OT - need help planning a New York trip

[bear_mom]

My SIL lives in Manhattan (SoHo area) and we are planning a trip to see her for Thanksgiving.

We live in Michigan and need to get there. So far airfare is pretty expensive. We have thought about driving part of the way and then taking a train in (neither of us want to drive in NY or pay to park while we are there). Any suggestions on ways to decrease travel time and/or costs?

We need a hotel. Yes, I realize that we are going to NY during a busy time of year. My SIL suggested some hotels in her area, but I think we have different ideas of what is acceptable for a hotel. She tends to stay at very high end hotels while dh and I are less picky. Some of the ones she suggested are $1,000/night. Not really in our budget. Any suggestions?

Emily

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Marriott has several properties on Manhattan. I just went there and checked the Courtyard Midtown East is running at $199 a night. I've never stayed at a bad Marriott property yet. This is a bit of a walk to the Times Square/Radio City area, the big tourist areas but still a great price.

Go to www.marriott.com the hotel's own website and book there. If you have AAA click the little button that looks like a plus sign and click AAA. However, check BOTH the regular rates and the AAA rates as sometimes the best available rates are lower than the AAA rates.

You have to reserve the room with a credit card and but they don't charge it unless you don't show. Double check the cancellation policy but usually there is no penalty if you cancel up to the day of.

I hate to yell but "DO THIS RIGHT NOW" I doubt rates will go down unless there is a catastrophy of some sort but you can always rebook at the lower rate. Once they start to fill at the cheaper rates they will start raising the prices.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

The Jane. Super awesome hotel, and not too expensive (about $250 a night).

 

[Kimberle]

There are several threads over on the communit brd about people staying in NJ and taking the train in each day. I'm not familiar w/ NJ as I live to the North. I'd do a search. You can also ask again. Lots of NYC/NJ area people are helpful.

 

[auroralark]

I live in the NY area, so I don't have any specific hotels to recommend, but I have a few tips for what I've done before booking hotels in other major cities. Mainly, check Trip Advisor to find some hotels in the area of the city you're interested in. Then I check all the travel website as well as the hotel's website to find the best price.

You might want to also consider booking via Hotwire. It's true that you don't find out what hotel you get until after you book, you can pick the area and star rating. By doing a little googling you can find out what hotels tend to come up under what stars/area. I did this for my trip to Chicago in May and wound up getting the exact hotel I wanted and saved myself like $500.