NYC - cost saving tips for visitor

[cnkav]

DH and I are planning a trip to NYC this summer, so I just thought to ask around here for advice on

where to stay: I don''t need fancy place to stay as long as it is clean and safe and near everything, affordable ($150 a day),

what to see and do, where to eat..etc

We are planning to spend 5 days there in late June - early July: Is it a good time visiting NY? too busy? too hot?

Any tip that you want to share.

Thank you.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

cnkav, Do you want to be in Manhattan, and what neighborhoods would you prefer to stay in? That will help to give you some recs.

 

[cnkav]

Hi Bella, I''d like to be in Manhattan. Thanks for your help.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

There are lots of option even in your budget...would you rather be downtown, midtown, or Upper West/Upper East Side (or are you adventurous and want to stay further uptown...?)

 

[cnkav]

As long as it is walking distance from a subway station, safe, and clean. It is all we need.

Should we consider either Soho or little Italy or Central park? I was told that Time Square areas are not cheap.

We love theatre, sightseeing and museum.

Thank you

 

[Bella_mezzo]

cnkav-One of the best options with your budget (IMO) is to just sublet an apartment for a week. It''s nice b/c you have use of a kitchen then too. If not, Hotel Marrakesch (UWS close to Columbia) is a good deal and I know people who have stayed there.
http://www.marrakechhotelnyc.com/index.asp

Also, it looks like http://www.parksavoyhotelny.com/?gclid=CLbAmNXgkp8CFRh15QodZWM20w is affordable if you''d prefer to be more in midtown.

You can check priceline and expedia and hotals.com for deals too, sometimes you can find great options there...

No areas in NYC are cheap If you find something and want to know about the neighborhood feel free to ask...Times Square sometimes actually has better deals than other neighborhoods...Have you seen something you like.

 

[Novel]

The thing about Times Square is that eating around there is awful (expensive!), but its near lots of subways, so if you''re comfortable on the subway (which is the best way to save money in New York), you can get almost anywhere to eat or play and come home easily.

I usually recommend people don''t stay in Times Square, if only because you won''t get a feeling for real New York and I kind of just hate it.

Do you have cuisines in particular you''re a fan of? I love to recommend awesome cheap eating locals-type places, so ask away!

As for what to see and do, what are you interested in? Sites? History? Museums? Art galleries, tattoo parlors, anything?

Late June isn''t nearly as hot as the rest of the summer, so not too bad. Also, while touristy places are crazy around July 4, it can actually be a fun time to be in the City.

 

[Novel]

Oh, and hotels.com can be really useful. Sometimes way downtown, Battery Park, below Ground Zero, can be really cheap because not a lot of people actually stay there. The Holiday Inn near the South Street Seaport can have good rates and I''ve gotten great rates at the Wall St. Inn and Club Quarters Downtown, but its hit or miss.

 

[elle_chris]

There''s only two hotels in Battery Park City. The Ritz-Carlton (too expensive) and The Embassy Suites.
The Embassy suites might work for you depending on when you decide to go. Currently the cheapest i saw was 139 per night but doesn''t have the same rate for weekends. I wouldn''t advise it though. The subway isn''t too close and the north side of battery park city is well, pretty dead.

There are two other hotels in the area, but NY Downtown Marriott is a bit over budget and I hate the area. It''s right on the west side highway. The other is The Millenium Hilton on Church st. (6th avenue eventually). They''re having a winter special at 168 per night. The hotel is right across the street from ground zero. Tons of people during the day and right near the subway. It may work for you as it''s very easy to get anywhere from there.

Other than that, there''s a few boutique hotels in Tribeca that opened up not too long ago. I''ll be there tomorrow, or maybe even later on today and check them out. Personally, I love Tribeca. Great restuarants, some galleries and easy to get to any part of the city as well.

Like Novel said though- the Wall St hotels are a hit or miss. You may get a great price or a horrible one. Either way, the area is really dead in the evenings and there''s something sleazy about it after dark.

 

[cnkav]

Thank you so much for all your advice.

We both love museum, musical, history and I love shopping

We can eat anything, we love food.

I found a hotel in Soho for less than $100 per night, what do you think?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Check out a few reviews to make sure the hotel is legit, make sure it''s close to the subway, and then I''d take it.

For more affordable and fun food stick with ethnic food, sandwiches from places like ''wichcraft, and then plan a special dinner.

I love dim sum at Jin Fong in Chinatown (plus then we go to a bakery around the corner and get avacado bubble tea and chinese pastries) YUM!!!

 

[Deelight]

When FI and I went to NY in late 2008 we stayed at the pod hotel thanks to another PS'er recomendation it is on 51st and 2nd street if memory recalls - I really liked it we did bunk bed rooms but there are different rooms for different budgets (which were decent sized beds) to save costs on our 7wk around the world trip but the rooms had communal bathrooms 5 on a floor at least a few always free and they were really nice bathrooms not an issue in the slightest. All in all cost around $900US for the week and I believe now it might even be cheaper now and it was close enough for us to everything - it was the best looking hotel and it was funky and clean and it was the cheapest we could find and the next cheapest one which was around $700 more was BLEUGH.

http://thepodhotel.com/

I would without a doubt stay there again

 

[xapora]

We got a fantastic room at the Grand Hyatt for $105/night on Priceline (name your own price option). Very convenient location and super clean room, we were very happy with it. If you go on and select the Grand Central area, 4 stars, and bid $105, you should get it.

 

[cnkav]

Great suggestions everyone!!! DH and I can''t wait for our trip. These are things we want to see/ do

1. Times Square
2. Theatre District
3. Rockefeller Center
4. 5th Avenue
5. Central Park
6. Upper East Side
7. China Town
8. Statue of Liberty
Anything else worth seeing? Thanks

 

[bee*]

Radiocity apartments are great and they are very reasonably priced. We stayed there once and have had numerous friends stay there and we all found it nice and clean.

 

[Po10472]

Hiya

Like Deelight, we also stayed in the Pod Hotel when we were there in 2007. I''d definitely stay there again as it was spotlessly clean, close to everything but also in a nice quiet neighbourhood. We stayed in the double room with en suite but we''d book the bunk beds if we went back as you save about $400 in price and the shared bathrooms are brilliant and play music in them. You have a wee light in your room that tells you when the loos are free. Besides, you''re hardly in your room so if you find somewhere you like that''s cheap as chips then its a bonus.

My friends have stayed at the Radio City apartments several times and Bee also recommends them and they''re also really central and relatively cheap.

Slightly off topic...........for all you resident NY''kers, are tourists really obvious to spot (apart from the cameras, maps etc)? The reason I ask is that, DH and I were constantly getting stopped by people hustling bus tours etc and I thought we didn''t ''look like tourists''. We do walk round hand in hand and I was wondering if that''s maybe what set us apart, it''s a very European thing to do and I didn''t see many others doing that. Your thoughts?

 

[elle_chris]

Don't think it's the hand in hand. More like the speed at which you're walking, and the looking around at everything, very leisurely.

Natives are usually in a rush. We need to get to point A as fast as possible even if we're not late. It's a weird phenomena.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Date: 2/8/2010 8:08:32 AM
Author: elle_chris
Don''t think it''s the hand in hand. More like the speed at which you''re walking, and the looking around at everything, very leisurely.

Natives are usually in a rush. We need to get to point A as fast as possible even if we''re not late. It''s a weird phenomena.

yep DH and I hold hands all the time, while madly weaving between people on the sidewalk

NYC is kind of strange that way, but you get so used to it that you don''t even notice.

 

[MishB]

You can spend money on a specific Statue of Liberty tour but we took a return trip on the Staten Island Ferry, gave us a nice view of the statue and lwr Manhattan and it''s free.

Century 21 is a terrific shopping experience, and you might get a great bargain if you are lucky and prepared to hunt.

Take the subway, we took it everywhere and never felt unsafe. Also, the buses are good, as they are above ground you get to see a lot more as you travel around.

Read the fine print with a lot of the museum entry fees, they will ''suggest'' an appropriate donation on entry, but it is just that, a donation and you don''t have to pay the full amount.

 

[movie zombie]

also did the staten island "tour" ferry: cost fifty cents for the return trip back at the time.

i was traveling alone and used the street buses.

mz

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We went last June for a week and had a fabulous time! We chose to stay in Times Square because so much is within walking distance of there, especially at night. We stayed at DoubleTree Guest Suites, but I think it was more than your price target. We were on a higher floor and heard zero noise from below. We LOVED being in Times Square at night! We could walk to the Broadway shows and it was just fun walking around there at night because it felt very safe. We did not find food prices to be unusual at all. Of course, we didn''t go to Per Se, either!

My favorite show was Wicked! Don''t miss it if you haven''t seen it!

I doubt I''d choose to go there July 4th week because it might be hot and more crowded than usual...if that''s possible.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 2/8/2010 12:03:10 PM
Author: Bella_mezzo

Date: 2/8/2010 8:08:32 AM

Author: elle_chris

Don''t think it''s the hand in hand. More like the speed at which you''re walking, and the looking around at everything, very leisurely.


Natives are usually in a rush. We need to get to point A as fast as possible even if we''re not late. It''s a weird phenomena.

yep DH and I hold hands all the time, while madly weaving between people on the sidewalk

NYC is kind of strange that way, but you get so used to it that you don''t even notice.

I use the one-shoulder-forward manouvre.

 

[purselover]

Date: 1/31/2010 9:58:41 AM
Author: cnkav

Great suggestions everyone!!! DH and I can''t wait for our trip. These are things we want to see/ do

1. Times Square
2. Theatre District
3. Rockefeller Center
4. 5th Avenue
5. Central Park
6. Upper East Side
7. China Town
8. Statue of Liberty
Anything else worth seeing? Thanks

I love the MOMA so I''d throw that on there or one of the other many museums - and while a donation is just suggested I know NYC museums are really suffering from a lack of funding right now and need those donations to continue

 

[movie zombie]

i loved MOMA. when i was there many years ago on a saturday, my entrance ticket also got me in to see a movie in the late afternoon/early evening when the museum closed. surrounded by new yorkers watching a 1951 hungarian animated folk tale with english dub over by boris karlof....i tell you, i was in 7th heaven.

new york really is a special place.

mz

 

[cnkav]

Yes, museum and art galleries are must. We are counting down until our trip

Thanks everyone for great suggestions.

 

[zipzapgirl]

Sideline: We can spot the tourists because they walk slowly, walk several people wide over the width of the sidewalk, stop walking unexpectedly in the middle of the sidewalk, look up, and are willing to make eye contact or even interact with the hustlers/tour drivers/bums/leaflet distributors on the sidewalk. Plus, sometimes they are wearing very similar clothing.

Statue of Liberty: Reserve your tickets online in advance to avoid the *first* line. Leave some extra time to see Ellis Island and have a little picnic on the island with the great views!

NYC has great outdoor spaces in the summer, so grab a salad or sandwich at one of the many many salad/soup/sandwich shops and eat outside.

Pop into St. Patrick''s Cathedral. It is right across from Rockefeller Center. Try to time it between services so you can walk around more.

The TODAY show films in the Rockefeller Plaza. It can be fun to walk by and see who is appearing that day and peep in as they film. Waving to camera and posters optional

I second the person who said to go to the MOMA movie. It''s included in the price of your admission, but you have to go to the info desk to request the tickets. Also, the MOMA is closed either Monday or Tuesday and doesn''t open until 10am anyhow (I always see the earlybird tourists disappointed waiting around as I walk by!), so check the days and times carefully.

Have fun!

 

[taovandel]

I would do Top of the Rock instead of the Empire State building.

And I would also recommend MoMA.

Man, I used to go to New York City twice a year....I haven''t been in over a year because I got married and had a baby....

This thread is making me miss New York so badly!

 

[VRBeauty]

If you like to sew, check out the garment district. There''s one street with several fabulous fabric stores that carry all sorts of beautiful, exotic things that just aren''t available in most fabric stores anymore. Or... just head for one of the button shops with a jacket or shirt that you want to update! Along the same vein, be sure to see what''s on exhibit at the fashion institute of technology.