Hotel and Dining Help

I am bringing 10 young girls...well (two moms)...for four days. We are on a limited budget.

Would you recommend the Holiday Inn Madison Square Garden or the La Quninta near Penn Station?

Also, any ideas for dining that won%26#39;t break the bank?

Thanks so much!!

Robin

www.springboardforsuccess.com

Hotel and Dining Help

They%26#39;re within a few blocks of each other so the location is more or less the same. The Holiday Inn is newer. But I wonder how many people you%26#39;ll put into each room? You might be better with a suite hotel like the Affinia Manhattan, in the same area, where a 1 bedroom suite might sleep as many as 6 people (2 double beds and a sofabed). I%26#39;d also suggest you make sure whatever hotel you chose will allow the girls in a room alone if there are only 2 chaperones. Some hotels require someone in each room to be 21. The Wellington is a popular hotel for school groups and is not as strict about age. It%26#39;s in a nicer location imo, than the MSG area although it%26#39;s not as nice a hotel (I don%26#39;t think) as the Holiday Inn.

If you want to post your travel dates and how you intend on splitting up in rooms, I can look for other options. The area you%26#39;re thinking of staying is not the most attractive or the best for restaurants. It is, however convenient.

The wshotel.com and the larchmonthotel.com are both in Greenwich Village near NYU and might have more appeal if the girls are teens.

Hotel and Dining Help

Also, here is a previous thread by a Girl Scout leader bringing a large group to the city on a limited budget. Be sure to read through all 4 of the pages of responses, as they contain a lot of information about cheap/free activities and dining ideas, including some by another GS leader on the fourth page:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1911743鈥?/a>

A couple of dining suggestions:

simply pasta (near Times Square)- It%26#39;s the same menu for lunch and dinner and the prices are very reasonable. The restaurant is a bit elegant looking while fun at the same time (there%26#39;s giant pasta hanging from the ceiling) so I think the girls would feel special and enjoy it. The tables are also a bit more spread out than some restaurants so I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;d feel squished. I don%26#39;t think there%26#39;s a children%26#39;s menu but the portions are large enough that they could split plates.

Grand Central Station- This is a great place to visit and eat a cheap meal. There is a giant food court downstairs with lots of seating. I%26#39;m sure everyone would be able to find something to eat here. You can also print a walking tour out from the Grand Central website which would be a lot of fun to combine with the meal.

Hot Dog Vendors- You can%26#39;t beat buying hot dogs and sitting in the park or any other fun outdoor area to eat them. You can always pick up some fruit ahead of time to make a bit of a more well rounded meal.

Thank you all, so much.

There will be three is two room, four in one. All with an adult. When I said two moms, that didn%26#39;t include me. Sorry.

I lived in NYC for 10 years! But so much has changed. We like being close to Times Square, but personally, I';d love the village or something downtown.

I will read the girl scout pages. A good reference, I%26#39;m sure.

Again, thank you.

Oh, October 27 - 31!!

Nothing like NY in the fall.

Robin

Robin, you%26#39;ve selected very expensive dates!! The city gets flooded for the Halloween parade (don%26#39;t even think of looking in the village for those dates) and then the NY Marathon is Nov 2 and many of the participants book a year or more in advance. If your dates are flexible, I%26#39;d def. pick another time.

I think Times Square is a huge mistake, but if you have to...Radio City apartments is really popular and has studio, 1 %26amp; even 2 bedroom/2 bath suites. Hotelconxions.com

is a website that generally has availability for them, but requires prepayment. The hotel%26#39;s own website is usually sold out.

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