New York advice

[sidey]

I want to plan a trip to New York, Haven't a clue where to stay. DH wants to see Ground Zero and Grand Canyon (not sure if this is in New York). I got a map and it looks a huge place, so to see everything which is the best part to stay in. And any other advice you can give me
Thsnks

Will really depend a lot on how much money you're able to spend.

But I think which neighborhood you stay in will sort of shape your opinion of Manhattan because they all have a dif feel.

Some of the cheaper hotels with deals are in the extremely manic Times Square (42nd St) area, but I'd not want to stay there. Very noisy & frenetic; even those huge high-rise hotels seem noisy & frenetic, and I don't think the rooms are nice, or so I've been told. Most tourists seem to wind up in midtown (incl Times Square) I guess because it's central & easy & there are hotel deals. But I find midtown busy & insipid & even slightly depressing. Upper East Side (where the Metropolitan Museum is) beautiful but "posh," residential & expensive. Upper West Side (Museum of National History area) is less samey & younger & lots of people love itbut also residential. But I prefer "residential" to touristy wherever I go. Chelsea is interestingit's where the Manhattan art galleries are now that SoHo has become essentially a shopping mall--but public transportation can be difficult if you're v. far west in Chelsea. SoHo, though commercialized now, is still beautiful. Ditto Greenwich Village. East Village has a bit of edge still, tho not as much as it had. Gramercy Park is beautiful and still central-is.

If it were me, it'd be downtown: anywhere from Gramercy Park downwards eg Village, Soho, NoLiTa, TriBeca. TriBeCa, where my flat is, is short short walking distance from Ground Zero & has a very dif "feel" to the rest of Manhattan--more spread out and not so high-risey and congested. So if you want a sort of urban oasis away from the the center that's it.

Think about proximity to subway--that'll make life easier. I never take taxis if I can help it; I'm spoiled I guess by the taxis in London. But there's nothing dangerous or dodgy about yellow cabs. But I love the NYC subway; I also love the buses and they're user friendly. (I think.) But walking is the best, if you have the time.

I know I haven't helped you make a decision but I hope it's helpful that I've described the dif neighbourhoods & given a few opinions.

Maybe do a search, if you can, on threads on NY--there have been lots, some with specific hotel recommendations (which i'm afraid I don't have).

As for Grand Canyon. . .do you mean THE Grand Canyon, or some restaurant/bar called The Grand Canyon (which I've never heard of). If it's THE Grand Canyon, Manhattan is about 2,400 miles away, and Arizona is about as opposite to NYC as you can get.

I went to ny about 3 years ago and going back next month.
Last time i stayed on lexington ave which is midtown. I think this is the best place to stay as your right in the centre of manhattan.
we walked just about everywher,although there are plenty subway stations if you dont want to walk.
Around the midtown area youve got times square,rockafella centre,broadway etc. Its about a 10-15 minute walk to central park which is just huge but theres not much there tbh.
Youve then got empire state building,fifth ave etc for shopping,grand central station etc.
Ground Zero is down in the financial district which is next to wall street,stock exchange and also where you would get the ferry over to statue of liberty.
When are you thinking of going? I went in feb last time and going the same time this year, its freezing in the winter ( was -5 last time) but i think it would be unbareable if its really hot.

It is for my dh 40th, not till next december, but I thought I had better start thinking about saving. How much would it cost roughly for 4 days. I was looking at brochures and I thought about staying in midtown. How far is this from ground zero, because on the map it looks quite far. Is it far to walk from midtown to central park and from midtown to ground zero?

last time i paid about £400 each for 4 nights which was a special offer through expedia.
As for walking distance id say about 20-25 mins to ground zero and about 15 to central park,but theres so much to see in between it doesnt seem that far,theres loads of taxi's and subways.
everything looks so far away on the map but its all walkable

that was flights and hotel from manchester btw

What is the flight time from UK to New York?

Between seven and a half and eight hours. About an hour less flying back to the UK because of tailwinds.

Flight is about 7 hours. Not too bad but you don't get much sleep on the flight back. Yes it is probably unrealistic to think that you can do all of it on foot. I'd get hold of a couple of brochures which may give you an idea of what is where (or at least reassure your dh that the fact he won't see the Grand Canyon isn't down to your lack of planning ). DH used the DK guide for his last trip and he found that helpful, though as it was an extended business trip he didn't have to worry about where to stay.

Can't tell dh its a surprise for his 40th, so doing all by myself, which is daunting when you know nothing about where ur going

has any one been in june/july????

Yes - it's very hot and humid (but not unbearable - at least it wasn't for me). Stay somewhere with aircon if you can

LOL at Grand Canyon.

Maybe the Grand Canyon refers to the bit that has lots of tall skyscrapers so you would actually feel like you were in a deep canyon? I'm sure I've heard of it being described as that before....

Did you not do geography at school?

I know where the actual Grand Canyon is - I'm just saying I have heard the streets with skyscrapers being compared to a canyon beofre

before even!

does anyone one know of a good hotel in ny somehting a bit romantic???? for dp 30th and our 9yr together ann

What's your budget for the hotel? (am thinking The Pierre and Grand Palace but my company has always picked up the tab for my NY trips )

excluding flights about £700 for something really special

Tripadvisor is really good for reviews of hotels.. by people who stay there.. not sure what its like, but one of the famous hotels like the waldorf historia would be really special

looked at wa they are sending me some details

I noticed that The Pierre is now a Four Seasons hotel, they should have a room for your budget if you're only planning a 3-night stay or so. Same for the NY Palace (might be slightly more expensive). Don't forget that a lot 5-star deluxe NY hotels are actually cheaper during the weekends than during the week. They are well worth it though!