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Original poster

Is visiting New York worth the cost?

75 replies

puteoli · 12/02/2019 23:37

Yes flights are cheap at around £250, but accommodation is obscenely expensive. £140ish a night for a cheap not great airbnb, but looking more like £230 a night for somewhere nice that isn't in a dingy dodge basement.

Hotels are not much better either.

I don't get why it is so expensive. London is equally as big of an economic powerhouse, and small central geographic space.

DP and I really want to go to the MoMA, Met and Guggenheim. But the cost of the accommodation would mean we'd be eating mcdonalds every day due to accommodation.

Any thoughts/cheaper options?

OP posts:
FanSpamTastic · 12/02/2019 23:43

Have you tried looking at accommodation a little further out? Say Jersey City or Brooklyn?

Earslaps · 12/02/2019 23:48

We stayed here and it was brilliant. Just a few stops on the subway to the main attractions. We got 7 day passes for the subway so we could zip around easily.

Would definitely recommend.

mintich · 12/02/2019 23:52

Best city in the world in my opinion

NunoGoncalves · 12/02/2019 23:56

I just had a look on booking.com and within 30 seconds found a bunch of 8/10+ rated hotels at around 120 quid a night.

Three or four nights is enough if you can't afford more.

Great city if you like big cities. I love it.

Dreamscomingtrue · 12/02/2019 23:58

I went a few years ago for 4 or 5 days, on a package tour with Air India, the hotel was decent, near Grand Central Station. I think we went in February or November. Maybe look at different months, prices could vary a lot between seasons. I’ve been to New York twice so far, in the 1970’s and about 2003 and would defiantly like to visit again.

EdWinchester · 13/02/2019 00:05

We stayed in a great hotel last summer in NoMad district and it was only about £120 per night.

amrscot · 13/02/2019 00:09

Well worth it ime

wigglybeezer · 13/02/2019 00:13

I'm going to be a party pooper, I think it's the cost to the climate you should be thinking of, short trips to long haul destinations just cos you fancy it...very hard to justify. Find somewhere closer, with good galleries and restaurants.

StargazyDrifter · 13/02/2019 00:24

I would say worth it, loved it and you can eat affordably if you're smart about it. Look over the Thanksgiving period, too. Often good bargains on flights/cheaper hotels then.

StargazyDrifter · 13/02/2019 00:25

(As in, aim to go for Thanksgiving, rather than look in the Black Friday sale!)

WingingWonder · 13/02/2019 00:30

It’s expensive because of the shite exchange rate- when it’s was 1.65/1.85/1.95 London looked expensive!!

MissConductUS · 13/02/2019 00:35

New Yorker here. Don't bother, it's only the greatest city in the world.

Just kidding. Smile

WingingWonder is right. It's not a cheap city to visit at any time, but the GBP is in the toilet these days. Your best bet is likely a package holiday that bundles the flight and the hotel. Or wait until the pound bounces back a bit.

WarpedGalaxy · 13/02/2019 00:37

Jersey City has lots of nice hotels and much cheaper than Manhattan, it’s just a few stops on the train away or a few minutes trip on the ferry across the Hudson, plus amazing views of the NYC skyline from over there. As for eating, there are food outlets for every budget, you won’t be restricted to McDs. Flights that cheap you’d be mad not to take advantage, I paid more than that round trip last fall and I live in the USA!

halfwitpicker · 13/02/2019 00:43

www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycqn-fairfield-inn-and-suites-new-york-queens-queensboro-bridge/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

We stayed here.

5 stops on the subway to Times Square. Rooms were massive. Great view of the city too.

halfwitpicker · 13/02/2019 00:46

If you get a hotel with brekkie included then you wouldn't need a massive lunch. You can always check out cheap eats too, keep costs down.

For flights at that price I'd be there in a a shot

PresidentHump · 13/02/2019 00:55

Absolutely worth it. Depending on when you go you can get hotels on the lower east/Chinatown for circa £110/120 a night.

I disagree with a previous poster though - three/four nights is not 'enough'. If that's all you can afford that's fine, but you could spend a couple of weeks there.

Things are expensive but not everything is. If you just want to soak up the atmosphere wander around, sit in central park for a day. Watch the model boats.

Get coffee in the lower east, chat to ransoms, and eat pizza on the street wherever you are.

Spend on galleries but visit Christie's for free near Rockefeller. See some mad amateur theatre for ten dollars in Brooklyn. Go to bars in Brooklyn where you get free pizza with every beer. Hang in a park in Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon as great big groups of people also hang out and do BBQs.

Visit Coney Island and sit on the beach. Avoid the ££££ musicals you can see in London and spend your money on table tickets for Sleep No More. Walk the High Line (free). Get the Metro (use Google maps!). Spend a bit of cash on cocktails in fancy roof top bars to enjoy the view (The Standard) but eat cheap after.

don't waste time buying shit clothes and boring make up in times Square. Spend a little in Chelsea market and in little shops in Brooklyn.

I

PresidentHump · 13/02/2019 00:57

Chat to RANDOMS. not ransoms

Stupomax · 13/02/2019 01:48

I'd go to Chicago instead.

Bigdreams · 13/02/2019 06:15

Just be a little careful as airbnb is pretty much illegal in NYC. I knew of one couple who got there and the apartment didn't exist.
They have strict laws about renting out for less than 30 days in most of the city.

homegrownmumma · 13/02/2019 06:25

So worth it !

Try looking for February /March next year or October/November I think these are the cheapest times

Justanotheruser01 · 13/02/2019 06:27

We went over thanks giving and it was truly the best holiday ever.
We didn't find it too expensive when there but we don't drink alcohol is stupidly expensive and we ate in little delis quite often which was as cheap as mc Donald's but so much nicer

Hassled · 13/02/2019 06:32

Yes, it's worth it - it's an amazing city.
I agree that you should beware of AirBnB in NY - it is illegal, which I didn't realise when I booked an AirBnB there. It worked out OK but it was all a bit iffy (apartment was across the road from the advertised address, we were told to tell the building's janitor we were there for 3 months if he asked - it was all quite awkward and weird).

NottonightJosepheen · 13/02/2019 06:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

anniehm · 13/02/2019 06:36

New York prices are similar to London - high because people are willing to pay but for the budget conscious consumer there's lower prices to be had by staying in the suburbs and traveling in (do take into account travel costs though!) We stop in central London and it's hard to get a room under £200 which is worthy of the title hotel (we stayed in a place for £150 a night with holes in sheets and itchy woollen blankets) and New York is the same

BerensteinBear · 13/02/2019 06:36

We've been in February (bitterly cold) and beginning of November (mild.) First time we went we stayed in a little boutique hotel in the Murray Hill district, close to the Empire State. The second time, we
stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Times Sq, on 8th Ave. Great location just off Broadway.
Seriously, if you have the chance, go! It's the most amazing place on earth. We loved it. Stayed for 5 nights each time. We booked our flights and hotel through Opodo, I'd highly recommend it.