to the beach, get there, take photos of each other for an hour, then head back home. I kid you not.
Thanks for the continued suggestions. We still think we want to do the B&B bit, so we hope the authorities don’t crack down too much on that.
BTW: In addition to the above, my direct ancestor, a retired Irish admiral in the British Navy, was apparently the wealthiest man in New York City at one point in the early to mid-18th century. His riches certainly did not filter down the line to me. I can’t even remember his name – got it squirreled away in my records – but he owned a big farm on land that is now, I think, Greenwich Village.
You would have to try very, very hard to not find something fun to do in New York. Try New York magazine’s site or Time Out New York right before you go.
And lucky you, you’re going in April! As** TheMerchant** mentioned, it’s cherry blossom season, and the effect is just stunning. If it’s nice out, a picnic in Central Park beats any museum or site.
Does anyone know the Wellington Hotel? 7th Avenue at 55th Street, around the corner from Carnegie Hall and near Central Park? A Canadian friend stayed there a couple of years ago and recommends it.
He said he bid for the room on a website called Priceline. I have not taken a close look at it yet, but he said he got his room for $85 a night. Looking at the hotel’s website, I’d say even their normal rates are not that bad either. This would definitely be ore desirable than a B&B.
Anyone? Know the Wellington Hotel? 7th Avenue at 55th Street?
We checked out the Hotel Alexander’s website, but some of the sections won’t work, such as for rates and reservations. I’ll drop them an e-mail soon. Another place we’re thinking of is the Hotel Newton, on Broadway between 94th and 95th Streets, which looks to be only a block away from the Alexander. A room there for April is $189 a night, or $220.38 including taxes and charges. We’re a little concerned about being that far north, but I see there is a subway station a block or two on 96th Street, and Times Square looks to be only five or six stops away. Would you say that’s a pretty nice neighborhod around there? There’s also a nice B&B down lower on 77th Street, two subway stops south of the above hotels, that we’re looking at. We’re still considering some options in Midtown and even Greenwich Village, but the Upper West Side is looking very good, especially if the subway is handy.
Looks like we’re out of luck with the Statue of Liberty. Seems it will be closed from late this year for renovations, but we can still go to Liberty Island.
I recommend that you Priceline bid a hotel anywhere in Manhattan below Central Park in the 3.5-4 star range. I can usually get a room for $150 or so a night, which includes the insanely high hotel tax (which is, IIRC, like $40). I’ve done this a half-dozen times and it has always been a success.
I’ve looked at Priceline, but it seemed to want me to make a bid, and if it found a room matching my price and area, then I had to accept it regardless of the hotel and no changes or cancellations allowed. As I recall, it would not even tell me the name of the hotel until I had paid with my credit card. Does that sound about right or was I not using it correctly?
That is indeed the system for the bid mode (aka “name your price”) in Priceline and Hotwire. Many people are very hesitant to use it for that same reason. IMO I’d seek out advice from somebody familiar with using ***that *** system at that destination, I understand that frequent users may have figured how far you’re able to refine the search parameters.
BTW: From a look at Priceline’s “zones” for NYC it looks like a few of them do not quite coincide with what some of us would call by those names (e.g. what they call Midtown West leaves out most of what many people would call Midtown West), some may be smaller or larger than others or to have odd “panhandles” of streets that are included or excluded; e.g. Zone 11 (the aforementioned “Midtown West”) actually is a narrow horseshoe shape surrounding Zone 13 (“Theatre District”), so the true difference is two or three blocks. Yet other zones extend a significant amount N or S from their nominal designator.
Yes, that’s how the bid system works, and is why you can get a $350 room for $150.
As I said, I’ve done this exact bid a half-dozen times with nothing but success. The zones are such that you can limit yourself to Manhattan below the park, and then bid a 3.5-4 star hotel so that whatever you get will be really nice. You can’t go wrong – the worst that can happen is your bid isn’t accepted. If you want, you can see a list of the hotels that meet the criterion you lay out, but I promise all of them are quite nice.
How long are you staying in NYC? And I assume that by “tourist thing in NYC”, you mean “tourist thing in Manhattan”, right?
My family just went on a Manhattan trip and we booked a 3-night stay at The Hotel @ Times Square, where we got a 2-room family suite in the heart of Times Square for $264/night. Given the rumors of bedbugs one hears about NYC, it is not a place I would go for a cheap hotel (like a Super 8 or Days Inn franchise). The hotel was great, though, and mere blocks away from everything: 12 blocks to the Empire State Building, 3 blocks to Grand Central Station, 2 blocks to Times Square proper, 4 blocks from Rockefeller Center. Great location, well worth the price. In three days, we did:
- Empire State Building
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Central Park
- The Lion King (play)
- Discovery Zone (Pompeii and Harry Potter movie prop exhibits)
- Forbidden Planet (comic book store near Union Square)
- Shopping along 5th Avenue (Sophie bought a very cute $7 hat)
- Grand Central Station
- UN (5 blocks away)
NY is expensive though, there’s no two ways about it. You can do better than the rate I got on Priceline, but I’m not the sort of person who leaves this stuff to chance.
For time outside Manhattan, we stayed with family and did non-Manhattan stuff, so no suggestions there. But if you can swing it, I suggest staying in the city - there’s nothing like it.
Should have mentioned, other applecorehotels properties have served me well pricewise, too - in my case the New York Mahattan (“nyma”) and La Quinta both on 32d St (“Koreatown”). Decent for a “sleep base”, a block from the 34th st subway hub & Herald Sq. Though depending on the date the price point can quite vary.
If you’re not squeamish, check out the Bodies Exhibit!
It was very interesting when I went.
http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/newyork/
I think their servers down…
For a cheap hotel check out the Americana Inn. When I was first visiting NYC before I moved I stayed there several times and it was less than $100 a night on 38th and 6th. It is probably a bit more expensive now but it will still save you $100 or more a night to stay there.
Former longtime New Yorker here.
The one thing I always recommend to tourists (and residents as well) is the Circle Line boat that sails completely around the island of Manhattan. It’s very informative (there’s a narration, which you can opt to ignore). It’s very good for putting a lot of famous sights in context with each other. And it’s also very relaxing, after days of rushing around among crowds.
And I suggest getting a pair of good hiking shoes, like these, not walking shoes. You need something that breathes, and can accommodate swelling feet.
Maybe you can find something about your ancestor here.
(I’ve walked by the Wellington but never stayed there. It’s a good neighborhood.
Yes, really Manhattan, although we expect to get to the Bronx and Brooklyn also. We’ll be staying eight days minimum, maybe 10. We’ve also decided to postpone the Hawaii portion of the trip, saving it for sometime later, and see more of the East Coast. Specifically, Philadelphia and Washington, as per this thread.
Thanks to everyone else who’s responded so far. Once we firm up our flight dates – we’ll definitely be arriving in NYC on April 1, but we’re not sure yet which day to return home on – I think I’ll take a closer look at Priceline. If I can see a list of the hotels like Richard Parker mentioned, that will be good.
EDIT: Is the bedbug situation getting any better these days?