Hotel in NYC area

[Ava]

So my mom is coming next month. She always wanted to see The Rockettes but she's never here during November, December when they perform. (She hates winter as much as I do).

I found discount tickets for the new spring show and I bought them. We want to stay in NYC the whole weekend and enjoy the city. I currently live 2 1/2 hours away. I've done the day trip there many times. But it's very tiring and you don't get to enjoy the city as much. Besides that, my mom is now over 70. So I looked for a hotel room in Manhattan. I couldn't find anything below the $300range for a moderately decent hotel within walking distance of Grand Central.

The other option would be to drive to Stamford. I found 2 star hotels with breakfast, free parking and indoor pool that would cost around $90 for one night. We would have to take a train to the show, for about a 1 hour ride. We could stay one extra night to enjoy the hotel amenities, it would still be under $200.

If I decide to book a hotel in NYC, it would be more expensive than the two tickets together. I cannot, in my mind, justify such an expense for a place to sleep for one night.

If it were for me I would stay at a cheap hostel with shared bathroom, but my mom is getting on in years and needs certain level of comfort to enjoy things.

What would you do? It's a pity NYC is so expensive.

If you know of any good discount websites to keep looking for a hotel, let me know. So far I've searched Hotels.com, Priceline, and Momondo.

Thanks

[Deleted]

Have you tried AirBnB? 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn right off of Times Square a couple of years ago.  But, it was about $200/night, so twice what you would pay in Stamford.  Still, that would give you and your mother some extra time in NYC to see some sights.  

Be careful of lower-rated, but cheaper, chains.  Bed bugs are still an issue.  Or, maybe they're just my issue in the sense that the thought of them makes my skin crawl and so I will pay whatever I need to to stay in a hotel with top quality maintenance and housekeeping. 

[simser]

What about Brooklyn/queens/any place connected to the city by subway?

[Ava]

Mar 21, 2015 19:39:07 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Have you tried AirBnB? 

No, I'll take a look. Thanks for the info.

[Ava]

Mar 21, 2015 19:44:45 GMT -5 GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl said:

We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn right off of Times Square a couple of years ago.  But, it was about $200/night, so twice what you would pay in Stamford.  Still, that would give you and your mother some extra time in NYC to see some sights.  

Be careful of lower-rated, but cheaper, chains.  Bed bugs are still an issue.  Or, maybe they're just my issue in the sense that the thought of them makes my skin crawl and so I will pay whatever I need to to stay in a hotel with top quality maintenance and housekeeping. 

I've never had a problem with bed bugs. I don't think about that sort of thing at all. So far I've been lucky I guess. It would have to start itching for me to notice.

[Ava]

Mar 21, 2015 21:01:03 GMT -5 simser said:

What about Brooklyn/queens/any place connected to the city by subway?

Yes, I've thought about that. All in all, I think it's a better option probably than just staying at Stamford. The thing is we'll come through Grand Central, then we'll have to go to a subway or bus station, take the transportation, get to the hotel, then go back to Manhattan for the show.

My mom is in excellent shape for her age, but I can see her getting tired by all that. I've looked into it and prices are more reasonable. I like Queens as an option because I'm relatively familiar with the area and also because if the hotel is near a subway 7 station we don't even have to leave Grand Central to get there.

[moon/Laura]

Ava, I received 2 emails from toughtimes yesterday, with info that she wanted me to pass on to you. She hopes that they'll help. (Thanks TT, from me)

Dear Moon:


Please pass on this list of moderately priced hotels located within two or three subway stops of Rockefeller Center. The area here is rapidly-gentrifying and convenient to midtown. It is however, an area where some caution is indicated after dark, although fine during the day.

Ava should be able to find something. These are of the Holiday Inn/Comfort Inn sort, not high-end for business travelers.

www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Hotels&find_loc=Long+Island+City%2C+Queens%2C+NY&ns=1


Toughtimes

I have used both of the flash sale sites listed below for various reasons and had good experiences. She can cross-reference Yelp to see what others are saying before she books. Most of these hotels are closer to the true "New York" experience but pricier. The first set, in Long Island City, is bare bones, covers the basics, mostly under $100/night. These will easily be 50% more, but nicer.

www.groupon.com/travel?lat=40.712784&lng=-74.00594&query=hotel+deals&address=New+York,+NY

www.livingsocial.com/browse/cities/3/searches?utf8=%E2%9C%93&city_search_id=3&country_search_id=1&query=hotels+in+ny&city_name=NYC+Midtown

Toughtimes

[TheOtherMe]

I've stayed at Holiday Inn Express in NYC.  I would be very wary of a 2 star hotel because of bed bugs.

[Ava]

Mar 22, 2015 10:03:17 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

Ava, I received 2 emails from toughtimes yesterday, with info that she wanted me to pass on to you. She hopes that they'll help. (Thanks TT, from me)

Dear Moon:


Please pass on this list of moderately priced hotels located within two or three subway stops of Rockefeller Center. The area here is rapidly-gentrifying and convenient to midtown. It is however, an area where some caution is indicated after dark, although fine during the day.

Ava should be able to find something. These are of the Holiday Inn/Comfort Inn sort, not high-end for business travelers.

www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Hotels&find_loc=Long+Island+City%2C+Queens%2C+NY&ns=1


Toughtimes

I have used both of the flash sale sites listed below for various reasons and had good experiences. She can cross-reference Yelp to see what others are saying before she books. Most of these hotels are closer to the true "New York" experience but pricier. The first set, in Long Island City, is bare bones, covers the basics, mostly under $100/night. These will easily be 50% more, but nicer.

www.groupon.com/travel?lat=40.712784&lng=-74.00594&query=hotel+deals&address=New+York,+NY

www.livingsocial.com/browse/cities/3/searches?utf8=%E2%9C%93&city_search_id=3&country_search_id=1&query=hotels+in+ny&city_name=NYC+Midtown

Toughtimes

Tell Toughtimes thanks from me, and I'm going to look into the links she sent. I'll update later. I want to be done with this hotel booking issue today.

[thyme4change]

We stayed in Midtown.  Because it is a business area, it was much cheaper on the weekend than it was during the week, buy I know it was still expensive. 

I wish we had thought through our meals a little better.  We really couldn't find anything that worked for us.  We were there when it was 100 degrees, and the only restaurants we could find were like steak houses with lots of heavy food.  We just don't eat like that very often.  I guess we have more of a "California Cuisine" thing going on.  After we got home someone told us we should have gone to the village and we would have found something more interesting.  That was my only complaint about midtown.

[Ava]

After much thinking and searching I finally made up my mind.

I'm going to book a room at the YMCA.

The bedrooms are private, and bathrooms are shared. But both my mom and I have been to a YMCA and the bathrooms are fine.

The bedrooms are very small, with bunk beds. Well, I'll have to take the upper bed. Not that I love climbing to an upper bunk bed, but I can do it.

The reviews for the place are good, I like YMCA, the price is really good, and the building is conveniently located near attractions.

It comes to less than $150 for one night, and that's exactly the price range I had in mind.

[mmhmm]

Mar 22, 2015 10:03:17 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

Ava, I received 2 emails from toughtimes yesterday, with info that she wanted me to pass on to you. She hopes that they'll help. (Thanks TT, from me)

Dear Moon:


Please pass on this list of moderately priced hotels located within two or three subway stops of Rockefeller Center. The area here is rapidly-gentrifying and convenient to midtown. It is however, an area where some caution is indicated after dark, although fine during the day.

Ava should be able to find something. These are of the Holiday Inn/Comfort Inn sort, not high-end for business travelers.

www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Hotels&find_loc=Long+Island+City%2C+Queens%2C+NY&ns=1


Toughtimes

I have used both of the flash sale sites listed below for various reasons and had good experiences. She can cross-reference Yelp to see what others are saying before she books. Most of these hotels are closer to the true "New York" experience but pricier. The first set, in Long Island City, is bare bones, covers the basics, mostly under $100/night. These will easily be 50% more, but nicer.

www.groupon.com/travel?lat=40.712784&lng=-74.00594&query=hotel+deals&address=New+York,+NY

www.livingsocial.com/browse/cities/3/searches?utf8=%E2%9C%93&city_search_id=3&country_search_id=1&query=hotels+in+ny&city_name=NYC+Midtown

Toughtimes

Yay, toughtimes! You really are a sweetheart and how thoughtful of you to do this! Hugs, hon. Hope all's well in your world! 

[TheOtherMe]

Food in the village is great.  We also ate in some of the restaurants a few blocks off Central Park and got great food.  When I travel, I do not want McDonalds, but I also do not want a super heavy meal.

[movingforward]

I just returned from NYC on Sunday night.  I had such a fabulous time!  It was business/personal trip.  Two days were business (but still had some personal time those days) and I took 2 vacation days.  My best friend went with me and we had a blast!  We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.  I had enough Marriott points so that the 2 days we had to pay for only cost $64 (so $32 a piece).  Work picked up the other 2 nights.  Otherwise, it would have been really expensive.  We saw The Lion King, The Book of Morman, and the spring show at Radio City Music Hall.  We went to some great local inexpensive restaurants on 9th Avenue.  One was called Nizza (Italian) - we ate there twice.  We spent almost a whole day at The Metropolitan Museum and still didn't see it all.  We had a great time walking around Central Park too! 

So sorry, I know none of this helps you but I just had to share what a fabulous trip it was . I hope you and your mom have a great time!    

[andi9899]

I would stay at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains when I went to NYC for business. It's a decent hotel and everyone was really nice. It's about a half hour by train to the city.