2 nights--where to stay

We thought it would be fun to stay in NYC for a couple of days on our way to Switzerland. Little did we know that we are coming during the high season (!!) and hotel prices are outrageous! We%26#39;re ok staying somewhere out of Manhattan, but I want to maximize the little time that we%26#39;ll have in the city. We are flying into JFK on Monday, 9/15 and will depart from JFK in the evening on Wednesday, 9/17. We might take a circle line tour of the city but I am most interested in walking through Central Park, seeing some of the foodie places (those cupcake shops that are unbelievably popular right now, Zabar%26#39;s, good bagels, etc). My husband wanted to go to a Yankees game but it%26#39;s sold out--what a bummer. I also read about Big Apple Greeters and this sounds like a lot of fun. We probably won%26#39;t have much time for museums and that%26#39;s ok with us. We%26#39;ll probably come back some day (though at a more affordable time of year!).

We had the opportunity to move to NYC last year. Though we decided not to take it, we%26#39;ve been curious about the city ever since. The company had told us that Brooklyn would have been a good place for us to live had we decided to make the move. We%26#39;ve wondered what that area is like and thought we might see it if we are in the area. I know hotels are cheaper there and we don%26#39;t mind a bit of a ride to get to Manhattan so feel free to recommend something here (or in another area that%26#39;s out of Manhattan) as long as it would meet our goal of maximizing the short time we%26#39;ve got to explore the city and is in a safe area.

We%26#39;ve never lived in a big city so things that might feel safe to someone who lives there may make us feel a bit wary. We may be out after dark and I don%26#39;t want to walk a long way from the subway station to our hotel if we%26#39;re a little nervous about the neighborhood. I know that we might feel that way about a lot of places in NYC and we%26#39;ll just have to get over it. On the other hand, it%26#39;s not worth it to me to stay in a really cheap place if the area is questionable.

Do the experts have any ideas for us?

2 nights--where to stay

Could you tell us what your nightly budget is?

And there are no hotels--or at least no hotels that anyone would recommend--in ';questionable'; areas, so nothing to worry about on that front.

2 nights--where to stay

Well, I%26#39;m frugal, and I%26#39;d love to find something that is under $250/night. I have quickly found that this budget may be quite unrealistic for New York. Originally, we thought that our 2.5 days in the city would cost about 1000 total (food, hotel, etc) so I%26#39;m shocked to find that a pretty normal looking hotel will cost $500 a night! We can be flexible with our budget and spend more if we have to. The main reason I%26#39;m asking for help is because I don%26#39;t want to pay that much and I am most willing to go to an area that is less known to save some money. However, I just don%26#39;t know where those places are! Can you help??

You are coming at a pricey time (and waited very late to book it, I%26#39;ll add, tsk tsk ;) Staying in Brooklyn is a way to save some money and get a feel for the area (it%26#39;s big, bigger than Manhattan); just realize Brooklyn puts you further from most of the things you mention like Zabars, Central Park, H %26amp; H bagels.

The Marriott Brooklyn bridge is the closest you can get to Manhattan but it%26#39;s fully booked for your dates! Here%26#39;s a nice b %26amp; b in Park Slope that has some rooms at $275/night that might work for you.

http://www.bbnyc.com/TOUR/

Staying on the upper west side in Manhattan would put you close to Central Park, Zabar%26#39;s, H %26amp; H.

milburnhotel.com

is remarkably available and within your budget at $259/night plus tax. I%26#39;d grab it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Nywhiz, don%26#39;t fault me for my last minute planning!!! This NYC stop was not even on my radar until just a few days ago. Anyway, we have booked the Milburn. I really really wanted to stay on the Upper West Side so I%26#39;m thrilled that you suggested this one. Thanks again!

If Central Park is in your plans, try the Excelsior Hotel on 81st right next to the Park. We stayed there in May and loved it. Very ';Englishy'; (if that%26#39;s a word!) Rooms are not huge, but they are nice and the location is fantastic and close to a subway (I think its the ABC Line, but not sure). I think they have some rooms in the $250-$300 range that look out over a north city view which we had fun with as you can see rooftops with all kinds of balconies. The Upper West Side (where the Excelsior nd Central Park are) is our favorite place to stay in the city. More residential but just a subway stop or two from Midtown.

Your biggest problem now is to find an affordable hotel room in NYC for 9/15-9/17. I didn%26#39;t know this before--until I started to look for a NYC hotel room myself--that NYC hotels are more expensive Mondays to Fridays and cheaper on the weekends.

I had the same problem you have and for weeks, I tried to bid for a Priceline hotel, without any success. When I started to look for a hotel, a Sheraton Time Square hotel was about $400. But that was too expensive for us, so I waited, thinking the prices will go down, but it didn%26#39;t.

So try Hotwire or Travelzoo. If see any 4* hotels in NYC (midtown east or midtown west, or even downtown) under $300, I would book it.

I just checked the dates you are coming into NYC and the on-line rates for the Millenium Hotel Broadway is $499 per night. I managed to get a room at the Millenium Hotel for $255 (on a Thursday) via Priceline when the on-line rack rate was $339. Not much of a saving, but we saved some money nevertheless. At $499/night, that%26#39;s an indication that it%26#39;ll be hard to get a hotel room via Priceline for the 2 nights you need. I would suggest that you check with the company you (or your husband) work for and see if they offer a corporate rate for NYC hotels.

So call your local travel agents and search on-line to see if you can find any reasonably priced hotels under $300. Remember, there is close to $50 of city/hotel taxes added on to the final bill.

The one thing that I really enjoyed on our last trip to NYC was the Staten Island Ferry. If you buy a 1-day subway fun pass for $7.50, you get to take the ferry for free. You can see Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline from afar. I thought the ferry ride is very enjoyable. The sight would have been unbelievable at night.

Your concern now is not what to see or where to eat. Book a hotel room ASAP. Do download a Subway map from the internet so you can have it as a reference as you pick and choose your hotel.

BTW, NYC addresses are different from their streets. For example, the address number between 56th street and 57th street do not begin with 5600. It%26#39;s another number all together. So when you give directions to cab drivers, you need to specify the cross streets as well.

I thought we wouldn%26#39;t get lost with a map in our hand, but without plotting out our exact route and the train/bus numbers, it%26#39;s so easy to get lost (and wasting time trying to do a turnaround.)

Good luck in finding a hotel within your budget.

veggiegirl26 - I agree with the previous post. I%26#39;m coming Sept. 13th-16th and have been checking rates on hotels for the last 2 weeks. Everything is super high. I saw on post on here yesterday about Travelzoo specials and got the Millenium Broadway on Sat/Sun night for $249 + tax. The hotel is in Times Square so I thought that was a steal! You might check there and see what is left. She is right for some reason the hotels are more expensive on Monday-Thursday so luckily we are using my friends Marriott points for the $499/night room on Monday night!! YIKES!! Good luck!

Business hotels, that is hotels in business areas, tend to be more expensive sunday or monday thru thursday becuse of the higher demand, hotels in tourist areas tend to be busier on friday and saturday and sometimes sunday, especially if there is a monday holiday, because of higher demand. Hotels in some parts of NYC will have the same price every day of the weeks because demand is relativly level for them, areas that are business AND tourist oriented.