Trattoria Dell'Arte, Trattoria Trecolori or Domenico

NY Experts,

In your opinion which is the better of these three?

I%26#39;ve looked into lots of different places for a dinner after my wedding %26amp; as these offer private rooms they are the favourites.

Many Thanks

SJ

Trattoria Dell'Arte, Trattoria Trecolori or Domenico

I don%26#39;t know Domenico but b/w the other 2, Trattoria Dell%26#39;Arte imo is a better restaurant with very pretty private rooms. I don%26#39;t know what the private rooms at Trecolori look like but I%26#39;ve been to parties at Dell %26#39;Arte and they do a very nice job. You can see the party rooms on the Dell %26#39;Arte website but I don%26#39;t see them on the other ones.

many questions

visiting New York December 19 for 3 nights with 4 teenagers looking for

a- Good quality hotel in a good location with rooms that can have 3 people in each

b- suggestions for must see sites or tours including shopping suggetions ( 3 daughters)

c- eating advise

d- best way to get from JFK to the city for 6 people 6 suitcases and 2 sets of golf clubs (flying onto Naples from Guardia after New York)

many questions

BillMac,

What is your budget per night for your hotel? Remember to add 15% tax on top of this to get a better idea of the cost. Location is not all that important but being close to a subway is, Times Square is pricey and IMO not the place to stay. You should be able to get somewhere with connecting rooms if you wanted that? I鈥檇 recommend getting a car service from the airport it will be cheaper than 2 taxis- try Carmel or dial7. There are so many places to eat so again it depends on your family鈥檚 preferences and budget-there is someone for every taste and every budget in NY. If you post some more details you鈥檒l get some good responses with recommendations but without a budget for your hotel it鈥檚 hard to start suggesting places. Area wise maybe Midtown would be good as it鈥檚 close to Macys and other large stores.

many questions

I was thinking of 400 to 500 dollars per room per night including tax, as we are there a short time we would like to be close to the action say 15 mins walk to times square any idea how much the car service is

That鈥檚 a realistic budget, but I鈥檝e never been in December where rates will be high. I鈥檝e only ever travelled with my partner so can鈥檛 rhyme off a list of hotels in that budget that will sleep three per room-although some of the NY experts will be able to. I stayed at the Affinia Dumont last time I was in NY and they have connecting rooms and full kitchen. And the rooms are very large and you can get awesome views. It鈥檚 a 5 minute walk to the Empire State Building and Macy鈥檚. I鈥檝e just checked the rates and its $348 via quick book.

Affinia Manhattan is $306 a night on quick book

Michelangelo is $362-this seems a good price as it was much higher when I was looking for September and looks very nice.

If you go to Quickbook.com there are loads for %26lt;$500 a night so I鈥檇 have a look on there and see what you like then check out the hotels reviews.

A point to make is TS is not where all the action is, first timers (myself included) think it is the best location but it isn鈥檛 unless you want to see a lot of theatre/shows. It鈥檚 also expensive, and the places to eat and drink are tourist trap type places where the food isn鈥檛 as good or cheap if you ventured out a bit.

Benjii, you%26#39;ve become a real expert! You%26#39;ve gotten great advice billmac. I%26#39;ll add

a- Any of the affinia.com hotels (all suite hotels) will work for you. You may not even need 2 rooms/suites. For example, the Affinia Dumont has a 1 bedroom suite with 2 queen beds and a sofabed that would sleep 6, but you would all have to share beds and only have 1 bathroom, so that might not be ideal with 3 daughters. ;)

There%26#39;s shopping all over the city so it won%26#39;t be hard to be near it. The Kimberly is not far from Bloomingdales and Rockefeller Center and I see a price of $295/night (plus tax) on quikbook for a room with 2 double beds. They also have suites.

The Essex House is in a pretty glamorous location on Central Park South (across from the park) and they have an executive suite for 3 people on quikbook for $319/night. I%26#39;d find that appealing. Both of these are also fully cancelable with no prepayment

b- If the girls are Sex and the city fans, they might want to take that tour. Otherwise, I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d take a bus tour at that time of year (too much traffic) unless you wanted to do a city lights tour at night. There%26#39;s an area of Brooklyn that has over the top lights if that appeals to you.

http://asliceofbrooklyn.com/christmas.html

I would absolutely get tickets to the Radio City Xmas Spectacular (there%26#39;s a discount on broadwaybox.com but not sure it will be good for your dates). If you want to see any shows, I%26#39;d buy those in advance.

Here%26#39;s a shopping guide from NY Magazine that you can pass along to the girls. Just make sure the info is up to date (stores close/change)

nymag.com/visitorsguide/shopping/index.htm

Here%26#39;s a link to the FAQ from the forum with LOTS of other info including a link to a holiday guide and lots of threads on eating.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1948627鈥?/a>

If you want more eating advice, I%26#39;d start a new thread with very specific requests once you have an idea of your itinerary (ie good sushi near xyz etc.)

For transportation, I would contact

strusserslimousineservice.com

and get a quote for both trips. The airport is LA Guardia (code LGA) and is much closer to Manhattan than JFK.

social so po

were to stay????

hey there, was just wondering could anybody give me the name of a hotel/guesthouse in centre of new york or around that area, was looking to go for 3 nights in november, just somewere basic to sleep and wash and that? thanks

were to stay????

Hi ABS,

There isn鈥檛 really a 鈥榗entre鈥?as such as you鈥檙e never going to be close to everything. Some people make the mistake that Times Square is the best location or centre of Manhattan when in reality it is over priced, and the places to eat and drink around the area are the usual tourist traps. Locals avoid Times Square like the plague too and would only recommend it if you planned on going to see allot of shows.

What is your budget for your three nights and who will you be travelling with? Manhattan is expensive but there are also low cost options some with shared bathroom facilities and some hostels too at the lower end of budgets. Depending on what you want to on your stay it鈥檚 hard to recommend an exact location as there are so many offering different things-I鈥檇 say as long as you鈥檙e close to a subway station (which is just about everywhere) location isn鈥檛 hugely important. Hotels near Central Park especially those with views are pricey. Chelsea is residential and has some lower priced hotels-the Chelsea lodge is highly rated on TA. Upper east side is nice but I think it has less subway access than other areas,. Greenwich Village is also residential and one of my favourite areas. There are fewer hotels there than some other areas but plenty of bars and restaurants to suit all budgets. Then there鈥檚 midtown which has large chain hotels, shopping, and some residential areas so it offers dining too.

Hope this gives you some info to think about. I鈥檇 recommend that you decide on a budget per night (remember to add 15% tax) then you should be able to get some good recommendations for you budget.

were to stay????

thanks a mill, some good info there.i see what you mean about having the metro and that so close which is very handy. im heading with my partner and as for budget well staying 3 to 4 nights for a double room id pay $80/$100 dollars a night, i dont know if thats resonable or not, a hotel id like to stay in, what is that chelsea lodge place like is it in a good location? the flights are working out exspensive so trying so save money on the hotel.

thanks

I think including taxes that鈥檚 going to be a struggle to be honest. Chelsea lodge http://www.chelsealodge.com/Rates.htm has rates of $129 excluding tax per night. Big Apple Hostel has rooms at $49 per person per night but these are rooms that sleep 4 and shared with other people. There rates for private rooms are $149. The going rate for hostel shared rooms seems to be about $30-$50 a night. You could always stay outside of Manhattan where accommodation will be cheaper but you鈥檒l have to be prepared to travel allot more, because you鈥檙e there for 3 days I wouldn鈥檛 recommend this. Realistically for your budget it looks like a shared hostel room. Have you booked your flights yet? I would say anything close to 拢300 is cheap anything over 拢400 expensive. If you are flexible on your dates you may be able to get cheaper flights to ramp up your budget?

yea i wonder are those rates based on 2 sharing though, i lookes up the chelsea lodge there and it seems to be ok and in an ok location, kind of flexible with dates, flights are a killer though.

thanks

Those are per room per night. What prices are you gettting for flights?

I think your budget is a bit unreasonable. You can find decent places for ~ $130/night with shared bathroom. Chelsea Lodge is good because you get your own shower and sink and just have to share the toilet in the hall which everyone says is no problem and very clean.

Larchmonthotel.com

is another option in Greenwich Village.

scars

help only 2 days in new york what to do in the time?

hello !

we are travelling in oct to new york for 2 days to get hitched then join the QM2 heading back to uk.... what is best to do in those precious couple of days, we want to fit in the marriage licence and back for the wedding next day... any help very greatly appreciated!! thanks all

help only 2 days in new york what to do in the time?

How long is a piece of string? ;) It depends on what you%26#39;d like to see/do and whether you%26#39;ve been here before and when you%26#39;re coming. You will need a money order for the license and that could take some time. After that, if it%26#39;s decent weather, perhaps a boat tour? Or just do the Staten Island ferry roundtrip. Maybe a walk through Central Park. A visit to Top of the Rock. Maybe get some theater tickets for the evening or go to a nice dinner and then a comedy club.

help only 2 days in new york what to do in the time?

hi

we want to fit in some shopping too, we arrive tue 12 pm and leave approx 4 pm on thus, hope o get money order on the tue and take it from there, never been before.

thanks!!!

Dolly,

We got married in New York at City Hall and it takes no time really to get the postal order from the post office (really near the City Hall) and then get the licence. You have to leave 24 hours before getting married from the time of applying for the licence. If you need to take the licence out of the US (which you must if you are from Scotland!) you have to have the form notarised before you go home (again walking distance from City Hall.

The staten island ferry is a good way of seeing a great view of New York - I would recommend that.

We had dinner at the Mariott revolving restaurant which was also good.

Cocktails at the Ritz was great!

Empire State if you can time it at dusk. We saw the sun go down and the lights come up - it was gorgeous.

Hope that helps.

booking the esb

hi all,

which company do you recommend to buy tickets of for the esb at night please?

booking the esb

Mom89,

You can get them direct via https://www.esbnyc.com/tickets/

They%26#39;re open 8am till 2am. You can buy them on the day at the ESB tehn you%26#39;re not tied to a particular time/day as the pre-bought tickets aren%26#39;t refundable form what I know.

booking the esb

benjii,

thanks for tour help.

mom89

No problem. One thing I left out (which you%26#39;ll see on the webiste) is the normal ticket and queue jumper ticket. You still have to queue with the jumper ticket at certain points of the building. We went on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn%26#39;t mentally busy so didn%26#39;t see the poit in paying the extra-it%26#39;s allot more especially if you%26#39;re paying for more than 2.

benjii,

was just wondering about that, you must be a mind reader!

thanks a lot.

mom 89

mom89 - just a friendly reminder - you posted this query @6:00 AM US time and again 50 minutes later. Instead of re posting you could have ';bumped%26#39; it up - you have to realize the time difference, 5 hours or thereabouts; most US posters are not on line until 8:00 AM (1300 hours or so UK time)

Also - you were given the ESB website information yesterday - this gives all the infromation about tickets etc... was this not helpful?

Plus you have been given some personal experiences - good luck.

Can we walk to . . . .

We are coming in on a Friday for only one night. Staying at the Crowne Plaza. Can we expect to be able to park at Crowne Plaza and walk to the falls, Maid of the Mist, Cave of Winds %26amp; visitors center from there and not have to use our car and worry about finding parking? Our hope was also to be able to walk back to the falls after dinner to watch the Friday night fireworks show. Is it a ';short stroll'; or a ';major hike'; to get there?

Can we walk to . . . .

If %26#39;short stroll%26#39; means 2-3 blocks to everything, then it%26#39;s the perfect description.

Can we walk to . . . .

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza last year. It was easy to get to all the visitor sights - we only used our car to travel across to Canada. Took about 10 mins. to walk to the falls.

Thanks for the quick repsonses. Sounds like we%26#39;ve made the right choice as far as ';ease'; of location.

UKTouristScotland - how did you like the Crowne Plaza?

We like the Crowne Plaza very much. The rooms were freshly decorated and of a good size - ours overlooked the Casino which was good fun - something different for us, coming from a Scottish village! The pool was lovely and warm, although I guess if you%26#39;re only staying one night you probably won%26#39;t have time to use it. We ate breakfast there - the food was good, but the breakfast room was a little hectic. It%26#39;s a big hotel and busy, but a good choice, I think. Remember to get your parking ticket validated at the hotel desk - that way you won%26#39;t have to pay for parking when you exit the parking lot.

UKTouristScotland - Thank you for your info on the hotel. Because we are only staying for two days and one night, I want to plan a few ';touristy'; things as efficiently as possible, and still allow a little leisure time for just wandering around. Thanks so much for your help. Hope your stay in the U.S. was all enjoyable.

Visiting NYC first week in September - need help planning

im planning a trip to new york for 7 nights at the beginning of Sept. I was wondering if its wise getting a 3 day pass as opposed to 7 day one?

just thought if i do my sight seeing over 3 days, i could probably use the other days shopping - any places recommended for vintage clothes? or bargain shopping? heard you can get some really great deals on branded stuff? ( obviously i%26#39;ll visit the likes of macy%26#39;s etc)

also i want to go out clubbing and was wondering where i could find some nice spots. names of certain recommended places would also help?

i could also take a drive to a neighbbouring state or place of interest - again, is there any places worth a day visit to?

and lastly any places recommended for cheap %26amp; cheerful breakfasts, as my evening meals will be nice proper meals.

any help with my planning would be great! thank you.

Visiting NYC first week in September - need help planning

Don%26#39;t know what passes you%26#39;re referring to or why you think a 3-day one might be better. Shopping is found all over the city, so if it%26#39;s a subway pass you%26#39;re referring to, you%26#39;ll want it for the whole time you%26#39;re here.

Some of the more popular nightspots right now include Sanots Party House, Cielo, GoldBar, 1Oak, Tenjune, Temple Bar, 205 Club, The Box, Death and Company, Cain, the Pink Elephant, PM, Hiro, and Guesthouse. Some of those are lounges and some are dance clubs, so be sure to read reviews on www.yelp.com beforehand.

Here%26#39;s a thread about visiting the Hudson River Valley, which you could do as a day trip:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1909258鈥?/a>

There are good places for breakfast all over the city, so we%26#39;ll need to know more about your plans to recommend specific spots.

Visiting NYC first week in September - need help planning

';Sanots Party House'; = Santos Party House :)

Century 21 is good for deals on designer stuff. It is right beside Ground Zero.

thanks for the help. I was referring to the NYC Pass, which apparently gives you access to the city%26#39;s main tourist attractions (no queues). the reason i thought the 3 day pass may be better was because if i covered the sights i want to see in 3 days, then i could spend the remaining days like shopping, and perhaps a day trip, etc. So a 7 day pass seemed like maybe (as much as i%26#39;d like to see more), i may be pushing it cos I will do other things as well?

I%26#39;ll definitely read up some reviews for the clubbing - thank you for the link.

and it sounds like i%26#39;ll be visiting century 21 defo.

i%26#39;m staying central in a brill hotel, so hopefully travelling wise i can use public transport if need be.

i went to ccntury 21 the last time i went to nyc i am going back in oct. century 21 is deffetaly on my list but this time i am giving my self at least 3-4 hours to shop there..it has everyname brand that u want at least half price. make it a POINT to go GREAT buys.

I%26#39;m not convinced any of the sightseeing passes make sense for most people. Make a list of the places you absolutely want to go, figure out how much they%26#39;ll cost. I will almost guarantee it will be less than buying the pass. Invest instead in a 7 day unlimited metrocard for using subways and buses.

http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm

Here%26#39;s a link to the FAQ in which you will find lots of info on shopping- a whole section-including discount shopping and outlet malls.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60763-i5-k1948627鈥?/a>

There should also be info on vintage/thrift shops there. If not, do a text search. There are certainly many posts on the subject.

You%26#39;ll also find info on daytrips. Rather than driving, you might want to consider a train trip. Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate is lively. DIA Beacon is another nice trip north of Manhattan. The train goes along the Hudson River.

http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/outbound.htm

I%26#39;ll also mention that Brimfield antique show, perhaps the largest antique show in the US will take place while you%26#39;re visiting. It%26#39;s about a 3-4 hr. drive but here%26#39;s info

brimfield.com/html/brimfieldfaqvisitors.htm

You might also consider a day trip to the Hamptons. Out of the Closet is one of several vintage clothing shops on the east end. It%26#39;s on Main st. in Bridgehampton not far from where you%26#39;d get off the Hampton Jitney.

Hamptonjitney.com

Thanks - I%26#39;ll be sure to dedicate some time to Century 21 then, if the shopping is that good!

i went to the link %26amp; did a search by text and didnt quite get recent results of any vintage or thrift shops :( But I shall try find %26#39;Out of the Closet%26#39; and I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ll pass a few along the way. fingers crossed.

the train trip to rockefeller estate has got me intrigued, so i may look into that. Hamptons - you aren%26#39;t referring to the famous one they keep referring to in Sex %26amp; the City surely? If so, then that sounds like a must! Any extra info will be great.

Thanks again to all for contibuting with the fab tips for my trip.

Yes, the Hamptons I was referring to is the ';famous'; one. You can take a train or the Hamptonjitney.com to Bridgehampton and the store Out of the Closet is a 2 minute walk from either on Main st. in Bridgehampton. I%26#39;d phone ahead though and make sure they%26#39;ll be open on the day you want to come. They may not be open every day in Sept. I think they open at noon and usually stay open late. Here%26#39;s an article about the shop

danshamptons.com/content/鈥?8.html

reptiles