New York City Hotels & Shopping?

shepthedog

Ok I have look at all the threads here on this but I am looking for advice on a number of specific questions..

Just booked return flights for 351 euro for 5 nights start of December with the latest Aer Lingus sale. Bargain really..

Anyway, looking for advice on where to stay in the city..
I have two ideas
1) Book hotel in centre for the full 5 nights and get bus/train out to Jersey Gardens, Woodbury common
2) Book hotel near airport for two nights and commute to Woodbury etc and then spend final 3 nights in the city sight seeing etc
Anyone advice on how to do this the best way?? I know lots of people on here must have done this..

Also can anyone recommend hotels in the centre that they have stayed in and the prices??
Looked at woogo but seems bit dodgy based on the reviews..

Thanks for looking and look forward to hearing any advice

Eoin

Definitely I would stay in Manhattan and get a bus to Woodbury Common. Personally, I think it would be a waste to spend any more than one day in a shopping outlet place if you are only there for 5 days.

You'll get loads of suggestions for hotels here, but I'll just recommend that you don't bother spending the extra few quid for either of the Fitzpatrick Hotels. We have stayed in the Lexington and Grand Central Fitzpatricks and it really wasn't worth it. I really don't think they would survive as a 4* hotel in Ireland. For what it's worth, the Affinia seems to get pretty good reviews.

Tom Dunne

I would concur on the Fitzpatrick hotels, I've stayed in the one in Chicago and been in one of the two in Manhattan. Nothing special really, there are better hotels for less money around.

There's a few of us heading over in January. We are staying in the Courtyard Marriot Midtown East. It looks fine and is fairly central and relatively cheap. It's newly renovated too.

As for the outlets, last time we were there, we hired a limo to drive us there. Between the 8 of us, it was very reasonable and very convenient (and great craic too). There are five of us going this time and we plan on doing the same thing. Much less hassle than the bus. I think a full day is enough going to these outlet places, unless you are a real shopaholic.

shepthedog

excellent lads... thanks for advice.. any idea of prices your paying??

Gandhi

My brother recently stayed at the Marrakech for only $130 a night (great bargain for Manhattan), though I suspect it may have gone up since:

http://www.marrakechhotelnyc.com/

I have stayed at the Helmsley Midtown before, and found it a good deal (I think about $160 a night):

http://www.newyorkhelmsley.com/

Note that some bad reviews about the Marrakech on TripAdvisor are from before recent renovations. My brother found it fine about a month ago.

Tom Dunne

shepthedog wrote:

excellent lads... thanks for advice.. any idea of prices your paying??

AFAIR it's around $160 for the room. www.marriot.com has the details.

445279.ie

I'm heading to NY next week and staying in the Comfort Inn near the Empire State. 3 of us going and it works out at €300 approx for 5 nights each.

Have a question though. Which do people think is better - Woodbury Common or Jersey Gardens?

shepthedog

anyone heard of the Penwick arms hotel?? Looks like good, around 200 euros just off time square

Miss Fluff

Why are you going to Woodbury Common?

paul moore

The Belvedere Hotel i think its a 3 star,we stayed there twice,couldtnt fault it,http://www.belvederehotelnyc.com/

Smiley101

To get to Woodbury Common, you can take a bus from the Port Authority which is walking distance from Times Square, at a cost of $38. The journey takes approx 1hr and Woodbury Common is very cheap. You would spend a day there. I stayed in the Edisson Hotel just off Times Square which was a good location but the room was very basic.
Also, if you decide to do some shopping in Macey's, ask at information about the International Discount Card. This will entitle you to an 11% discount on purchases. You need your passport as proof.

shepthedog

Booked the Pickwick Arms Hotel, just 1 mile from Times square for 633 dollars for 2 ppl for 4 nights.. Very happy with it.. Its a simple place but all I need really.. Got good reviews on tripadvisor.com which i found handy for assessing hotels..
Definitely hitting Woodbury common for a day..
Cheers for all advice lads..
Any tips on sightseeing??

Eoin

shepthedog wrote:

Booked the Pickwick Arms Hotel, just 1 mile from Times square for 633 dollars for 2 ppl for 4 nights.. Very happy with it.. Its a simple place but all I need really.. Got good reviews on tripadvisor.com which i found handy for assessing hotels..
Definitely hitting Woodbury common for a day..
Cheers for all advice lads..
Any tips on sightseeing??

Try this google search, but bear in mind that it is probably quite cold there at the moment, which may make the outdoor sight seeing less pleasant.

gazzer

Im heading over to New York at the start of December. Got a cheap flight with Aer lingus (340 euro) and staying in the Holiday Inn in Chelsea(works out about 600 euro as im sharing a room with a friend).

I was just wondering if I should give Woodbury Common a visit?? The last time I was over in New York I went to Jersey Gardens and bought a fair few clothes.. I bought stuff in Steve and Barrys (everything was $5.99) and Aeropostale as well as a few other shops. Should i just go back to Jersey Gardens this year. Im not too pushed about getting cheap designer clothes.. Even if i do want some cheap Calvin Klein jeans i can head to Century 21.

Eoin

gazzer wrote:

Im heading over to New York at the start of December. Got a cheap flight with Aer lingus (340 euro) and staying in the Holiday Inn in Chelsea(works out about 600 euro as im sharing a room with a friend).

I was just wondering if I should give Woodbury Common a visit?? The last time I was over in New York I went to Jersey Gardens and bought a fair few clothes.. I bought stuff in Steve and Barrys (everything was $5.99) and Aeropostale as well as a few other shops. Should i just go back to Jersey Gardens this year. Im not too pushed about getting cheap designer clothes.. Even if i do want some cheap Calvin Klein jeans i can head to Century 21.

Then I'd say it would be a waste of a day for you, there's enough in Manhattan if you're not too pushed about it.

2funki4wheelz

It is a long trip and a bit restrictive with having to be ready for bus times and if it's busy you'll have to squash on with your bags. It's nice if you're in NY for a week and the weather is good, the shops are laid out like a village so it's not really under cover. There is quite a lot of high fashion houses there, which in my opinion are never cheap, esp if you just buy for the name. I've heard great things about Jersey Gardens and found any designery stuff I wanted in Century 21.

I think the bus is about €25 too.

The Novacastrian

We're going in feb for 5 nights and were told that the Radio City Apartments are good so we booked them. The cost is $663, self catering, though we wont be doing any cooking there. They are very central, close to times square. They haven't taken a deposit so if we find somewhere better, then we just cancel - no hassle.

I also will spend at least a day in Woodbury common, carrying her bags...cant wait!!!

BTW, go to www.premiumoutlets.com and sign up for the VIP club and you can get good discounts online before you go, just print off the coupons. Up to 30% off in some shops.

shepthedog

phil cawley on today fm was in new york today doing show from there i think.. he was talking all about shopping etc, mention woodbury common..

Also now thinking of trying to pick up a ps3 while over there..anyone know if there would be hassle with customs coming back?

mr_disc

shepthedog wrote:

Also now thinking of trying to pick up a ps3 while over there..anyone know if there would be hassle with customs coming back?

i wouldnt worry about customs ( unless they are some customs dudes who are members of boards and reading this )....
I mean u are never really stopped anyway , if u want a piece of mind though simply take it out of all its packaging and sure u could have bought the thing ages ago as far as they are concerned.

TheBazman

shepthedog wrote:

phil cawley on today fm was in new york today doing show from there i think.. he was talking all about shopping etc, mention woodbury common..

Also now thinking of trying to pick up a ps3 while over there..anyone know if there would be hassle with customs coming back?

Just be careful with a PS3 as I think Sony are doing all in their power to stop people getting them in Europe pre launch from Japan and the US. In reality I' not sure what this means but their may be region restrictions if you use it down the line as a dvd player. Maybe worth asking on www.afterdawn.com in the PS section. I wouldnt be overly worried about the customs - you may be unlucky and be the random person that gets checked but it is certainly worth the risk

mel123

Any hotels i find for start of December, altho it is the weekend, are sooooo pricey. Anyone any good cheap websites for me to try and get something???

Tom Dunne

shepthedog wrote:

Also now thinking of trying to pick up a ps3 while over there..anyone know if there would be hassle with customs coming back?

Customs certainly wouldn't be a problem, everything else would, though.

The TV standard is different, so you would need to make sure your TV can take an NTSC signal.

The power supply is different, so you would need a converter.

And finally, there are region restrictions, so you wouldn't be able to watch Irish/European DVDs. Not sure about games, though.

Is it really worth all this hassle?

shepthedog

@ mel, its a matter of looking around, dont try at wkends, as i had been trying at wkends and they were all showing crazy prices or booked out. AMAZINGLY enough they were available couple of days later! make of that what you will. As mentioned before, staying at pickwick arms hotel for bargain price of 631 dollars.. its not the ritz but will do the job. Not going to new york to lounge around the hotel..

WezzyB

Someone earlier in the Thread asked about diff between Jersey Gardens and Woodbury common.

Woodbury common is bigger and is laid out like Village.
Jersey Gardens is a big mall.

Woodbury common is a bit further from NYC, upstate about an hour, Jersey Gardens is just below Newark Airport, about 40 minutes by bus I guess. (I drove to both places, from elsewhere in New Jersey so I ain't too sure about bus journeys from downtown NYC)

New Jersey state (Jersey Gardens is in NJ!!) does not have sales tax on most goods, whereas Woodbury Common does.

There are a lot more stores in Woodbury Common.

BTW: I'm selling a $200 voucher for Continental (Fly from Dublin/Shannon to Newark) over on Adverts... http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=6298&cat=500

scuby

Do not go near woogo...
they are a complete joke. we had booked with them originally and then we came across a message on tripadvisor, from a person that had used woogo to book into the pickwick arms hotel. when he arrived in the hotel they told him that they did not take any more bookings from woogo and advised him to contact them himself, there is majot trouble with woogo.

we travelled to NY on the 11 november for 8 days. i queried with woogo beore we went about our booking, and if it was ok, i rang them first and they hung up when i said i was booked into the pickwick hotel ! i then e-mailed them and eventually they got back saying they were going to contact me the day after.. coincidence !! and had transferred me to another hotel, when i checked it out on trip advisor, there were only comments advising health trap, and lots of cockroaches and lots of bad pics....... i then requested the cancellation of the booking which they did but then the refund gets very scary... first they said all was ok and we would get the refund in 3-5 working days, that was 7 november, still no sign, rang today and was told that the a/c that was used to take the money from my a/c in closed and they cannot make a refund, and that i should get my cc company to do a deduction from the company !!!!!!! i'm waiting for bank of ireland to hopefully sort it out ! here is to hoping.... there is a dedicated website trying to close them now, if only i had seen it before.......:mad: :mad:

car39

you should try the trip advisor website,it gives reviews of hotels and someone will answer any questions you will have

shepthedog

yep checked out trip advisor before I booked the pickwick arms hotel..

Probably gonna hit woodbury common and do rest of shopping in city..

upthere

Best Western Adams are like the Ibiz kinda, they are cheap in the states too and the rooms are very spacious.
You can drink as much coffee as you want for free there too and you get thanked for using a Verizon payphone that's only 50cents for 10 minutes to call Ireland, better than staying with annoying family there lol

mobileblog

Check out hotwire.com.
Staying over the NY peroid and got a room at a decent rate.

d-redser

scuby wrote:

Do not go near woogo...
they are a complete joke. we had booked with them originally and then we came across a message on tripadvisor, from a person that had used woogo to book into the pickwick arms hotel. when he arrived in the hotel they told him that they did not take any more bookings from woogo and advised him to contact them himself, there is majot trouble with woogo.

we travelled to NY on the 11 november for 8 days. i queried with woogo beore we went about our booking, and if it was ok, i rang them first and they hung up when i said i was booked into the pickwick hotel ! i then e-mailed them and eventually they got back saying they were going to contact me the day after.. coincidence !! and had transferred me to another hotel, when i checked it out on trip advisor, there were only comments advising health trap, and lots of cockroaches and lots of bad pics....... i then requested the cancellation of the booking which they did but then the refund gets very scary... first they said all was ok and we would get the refund in 3-5 working days, that was 7 november, still no sign, rang today and was told that the a/c that was used to take the money from my a/c in closed and they cannot make a refund, and that i should get my cc company to do a deduction from the company !!!!!!! i'm waiting for bank of ireland to hopefully sort it out ! here is to hoping.... there is a dedicated website trying to close them now, if only i had seen it before.......:mad: :mad:

Jesus that is horrible!

The place where I stayed in New York was a Woogoo rental apartment and the reviews are terrible. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60763-d307945-Reviews-Woogo_Central_Park-New_York_City_New_York.html

I noticed that they were very eager to get my credit card details which I never gave them and girl at the reception got a huff on her!!

There are loads of posts on that site above about trying to get refunds as they were charged twice or even three times. I dont think one person ever got a refund.

Have you heard anything back from them lately?

giddyup

If you can get it at the right price the red roof inn does the job. I've never paid more than $120 a night there for a room but I know at busier times of the year it's much more expensive. It's very central and they do a handy brekky included in the room rate so you can fill up on doughnuts and OJ and toast before you hit the shops/sights. And it's near the Blarney Rock which kip and all that it is, is a fantastic little boozer.

Have been to Woodbury Common a few times. After the 1st visit I wasn't arsed but the missus always insists on going. Not great IMO. If you are a female shop-a-holic then it will probably make you moist but I'm about as good a male shopper as you can get and I think it's pretty sh1t.

Pythia

I'm staying the Red Roof Inn in Manhattan. It's costing $120 a night plus tax for a twin room with double beds. Myself and friend are going.
That's in early Jan. We booked ages ago though so maybe we got good rates.
It has a really good rating on Trip Advisor so looking forward to staying there.

mloc

I'm heading tomorrow (well technically today), 5 nights at the waldorf astoria. Booked it in August, theres 4 of us going so it works out about $100 a person per night. Not too bad considering.

The room was about 320 a night for the first 4 and 500 for the last night, pretty steep increase.