I have been meaning to do this post for a few weeks now and I figured some of you will be a tremendous help!
So three of my girlfriends and I are planning a trip to New York City the week before Christmas. We haven't decided whether to go for 5 days, 6 days or a whole week...just depends on what specials we can find. One of my best friends, Kyndal, is graduating from Auburn on December 13th and we have to be back in Alabama on December 23rd. So we are thinking of going the 15th to 20th maybe...something like that.
We have just barely started looking at hotels. I must admit I love planning trips of any kind...from start to finish. I love picking the hotel, finding fun restaurants, shows, shopping...you name it. But I must admit in my quick NYC hotel searches I felt completely overwhelmed. I went to a popular hotel website and narrowed down my search: sleeps 4, between $$ and $$$, this certain area of town....and wouldn't you know 150 hotels pop up. Omgoodness. How in the world are we going to choose?
This is where all my fabulous New Yorkers and New York lovers come into play! I have only been to New York once and I was 14 years old and it was in July. I loved it, every minute of it! But I have always dreamed of going back when I was older around Christmas time. Everything means so much more to me now...the fashion, the architecture, the shows, the sightseeing, the city's history, etc.
I figured with four girls all between the ages of 21 and 25 we need to stay somewhat in the middle of town, a more lively area rather than the outskirts of town even though the outskirts are cheaper. We are definitely willing to pay more to be near the "hot spots".
I have been asking around and some of my friends have suggested a few boutique hotels in the city. I was really excited about one in particular because it was cute and very reasonably priced but they only have rooms that sleeps 2 people. Strange...most hotels have rooms with two double beds but not this hotel. Had to cross that one off the list because we only want one room that sleeps 4.
For those of you who live in New York or for those of you who have been, what are some specific hotels you would recommend in the city and reasonably priced (between $200-$300 a night)? What are the best areas to stay in? Would you recommend right in Times Square? Soho? Upper East Side? Maybe a little Sex and the City? :)
Another question is do you know of any websites where I can find some good deals and specials on hotels, flights/hotel packages or any other NYC deals?
Do you think we will get the best deals the earlier we book or are certain months better for bargains than others?
We figured if we aren't going until mid-December we have a good 9 months to plan everything. We are hoping to find some good deals since we are starting early. Flights for December seem to be around $330 round trip when I looked the other day which isn't bad. We will plan restaurants, shopping and shows much closer to time.
I think that is all for now. I know I will have more NYC questions later but I know you all that live there or visit regularly could make it much easier for me haha. Thank you for your help!! Hope everyone has a fabulous Monday :)
So three of my girlfriends and I are planning a trip to New York City the week before Christmas. We haven't decided whether to go for 5 days, 6 days or a whole week...just depends on what specials we can find. One of my best friends, Kyndal, is graduating from Auburn on December 13th and we have to be back in Alabama on December 23rd. So we are thinking of going the 15th to 20th maybe...something like that.
We have just barely started looking at hotels. I must admit I love planning trips of any kind...from start to finish. I love picking the hotel, finding fun restaurants, shows, shopping...you name it. But I must admit in my quick NYC hotel searches I felt completely overwhelmed. I went to a popular hotel website and narrowed down my search: sleeps 4, between $$ and $$$, this certain area of town....and wouldn't you know 150 hotels pop up. Omgoodness. How in the world are we going to choose?
This is where all my fabulous New Yorkers and New York lovers come into play! I have only been to New York once and I was 14 years old and it was in July. I loved it, every minute of it! But I have always dreamed of going back when I was older around Christmas time. Everything means so much more to me now...the fashion, the architecture, the shows, the sightseeing, the city's history, etc.
I figured with four girls all between the ages of 21 and 25 we need to stay somewhat in the middle of town, a more lively area rather than the outskirts of town even though the outskirts are cheaper. We are definitely willing to pay more to be near the "hot spots".
I have been asking around and some of my friends have suggested a few boutique hotels in the city. I was really excited about one in particular because it was cute and very reasonably priced but they only have rooms that sleeps 2 people. Strange...most hotels have rooms with two double beds but not this hotel. Had to cross that one off the list because we only want one room that sleeps 4.
For those of you who live in New York or for those of you who have been, what are some specific hotels you would recommend in the city and reasonably priced (between $200-$300 a night)? What are the best areas to stay in? Would you recommend right in Times Square? Soho? Upper East Side? Maybe a little Sex and the City? :)
Another question is do you know of any websites where I can find some good deals and specials on hotels, flights/hotel packages or any other NYC deals?
Do you think we will get the best deals the earlier we book or are certain months better for bargains than others?
We figured if we aren't going until mid-December we have a good 9 months to plan everything. We are hoping to find some good deals since we are starting early. Flights for December seem to be around $330 round trip when I looked the other day which isn't bad. We will plan restaurants, shopping and shows much closer to time.
I think that is all for now. I know I will have more NYC questions later but I know you all that live there or visit regularly could make it much easier for me haha. Thank you for your help!! Hope everyone has a fabulous Monday :)
I am no help whatsoever with hotels (I've never stayed in one here haha)...but I can definitely recommend some neighborhoods. Just based on what I've picked up about you from your personality...I think you would love SoHo, Union Square, the West Village (altho I am not sure if there are any bigger hotels there - boutiques generally will mean one bed), and maybe even the Upper West Side. Don't stay on the Upper East Side...it's boring there (I can say it, I live there!)
ReplyDeleteThe W in Union Square is INSANE. No idea what your budget is, or if they have 2 bedded rooms, but a friend stayed there recently and I wanted to move in. Plus, you'd be really centrally located between a lot of cool neighborhoods, great shopping and restaurants, and Union Square is also a transportation hub.
Let me know if I can help at all!
I just stayed at the http://www.eventihotel.com/ it is amazingly beautiful close to subways and was reasonably priced! I am only an hour east of NYC so if you need anything else let me know :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kristen. I usually look on Trip Advisor and read what people say when I go anywhere and it is great. I think you would be happy in Soho, Times Square, or maybe even the Meatpacking District. I also heard about a hotel called the Dylan Hotel which I know has rooms for 4. Bookings.com usually has good deals. We recently stayed at The Gotham Hotel midtown - a new boutique hotel that was great. And I plan to stay at another boutique hotel in a couple of weeks called Cassa somthing on 45th between 5th and 6th.
ReplyDeleteYou will have a blast! A great time of year to visit and shop as the sales for Christmas will be starting and you can visit the Tree in Rockefeller Center, etc. Have fun planning and happy to answer any questions.
I've stayed at the Park Central hotel:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.parkcentralny.com/ when I was there with some girlfriends and we loved it. It was down the street from Times Square and across fro Carnige Hall. Down the street from Central Park and right near a subway station. We loved the location!!! Have fun...it's a great city!!
I can't offer places to stay, but I've seen 2 shows there I really liked: Rock of Ages which was a lot of fun and Addams Family was also cute.
ReplyDeleteYou probably can't go wrong in terms of what area you stay in, given you will likely go all over the city doing stuff. I tend to agree with Liz that Soho or Meat Packing or Union Square would be great and fun for you and your friends. But, you probably might run into some issues with hotels (especially boutiques) that sleep 4. If you wanted to stay in Times Square (which a lot of people do), I think you might have a better chance finding a better bargain, but I would look around a bit and do some hunting. booking early will definitely be good as that is a busy time in the city. I know of a bunch of boutiquey type hotels that I have heard/know are great, but I think they are over $300 (aka when work pays..)..i love trip advisor like Susan though..their reviews are so great. ..let us know if you have any other questions and need more recs.
ReplyDeleteI've only been to NYC once and that was stuck on an Amtrack train on my way from Boston to Virginia...but I DO have an Amex card and if you have one, they do offer discounts on shows. Just go to their site and look under the Entertainment tab. Good luck and I'm SOOO jealous! Want a 5th girl?!?! ;)
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