NYC in June for my birthday

[zitiqueen]

We're planning to go to NYC for my 50th birthday in June. Neither of us has ever been there. I know there are a brazillion NYC posts on the Travel board because I have them all bookmarked, but not really anything very recent.

We're planning to spend 6 or 7 nights, doing touristy stuff. H and I travel best when we have space, which I know is at a premium in the city. What we want is more or less a 1BR apartment (kitchen/kitchenette, sleeping area separated from the living area -- by a door and walls that reach the ceiling -- and a living area with a pullout sofa, or even a second BR). H and I have very different sleep schedules/styles and this is what works for us. He's a retired old man who normally goes to bed at 8pm wakes up between 4-5am and I am not retired and do not go to bed at 8pm and do not wake up between 4-5am. This way when he wakes up and putters around, he can make coffee and watch TV and do whatever and not worry about waking me up. I've been looking at hotels and also at Airbnbs (which I know are mostly illegal in NYC). They will rip your ass apart on the TripAdvisor forums if you even hint at showing a passing interest in Airbnb/VRBO and the like. Our accommodation budget is $350/night.

We don't want to stay in a touristy part of the city. Like, not near Times Square or Midtown West (per Frommer's). We'll do TS one night because I think it's the law, but we don't want to be in the middle of it for the whole week. We want to be in a walkable area and we're not afraid of public transportation so ideally not too far from a subway. My H's only must-have (so far) is he wants to be able to walk to a decent slice of pizza.   We'd like to stay in Manhattan so we're not spending all day trying to get to/from Manhattan. 

If anybody has any suggestions or recommendations at all (about anything), I'd love to hear them, especially what neighborhoods you would suggest we consider staying in. Thanks!

[tacokick]

We normally stay in Long Island City (Queens). It’s like one train stop (5 minutes?) to Manhattan but cheaper and pretty quiet.

[goldengirlz]

There’s a Residence Inn on Sixth Avenue and 38th/39th. I guess it’s technically Midtown West, but it’s far enough from Penn Station/Madison Garden to be a lot quieter.

I’ve stayed there on business trips and it’s pretty central.

Do Hoboken and/or Jersey City allow AirBNBs? That could be another option.

[mbcdefg]

Mar 3, 2019 18:30:58 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Do Hoboken and/or Jersey City allow AirBNBs? That could be another option.

JC properties are coming up on AirBNB for me, and I don't think I've ever heard that it's illegal: www.nj.com/hudson/2015/10/airbnb_agrees_to_collect_hotel-tax_for_jersey_city.html 

OP, if you are willing to look at hotel suites in JC then I would look into the Westin, Doubletree, Candlewood Suites, and the Hyatt. They're all right on the shoreline of the Hudson River. You may be able to find something in your price point for June, and it's a really quick trip into Manhattan via the PATH train or even the ferry. Plus there are a lot of good things to see and eat and do in JC.

[al320]

As far as im aware there are airbnbs all over nyc and its surroundings. I have a friend who has used them for work in manhattan, brooklyn and i think jc or hoboken.

OP - all of manhattan is walkable, as is most of the areas that are quick train rides from the outerboroughs. The question is how long of a train ride you want to take. You can be in midtown and still be near plenty of stuff without being near times square. Id look pretty much anywhere thats a few blocks from a subway stop.

Wrt to other suggestions - what are you looking to do? Museums, shows, restaurants, other? There are a TON of options.

[wildrice]

We stayed at an airBNB in Weekhawken, NJ last time we were there. It doesn't quite meet your requirements (it was more like a studio) but if there are other airBNBs there, the location was great. It took maybe 10-15 minutes to get into the city (Times Square, which is a fine launching point for other areas) and the view of the NYC skyline at night from across the river was amazing.

[zitiqueen]

We found a hotel that fits the bill on the UES. Also per Frommer's that neighborhood isn't the best-served by public transportation but we're only steps away from a subway station. Now we just need to figure out the subways! This place has a good cancellation policy so I'll keep checking to see if anything else is available. My preference is to be somewhere on the west side just for ease of transportation and proximity to more cool stuff so if we can find something else, bonus, but I'm pretty pleased with what we currently have reserved.

[mcsangel2]

Mar 6, 2019 7:34:39 GMT -5 zitiqueen said:

We found a hotel that fits the bill on the UES. Also per Frommer's that neighborhood isn't the best-served by public transportation but we're only steps away from a subway station. Now we just need to figure out the subways! This place has a good cancellation policy so I'll keep checking to see if anything else is available. My preference is to be somewhere on the west side just for ease of transportation and proximity to more cool stuff so if we can find something else, bonus, but I'm pretty pleased with what we currently have reserved.

Is there a typo here? You prefer to be on the west side but have a reservation on the UES? Getting across Central Park is not exactly easy, unless you're cool taking taxis everywhere. I had to get from the Frick museum (UES) to Lincoln Center (WS) and it took at least 20 mins in the taxi, not counting the time it took to *get* the taxi (because if you are south of the Met Museum, all the taxis are occupied).

I had at least three trips to NY where I always stayed at a hotel on 44th/8th. This last time we stayed at 41st/7th-8th and there was a HUGE increase in convenience, because the alllllll the subway lines run through somewhere near Times Square. You still have to walk, a lot. You're right that the UES is sparse with the subway lines, the day I went there to the museums, I had to walk at least 30 minutes from the station to get where I was going.

Be aware if you are staying near only one subway line, it will take extra time as you travel to where you can connect to another line to get where you are going.

[zitiqueen]

Mar 6, 2019 14:52:50 GMT -5 mcsangel2 said:

Mar 6, 2019 7:34:39 GMT -5 zitiqueen said:

We found a hotel that fits the bill on the UES. Also per Frommer's that neighborhood isn't the best-served by public transportation but we're only steps away from a subway station. Now we just need to figure out the subways! This place has a good cancellation policy so I'll keep checking to see if anything else is available. My preference is to be somewhere on the west side just for ease of transportation and proximity to more cool stuff so if we can find something else, bonus, but I'm pretty pleased with what we currently have reserved.

Is there a typo here? You prefer to be on the west side but have a reservation on the UES? Getting across Central Park is not exactly easy, unless you're cool taking taxis everywhere. I had to get from the Frick museum (UES) to Lincoln Center (WS) and it took at least 20 mins in the taxi, not counting the time it took to *get* the taxi (because if you are south of the Met Museum, all the taxis are occupied).

I had at least three trips to NY where I always stayed at a hotel on 44th/8th. This last time we stayed at 41st/7th-8th and there was a HUGE increase in convenience, because the alllllll the subway lines run through somewhere near Times Square. You still have to walk, a lot. You're right that the UES is sparse with the subway lines, the day I went there to the museums, I had to walk at least 30 minutes from the station to get where I was going.

Be aware if you are staying near only one subway line, it will take extra time as you travel to where you can connect to another line to get where you are going.

Nope, not a typo but definitely lacking clarification! Right now I'm just happy to have found the room type we're looking for within our $350/night budget (because June is traditionally so expensive) and that it has a good cancellation policy (full cancellation up to 48 hours out). I'm definitely going to keep looking and will hopefully be able to find something on the west side but for the time being I'm just glad to have something locked in. I still haven't ruled out using Airbnb in NYC either.