What's the definition of affordable NYC hotel in Dec.? Now going in May-June!!

[eatatmidnight]

I have submitted the hotel suggestions to the family. Thanks for your help. Hope it all works out.

 

[eatatmidnight]

Thanks for all of your input. We are not going to be able to go. My dad passed earlier this year and she had hand surgery. She just doesn't feel up to a trip right now. I will keep this post because we hope to get her there when she feels better.

 

[C-CMom]

To OP - sorry to hear that you won't be able to go now, but will toss out another suggestion in case you get to it later: Best Western Hospitality House. It is not much like most Best Westerns, more like converted apartments, LOTS of space by NYC standards. Good Tripadvisor reviews. Some deals including for seniors, AAA, advance purchase. It's been a few years since we stayed there but loved it. Very close to Rockefeller center.
Hope she feels up to the trip soon!

 

[Magic2000]

We just returned from NYC on Monday! We did a mother-daughter trip! My daughter got a fabulous deal at the Belvedere Hotel for right at $150/night!!! The hotel was really nice and very clean! Our room was huge too! It included a microwave & frig! Our view out of one of the windows was the Hudson River!

It was just down the street from the Cake Boss cake shop! Very safe area! We easily walked to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes!! Best Show Ever!

Definitely recommend this hotel! And we will be back, hopefully very soon!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

We just returned from NYC on Monday! We did a mother-daughter trip! My daughter got a fabulous deal at the Belvedere Hotel for right at $150/night!!! The hotel was really nice and very clean! Our room was huge too! It included a microwave & frig! Our view out of one of the windows was the Hudson River!

It was just down the street from the Cake Boss cake shop! Very safe area! We easily walked to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes!! Best Show Ever!

Definitely recommend this hotel! And we will be back, hopefully very soon!

That is great!!!

You got an excellent price!!!

Hotels in NYC are usually very expensive this season!!

Good find!

 

[eatatmidnight]

Well, my mother is feeling better and the weather is warmer so WE GET TO GO on a vacation that includes a week end in NYC!!! Unfortunately, I'm not sure that my brother who regularly travels there will get to go.

Since it isn't Christmastime, we decided to stay outside of the city.

There will be 6-7 driving up together. We will stay at the Hampton Inn Carlstadt-Meadowlands May 30-June 2

This is the general plan. The things most important to my 84 yo mother are Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, WTC 911 Memorial and at least see the Empire State Building.

Saturday, May 31
-Visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. (I'm not sure how to get there from the hotel. Is it better to go from the NJ or NYC side?)
-Eat dinner (somewhere ???) and go back to the hotel for my mother to rest.

Sunday, June 1
-Sleep in
-Eat lunch somewhere???
-The guys want to go to the Yankee's game at 1
-Not sure what the other 4 of us will do
-Visit WTC/911 Memorial after the game
-Dinner
-Visit Empire State Building
-Don't know how to get back to hotel LOL

Monday, June 2
-Visit Coney Island
-Head to Boston. Staying at Spring Hill Suites Andover. Spend Monday afternoon and Tuesday there. We want to visit Boston Harbor and my mother would like to see Cape Cod????

Wednesday, June 4
-Drive to Niagara Falls.
-The guys may go to a Buffalo minor league baseball game.

-Thursday, June 5
Visit Niagara Falls and then start the trek back home. Sleeping over in Cleveland.
-The guys want to try to catch a 7 pm baseball game

Here is what I know about NYC transportation
-There is a bus that picks up in front of the hotel and takes about 15 minutes to get to Times Square.
-You need to take a ferry to get to Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty.
-Subways look very confusing from how/where to buy a ticket to which ones to get on and how/where to get off.

Here's what I know about NYC dining.
-It seems to be expensive.
-There are so many restaurants.
-My mother is a picky eater. Doesn't like pizza (but we'll have some NYC pizza somewhere along the line), doesn't like Mexican, doesn't ever know what to order at Chinese.

Here's what I know about Boston
-They are supposed to have good seafood.
-There is a lot of history.


Other questions?
-Are backpacks, purses or fanny packs the best/safest to carry
-Since there is a lot of walking outside, what's the best things for us to take in case of rain?
-Is the New York City Pass worth the savings or can I get similar savings using our AAA membership?

TIA

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

That is an ambitious trip with a lot of driving.

Forget about visiting Cape Cod from Boston if you have only 2 days and some of that will be taken up by driving time (by the way, your calendar dates are wrong). There is plenty to do in Boston proper.

Be sure to make reservations for the 911 Memorial.

I'm also not sure why you want to visit Coney Island on such a short NYC trip.

You should probably plan on cabbing it around NYC; your 84 year old mom probably won't be able to handle all the walking and stairs if you use Metro.

I suggest that you consult some good guidebooks and tripadvisor.com and make a plan so you don't waste a lot of time wandering around.

 

[mttmilner]

My wife and I have stayed at the Hotel Edison and you can't beat the location. It is literally right around the corner from Times Square.

My wife and I went this past Christmas for our 5 year anniversary. We ended up renting an apartment from Homeaway. It was on 44th and 9th and only cost us 650 for 6 nights.

I know they are cracking down on AirBnB. However, if that doesn't bother you, I would highly recommend something like that.

 

[PRomano]

I just have a few comments--

Is Ellis Island open? It was shut down due to Hurricane Sandy. If you are staying in NJ, the NJ side is much easier to catch the ferry. Book your tickets ahead of time. You go by Ellis Island and can stop at the Statue of Liberty and walk around.

Second, for the Boston portion of your trip, Andover is not that close with traffic. It is about 20-25 miles away, so I am not sure how you are getting into the city. You might do better with a hotel in Woburn or Medford. They are a little closer. Cape Cod traffic is horrible so getting there for a day might be hard.

There are lots of restaurants in Jersey City, I think your hotel might be near there. Also there is a Medieval Times in the area. If you are taking the bus from your hotel, I am guessing it is the New Jersey transit bus, it is excellent. You get off at the Port Authority Bus station. You can walk to Times Square from there.

 

[Mersmom98]

Yes Ellis Island opened back up just before Thanksgiving. I agree about planning on using a cab around NYC instead of the subways (LOTS of stairs!) with your mom but we found when we were there that it's not like the movies. It was not easy to just hail a cab from anywhere but maybe that was just us not really knowing how to do it. We figured out the subway system and LOVED it but again your mom may not like all the stairs going down to the subway and then once you get to your destination. If you do decide to try it, I highly suggest Google Maps on your smartphone if you have one. You can type in the location you want to get to and select public transportation mode and it tells you exactly which train to get on and what time it will arrive. Also, remember the difference in going Uptown or Downtown. Uptown is toward Central Park and Downtown is toward the Financial District (911 Memorial). Stop into St Paul's Chapel while you are down at the 911 Memorial. The church has lots of history (George Washington worshipped there) but it was also used as a staging area for 9/11 rescue workers and has been turned into a shrine of sorts with letters from all over the world. Very moving.

 

[eatatmidnight]

That is an ambitious trip with a lot of driving.

Forget about visiting Cape Cod from Boston if you have only 2 days and some of that will be taken up by driving time (by the way, your calendar dates are wrong). There is plenty to do in Boston proper.Thanks for letting me know about the dates and Cape Cod. I'm not exactly sure why, but mother thinks Cape Cod would be beautiful. She may rather go there than see Boston Harbor.

Be sure to make reservations for the 911 Memorial.

I'm also not sure why you want to visit Coney Island on such a short NYC trip. The only thing my dd has asked to do is go to Coney Island and eat a Nathan's hot dog. Since the guys want to do so much baseball, I am trying to squeeze in that request.

You should probably plan on cabbing it around NYC; your 84 year old mom probably won't be able to handle all the walking and stairs if you use Metro.

I suggest that you consult some good guidebooks and tripadvisor.com and make a plan so you don't waste a lot of time wandering around. Thanks. I have studied tripadvisor.com for hotels, but nothing else yet.

 

[eatatmidnight]

Yes Ellis Island opened back up just before Thanksgiving. I agree about planning on using a cab around NYC instead of the subways (LOTS of stairs!) with your mom but we found when we were there that it's not like the movies. It was not easy to just hail a cab from anywhere but maybe that was just us not really knowing how to do it. We figured out the subway system and LOVED it but again your mom may not like all the stairs going down to the subway and then once you get to your destination. If you do decide to try it, I highly suggest Google Maps on your smartphone if you have one. You can type in the location you want to get to and select public transportation mode and it tells you exactly which train to get on and what time it will arrive. Also, remember the difference in going Uptown or Downtown. Uptown is toward Central Park and Downtown is toward the Financial District (911 Memorial). Stop into St Paul's Chapel while you are down at the 911 Memorial. The church has lots of history (George Washington worshipped there) but it was also used as a staging area for 9/11 rescue workers and has been turned into a shrine of sorts with letters from all over the world. Very moving.

I do have Google Maps. That sounds like a valuable tool. Since there will be 6-7 of us , we won't all fit into 1 cab. It sounds like getting 2 cabs may be hard to do.

 

[mommycrawford]

Look up the Manhattan Hotel!...It used to be the Sheraton Manhattan, but it was sold a couple of years ago. (New owners took out the pool) It is located on 50th street and & 7th avenue, so right near Radio City and Rockefeller Center, etc.. I just searched and it was under $300. a night for Christmas time!...Best of luck!

 

[mommycrawford]

What are the things you would see with CityPass?

Staten Island Ferry: FREE!

Metropolitan Museum of Art: suggested donation is about $22., but you can pay what you think is fair. Museum of Natural History too!

Many Museums have pay what you will nights...just do the research.

As for food: what do you like, and where do you want to have it (what part of town?) Look up menupages or Yelp for reviews. Honestly, my mother is in Lancaster Pa, and I can get better, less expensive lunches here in NY!

BTW: Several of the bigger subway stations have elevators now: Columbus Circle, 96th and Broadway, 34th street, etc. You can look up accessable stations....and all busses yield, and can pick up wheelchairs.