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Input Needed: My First Trip to New York City

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Input Needed: My First Trip to New York City
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

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3,867 posts
Feb 1, 2011 9:18 AM
martyirish;655288 wrote:Go to the Travel Inn (as soon as you come out of the Lincoln Tunnel) They have a parking garage and it's free if you stay there. Park it there and forget about it until you leave, oh yea, there is a guard there too.

This hotel is $300/night for the days we are going, so it was never considered for our trip in particular. There is a hotel 0.17 miles away (Best Western Convention Center hotel) that was only $150/night, but that didn't include ~$30/day to park. Man, I wish our budget was bigger for this trip. Haha!
Feb 1, 2011 9:18am
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bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Feb 1, 2011 9:19 AM
I think we are staying at The Andaz Hotel on Wall Street Friday Night and Hotel Mela Saturday Night. We might say screw it and stay at one or the other both nights, but that is the tentative set in stone plan.
Feb 1, 2011 9:19am
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bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Feb 1, 2011 9:24 AM
thePITman;660345 wrote:This hotel is $300/night for the days we are going, so it was never considered for our trip in particular. There is a hotel 0.17 miles away (Best Western Convention Center hotel) that was only $150/night, but that didn't include ~$30/day to park. Man, I wish our budget was bigger for this trip. Haha!

Yea, the Standard King Bed was $212/night for us.

The 2 that I mentioned are both less than the above prices, and that's for a "Deluxe" King Bed (Standard is 190 sq feet, but the Deluxe is like 320 sq feet) plus we get a Costco Discount!

Hotel Mela is literally feet away from the Minskoff Theatre, like one end of the block to the other, so that's is a big plus for us Saturday.
Feb 1, 2011 9:24am
Wooball's avatar

Wooball

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1,325 posts
Feb 1, 2011 9:43 AM
thePITman;660345 wrote:This hotel is $300/night for the days we are going, so it was never considered for our trip in particular. There is a hotel 0.17 miles away (Best Western Convention Center hotel) that was only $150/night, but that didn't include ~$30/day to park. Man, I wish our budget was bigger for this trip. Haha!

I don't remember it being that much when we stayed, but it could have been. It isn't a bad walk to Times Square/closest subway. I do know next time I go to New York I will not stay that close to Times Square. Seeing it once was enough for me, I will most likely stay either in the Village or SoHo, I enjoyed those areas much more.
Feb 1, 2011 9:43am
Websurfinbird's avatar

Websurfinbird

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Feb 1, 2011 2:11 PM
thePITman;660345 wrote:This hotel is $300/night for the days we are going, so it was never considered for our trip in particular. There is a hotel 0.17 miles away (Best Western Convention Center hotel) that was only $150/night, but that didn't include ~$30/day to park. Man, I wish our budget was bigger for this trip. Haha!

Have you thought about staying in a hostel? Since you will only be in NYC for a short time, staying in Manhattan would be best and this might be your best option.

http://www.hostels.com/new-york/usa
Feb 1, 2011 2:11pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

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14,994 posts
Feb 1, 2011 2:19 PM
Oh, I don't know if this has been asked or mentioned, but if you're looking for a decent club:

The 40/40 has a nice, chill little lounge (actually a few), good for relaxing and having a nice highball.

Club Pacha is more of a dance club, if you're looking for loud, but it's nice anyway.
Feb 1, 2011 2:19pm
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

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Feb 1, 2011 2:46 PM
Websurfinbird, we looked into hostels a little but, but not our thing.
O-Trap, thanks for the recommendations, but we are not clubbers or drinkers.

I have put together a list of some of our top attractions organized by general area. Hopefully this will help us as we try to hit the most spots as possible during our trips to different parts of the city. Here is what I have so far: (walking times are per Google maps)

Feb 1, 2011 2:46pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

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14,994 posts
Feb 1, 2011 2:52 PM
thePITman;660759 wrote:Websurfinbird, we looked into hostels a little but, but not our thing.
O-Trap, thanks for the recommendations, but we are not clubbers or drinkers.

I have put together a list of some of our top attractions organized by general area. Hopefully this will help us as we try to hit the most spots as possible during our trips to different parts of the city. Here is what I have so far: (walking times are per Google maps)

Not a big partier either, but I've been to both (business meetings, believe it or not). The 40/40 VIP is nice and quiet. Had a glass of Ace of Spades. Very good champagne.
Feb 1, 2011 2:52pm
BigAppleBuckeye's avatar

BigAppleBuckeye

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2,935 posts
Feb 1, 2011 3:14 PM
The PitMan, a few recommended additions to your itinerary:

Brooklyn Bridge (near Ground Zero downtown) -- worth walking across, maybe grabbing pizza at Grimaldis in DUMBO (Brooklyn)
SoHo -- Buy your girl something nice at the many, many boutique shops here (stay around Broadway near Prince and Spring)
St Patricks Cathedral -- near Rockafeller Center, the most beautiful American church that I have seen (the Pope even had mass here)
Bleecker Street -- for a younger couple, might be cool to check out the NYU "campus" experience (West Village)
Staten Island Ferry -- I know budget is an issue, and this is a free ferry ride that gives great views of lower Manhattan and Statue of Liberty
Feb 1, 2011 3:14pm
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bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Feb 1, 2011 3:27 PM
Big Apple, is the Statue of Liberty still closed on the inside and is the Ellis Island Museum still open?
Feb 1, 2011 3:27pm
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bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Feb 1, 2011 3:27 PM
thePITman;660759 wrote:Websurfinbird, we looked into hostels a little but, but not our thing.
O-Trap, thanks for the recommendations, but we are not clubbers or drinkers.

I have put together a list of some of our top attractions organized by general area. Hopefully this will help us as we try to hit the most spots as possible during our trips to different parts of the city. Here is what I have so far: (walking times are per Google maps)


Don't hate me, but I might be stealing portions of this for myself lol.
Feb 1, 2011 3:27pm
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Manhattan Buckeye

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7,566 posts
Feb 1, 2011 3:35 PM
The statue of liberty is open - I've been to the top 4 times. If one must do it, it is available. It will take some time, and it isn't the easiest walk up - the view from the crown isn't that great because the statue isn't that tall and the glass is dusty. But if someone wants to say they did it - they can do it.

Re thePittman's itinerary. I'd skip the following: Carnegie Hall, NY public library, and NYSE. If they choose to go to Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty, I'd advise going to Brooklyn for Grimaldi's or whatever on the same day. The rest of the time there wouldn't be a need to go south of SoHo.
Feb 1, 2011 3:35pm
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

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Feb 1, 2011 3:39 PM
bigkahuna;660811 wrote:Big Apple, is the Statue of Liberty still closed on the inside and is the Ellis Island Museum still open?

I have two ferries on my list for the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island ferry (& Immigration Museum) and Staten Island ferry. Other than price, what is the difference?
Feb 1, 2011 3:39pm
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bigkahuna

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Feb 1, 2011 3:42 PM
I don't think the Staten Island Ferry lets you get off at Liberty Island or Ellis Island, it just drives by it.
Feb 1, 2011 3:42pm
BigAppleBuckeye's avatar

BigAppleBuckeye

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Feb 2, 2011 10:12 AM
bigkahuna;660844 wrote:I don't think the Staten Island Ferry lets you get off at Liberty Island or Ellis Island, it just drives by it.

That's exactly right bigkahuna, the Staten Island Ferry just goes back and forth between lower Manhattan and SI.
Feb 2, 2011 10:12am
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bigkahuna

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Mar 21, 2011 12:19 AM
Well, the hotels have finally been booked

Thursday night we are staying in New Jersey-The wife is obsessed with Jersey Shore and the Real Housewives of New Jersey, so we are going to go to Seaside and then drive through the town where the Real Housewives live( I actually found street addresses lol)

Friday night we are staying at The Andaz on Wall Street

Saturday night we are staying at the Fairfield Marriott on W. 44th street near Times Square.
Mar 21, 2011 12:19am
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bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Mar 21, 2011 12:20 AM
Well, the hotels have finally been booked

Thursday night we are staying in New Jersey-The wife is obsessed with Jersey Shore and the Real Housewives of New Jersey, so we are going to go to Seaside and then drive through the town where the Real Housewives live( I actually found street addresses lol)

Friday night we are staying at The Andaz on Wall Street

Saturday night we are staying at the Fairfield Marriott on W. 44th street near Times Square.
Mar 21, 2011 12:20am
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

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Apr 19, 2011 4:35 PM
We leave a week from tomorrow, so we are very excited and trying to get as planned as possible. It's all down to where to eat, now, I think. Two places that I have marked down so far are Tom's Restaurant (from Seinfeld) and Hello Deli (as seen on Letterman). What others are good New York eateries? The best pizza place(s), the best of other types of New York food? Thanks for the recommendations!

Also, I went through and started adding most of the attractions we'd like to hit. We realize we can't hit them all, but at least they're on my calendar with rough times to try to keep us on track and also containing addresses that I can click when I open the calendar on my phone to automatically get walking directions with Google maps. Our Thursday and Friday plans (groups of attractions based on location) were determined by our two reservations for the Federal Reserve Bank and NBC Studio Tour, respectively.

(new itinerary posted below)
Apr 19, 2011 4:35pm
Scarlet_Buckeye's avatar

Scarlet_Buckeye

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Apr 19, 2011 6:57 PM
The museum of sex was actually very cool. And as I've stated numerous times, Central Park is by far my favorite attraction in NYC.

And... if you pay more than $3 for the MET, you're a moron (aka... read the fine print)
Apr 19, 2011 6:57pm
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Manhattan Buckeye

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Apr 19, 2011 8:49 PM
"Two places that I have marked down so far are Tom's Restaurant (from Seinfeld) and Hello Deli (as seen on Letterman)."

Tom's is great, but a long way up the west side. It's never busy because most people won't travel that far north just to go to a deli - a lot of Columbia students. Hello Deli at least when I was there had weird hours, and it wasn't much to look at or visit. Its in an odd part of town - I'd walk by but not bother with it (assuming it is open).


The museums that you mention on your last day are to your point impossible to visit, you could spend an entire day at each. If you've been to the natural history museums in Chicago or DC I'd suggest the Met, as it is unique.
Apr 19, 2011 8:49pm
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bigkahuna

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Apr 19, 2011 9:01 PM
Be prepared for a LOOOOONG wait for Carlo's Bakery. We stopped by there on our way home and it was easily a 2 hour wait to get into the bake shop, so we just drove by. This was at 11am on a Sunday, so it might be different for you.

Everything that you mentioned on your list above, we at least walked by/saw in the 3 days we were there.

I won't give the whole shpeale, but here is the link to the discussion I started once we got back. Hope it helps you out....

http://www.ohiochatter.com/forum/threads/24572-My-experience-in-New-York-City
Apr 19, 2011 9:01pm
thePITman's avatar

thePITman

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Apr 19, 2011 10:22 PM
We have updated our itinerary. Please see the below graphic and provide your feedback. Hopefully it is a little more realistic and aligns with what we hope to hit. The changes were:
1. We bumped everything up an hour on Wednesday, leaving at 5:00am instead of 6:00am
2. We added Times Square for Wednesday evening (marking it off for rest of week , may visit again if time allows)
3. Added Ellis Island Ferry after the Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday, bumped everything else down a few hours
4. Spaced out Friday's attractions and re-ordered them for best logistics
5. Empire State Building at daytime, Top of the Rock at nighttime
6. Removed all museums from Saturday except the MET, and added Strawberry Fields

We still would like to fit in 1-2 of either Greenwich Village, Little Italy, and/or China Town. Are any of them worth visiting in the morning? If so, we have early Friday (kind of constrained) and we have Sunday morning (have to be back to hotel and check out by 12:00pm noon). What are your recommendations? Thanks!

(updated itinerary posted below)

Also, please include any restaurants you would recommend. Here are what I have so far:
Planet Hollywood by Times Square
Tom's Restaurant
Hello Deli
Texas Rotisserie & Grill
Apr 19, 2011 10:22pm
R

revgat

Member

94 posts
Apr 19, 2011 10:33 PM
I went to Hello Deli in February. It was good, but nothing special. I think there was only room for like 6 people to sit, but for the 20 minutes we were there, no one else walked in.
Apr 19, 2011 10:33pm
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thePITman

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Apr 20, 2011 11:32 AM
Here is our likely final itinerary:
(we can still swap Greenwich/Little Italy depending on the time of day, or move one to Thursday morning to make room for a Broadway show... of course, we can do whatever we want, but at least it's a tentative plan going into one of the biggest cities in the world!)


Thanks to everyone for the advice!
Apr 20, 2011 11:32am
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thePITman

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Apr 26, 2011 9:08 PM
Well, we leave for New York tomorrow morning at 5:00am. I'll post how it went when we return Sunday evening late (or sometime next week). Thanks again for all the info and help!
Apr 26, 2011 9:08pm